Roughyeds low on confidence

Phil Joseph dives over for a second-half try for Oldham. Pictures: Graham Lynch.

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Hunslet 36, Oldham 18
THIS LAST-DAY loss doesn’t, in pure statistical terms, have much of an impact on Oldham’s season.

Only the vague possibility of Blackpool defeating Dewsbury could have pushed the Roughyeds down to fifth place in the final standings no matter what the result happened to be at the South Leeds Stadium.

Realistically, that likelihood of that scenario materialising was up there with Barack Obama appearing on the field at half-time to announce the winner of the golden gamble, such has been the Rams’ total domination of Co-operative Championship One this season.

Nobody can hold a candle to Warren Jowitt’s supreme side – which shows just how far pre-season title favourites Oldham have fallen since the league campaign began back in March.

If asked whether promotion was do-able back then, most Roughyeds fans would have echoed the sentiments famously expressed by America’s 44th President: Yes We Can.

Few will have such confidence now, ahead of a play-off campaign which starts with a tricky home match against Swinton next weekend.

The off-pitch traumas have had a massive, destabilising effect on the club over the course of the past couple of months, but injuries and illness didn’t help matters either yesterday.

Coach Tony Benson named the only players he had left to face the Hawks. The team, visibly at a low ebb at points during the game, responded with a show which wasn’t quite good enough, especially in terms of penalties conceded, vital tackles being missed and a lack of spark when confronted by a solid defence.

Thomas Coyle will also be regretting the two interception passes he threw out, adding to the selection proferred to Blackpool last month. The scrum-half shouldn’t be the scapegoat, though, as he far from the only one at fault on a difficult afternoon.

A positive start from the home side yielded reward after six minutes. Three penalties in succession granted the Hawks good field position and the evergreen Neil Lowe slipped through from close range, Stuart Young converting.

The penalty count continued to mount, favouring Hunslet to the extent that referee Dave Merrick had awarded them five, as opposed to Oldham’s one, in the first 11 minutes.

A strong defensive set, pinning Hunslet deep in their own territory thanks to some tough hits from Phil Joseph, Craig Robinson and Luke Menzies, exerted pressure and after drawing a penalty, Jamie I’Anson was just short shortly before the half-hour

But Coyle then threw a loose pass on halfway which was picked up by Wayne McHugh, who sped away down centre-field to go in under the posts for the first of his hat-trick, before adding the extras himself.

Oldham finally got on the scoresheet a minute before half-time. Michael Brown – who had a short loan spell at the Roughyeds last season – was sent to the sin bin for a technical infringement on Phil Joseph close to his own line.

A man down, the Hawks were unable to stop the impressive Marcus St Hilaire from sending in O’Connor down the left, the winger squeezing home in the left corner before Chris Baines knocked over a superb touchline conversion.

Lucas Onyango then brought Oldham level just after the break, after Coyle’s cut out pass had found Jamie Russo on the burst. The Kenyan did well to cut inside, twisting and turning to touch the ball over the line with Baines levelling matters.

Onyango then denied Charlie Wabo with a superb try-saving effort as the Papua New Guinea man looked certain to score, but the respite was brief as Josh Weeden ghosted through the centre of defence before rounding Paul Reilly, Young converting.

Wabo made sure on 53 minutes as the game slipped away from Oldham, charging unstoppably onto McHugh’s short pass on the angle, and when Coyle threw out a long hopeful ball which McHugh snaffled with ease, the game was up for the visitors.

Phil Joseph reduced the arrears after exploiting an overlap on the left, Baines cutting the points gap to 12, but another telling short ball from Weeden to the hungry McHugh rounded things off six minutes from time.




‘We gave it away’ - Benson



‘NOT good enough’ was the pronouncement of Roughyeds coach Tony Benson following his side’s disappointing defeat at Hunslet.



Ill discipline, missed tackles and the recent scourge of interception tries cost the visitors any chance of victory at the South Leeds Stadium, against a Hawks side who themselves look well-set to have a real shot at glory in the Co-operative Championship One play-offs starting next week.

While York’s win over Swinton had already virtually assured Benson’s side would be facing the Lions at Boundary Park on Sunday irrespective of the result, the manner of the performance doesn’t augur well.

“I am disappointed in the result,” said Benson. “It is a game we should have won, but we gave it away through poor contact in the first half.

“We were bouncing off tackles. They are strong and difficult to deal with, but we should have done better.

“We also gave away far too many penalties. We conceded 13 penalties and when you give up that much ball you struggle to win.

“It wasn’t good enough. We have a lot of hard work to do. A couple of blokes switch off at certain times which lets the others down when they are working so hard.

“We shouldn’t have been in the situation we found ourselves in.”

Benson, forced into a re-jig following the late pull-out of Craig Littler through illness – every fit and available player was on show, with Chris Hough in as 18th man – also felt the tough home side were worthy of praise.

“You can’t take too much away from Hunslet. They played pretty well and their line defence was very good.

“Ours was too for most of the game, aside from the moments when a couple of players switched off.”