Errors cost us dear - Naylor

OLDHAM coach Scott Naylor

SCOTT Naylor's game plan went awry when Rovers scored two tries in a couple of minutes midway through the second half to take a 22-4 lead.

"We were never going to beat them by 20 points," said Naylor. "The idea was to stick with them and perhaps pinch it near the end."

Oldham won the toss, chose to play up the slope first half and trailed only 10-0 at half-time.

Naylor added: "The first half was okay. We got a little bit old-headed in the second half, but at least we spent a lot of the first half in the right areas of the field.

"PRESSURE"

"We were reasonably happy with the half-time score, going up the hill.

"We didn't put them under a lot of pressure when we were deep in their territory, but that's something we're working on. It's one thing doing it on the training pitch, another doing it in a game.

"Featherstone are a good team if you give them field position, as we saw in the first half and again in the last quarter. They've some quality lads.

"We tried to get the ball wide in the first half, but we rarely got to the end of sets. The kicking game wasn't up to par either.

"We started the second half with a try and then went close in pursuit of another, but they then got two quickies and the game was all over.

"You're then looking at the mentality of the people in your side.

"We did a few things wrong and it ended up costing us."

Rovers boss Jon Sharp said: "It was hard-fought. We were made to battle. We played some good stuff in the last 20 minutes, but it was tough, nevertheless.

"We respect Oldham; we know they can play. They're well-coached and they work hard for each other.

"We lost Andy Bostock, one of the best props in this division, with a broken hand at half-time.

"SLOPE"

"We had some challenges in the second half because we were a man light and we were playing up the slope.

"We're a good defensive side. We know that. And by scoring two tries in the first half and keeping Oldham scoreless - that's the best bit - it gave us a lot of confidence for what was to come later.

"I'd rather focus on my team than on the referee, but his handling of the ruck caused just about everyone who was there to become frustrated."