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ROCHDALE HORNETS 26 OLDHAM 20

BY ROGER HALSTEAD
 
HORNETS still retain the local bragging rights after fully deserving their victory against disappointing Oldham in the Law Cup at Spotland today.
 
Former Roughyeds players Ian Sinfield and David Best picked up individual awards -- Sinfield as Rochdale's top performer and Best as winner of the champagne-moment award -- but it was teamwork and enthusiasm that saw the home side through in Bobbie Goulding's first big test since his return to the club as coach.
 
Two late tries by Phil Joseph and Jason Boults, both converted by Mick Nanyn, pulled Oldham back from 26-8 down to 26-20  with seven minutes left --- and, for the first time, gave Roughyeds fans the heart to get behind their team vocally.
 
But, to be honest, anything other than a Rochdale victory on the evidence of what we saw today would have been unjust.
 
It was a classic case of one team appearing to treat the match as the most important of the season and the other looking like it was caught offguard by the sheer intensity and enthusiasm of their opponents.
 
Goulding could be proud of his troops in their first outing under his command, while Oldham boss Steve Deakin won't need anyone to tell him that Swinton Lions will also be a serious threat in the opening Northern Rail Cup game on Friday night at Boundary Park unless Roughyeds step up their level of performance quite significantly, both individually and collectively.
 
Oldham made three crucial errors in the first five minutes of the game and that not only set the pattern for the rest of the match, but it led directly to Hornets setting up position from which Sinfield scored the opening try after only five minutes.
 
The visitors constantly and continually returned possession to Hornets, often early in sets, and that provided Hornets with loads of good field position and enabled them to put Oldham under a lot more pressure than Oldham could inflict on them.
 
Marcus St Hilaire scored his first Oldham try in the corner direct from an Oldham scrum to cut the deficit to 6-4 in the eigth minute, and in fairness to Deaks's men they should have scored two more tries only to see two clear-cut chances thrown away on the right side of the field.
 
Wrong options were taken when Phil Joseph chose not to send in Danny Halliwell on the outside and, not lomg afterwards, when Halliwell made a similar error of judgement with Craig Littler unmarked on his outside.
 
At the other end Hornets made no such mistake when stand-off Martin Ainscough skipped through a hole in Oldham's defensive line to score a try to which Chris Hough added his second conversion. Then, on the stroke of half-time, the visitors were penalised for obstrucing Sam Butterworth on his own kick and Hough kicked the goal for a 14-4 interval lead.
 
Worse was to follow early in the second half when a short kick had Oldham's defence in huge trouble. St Hilaire slipped as he turned to give chase and Chris Campbell was given the easiest task of finishing off on the inside to score Rochdale's third try. This time Craig Bower goaled.
 
Robert Roberts, on James Coyle's defence-splitting pass, and Ainscough, soaring high in-goal to collect a cross kick, each traded tries in the next few minutes as Hornets built what appeared to be a commanding 26-8 lead.
 
But Oldham gave them a late fright when Joseph crossed for a try from dummy half which Mick Nanyn improved after Matty Brooks had gone close in the 63rd minute.  Next it was Jason Boults's turn to squeeze in from close range and Nanyn added the extra to put Oldham within six points of snatching a draw.
 
Despite the busy, non-stop probing of full-back Paul O'Connor and midfield men Brooks and Coyle, plus the strong work in the forwards of Roberts, Said Tamghart and Adam Robinson, Oldham couldn't make it count.
 
They looked a better, more dangerous attacking side once Coyle reverted to his normal scrum-half position after about an hour, but it didn't help when Simeon Hoyle was carried off with an ankle injury only five minutes after making an appearance as a substitute.
 
Oldham need to improve significantly on this poor performance in a match which was a classic case of revved-up underdogs going out to prove a point or two and pulling off a win against the odds. As one of the favourites to do well in NL2 this season, Roughyeds can stand by to be on the receiving end of similar performances in the next few months.
 
Lessons must be learned.
 
For the record, James Coyle was named as Oldham's man of the match by the Oldham Heritage Trust and he duly received the trophy from the Heritage Trust's Brian Walker.
 
Scorers: Hornets -- goals, Hough (3), Bower (2); tries, Ainscough (2), Sinfield, Campbell; Oldham -- goals, Nanyn (2); tries, St Hilaire, Roberts, Joseph, Boults.
 
Hornets: Campbell; Andrews, Stout, Spurr, Brown; Ainscough, Hough; Best, Elston, Newton, Sinfield, Alcock, Farrimond. Subs: Butterworth, O'Brien, Robinson, Marsh, Bower, Roughneen, Lloyd, Foster, Gorey, Lawson, Svabic,Wild.
 
Oldham: O'Connor; Halliwell, Littler, Nanyn, St Hilaire; Coyle, Brooks; Baldwin, Joseph, Boults, Grundy, Roberts, Goulden. Subs: Hoyle, Robinson, Tamghart, Baines, Stevens.
 
 
Referee: M Kidd. Attendance: 1,000 (estimated)