Naylor: Lack of a killer instinct

Photo: Paul Sterritt

Oldham Rougheds V Rochdale Hornets, match played at the Spotland ground, Rochdale. Oldham player,(green strip), Jorden Walne, is held up from scoring a try by the Rochdale players.

MORE heartbreak for Oldham, who had Hornets on the ropes with a few minutes left and then allowed them to snatch an unlikely draw with two converted tries.

A gripping derby ended all square at 26-26, both Scott Naylor and Alan Kilshaw agreeing afterwards that Oldham were the better side and deserved to win.

Said Hornets boss Kilshaw: "Oldham kicked better than us and their line speed (in defence) was terrific.

"We used our get-out-of-jail card, that's for sure. I can't question our resolve, but with nine minutes left we trailed by 12 and we even did our best to give Oldham the opportunity to win it with a drop goal.

"Sometimes you have to learn how to get something out of a game when you're not at your best and I guess that's what we did."

Oldham's Naylor admitted to having 'mixed feelings' (point won away from home, or point lost by conceding two tries in the last few minutes?), while insisting that his players had produced more evidence of their potential to do well over a 30-game season.

He said: "This was Featherstone and London all over again - a replica, in fact. We had the game won, but we couldn't finish it off.

"That's something the players and coaching staff need to address.

"We are learning every week and learning fast.

"We are giving them different things to do and different game plans and I have every respect for the lads, because they are working exceptionally hard to stick to those plans and to use them to become winners.

"We've got to stay positive and go into our next league game comfortable in our own ability and confident that we are good enough to win, as we were before this game."