Big win for us - coach Naylor

Scott Naylor

SCOTT Naylor asked his beleaguered players for a response after two awful defeats over Easter - and what a fantastic response he got.

“In the context of how we played against Halifax and Swinton, this was something big,” said the Oldham coach of the 28-12 win against a Batley Bulldogs side that came to Bower Fold with only one defeat in eight Championship games this season.

A rousing show by Naylor’s men was similar to the performance that saw off Dewsbury Rams — Batley’s near neighbours and derby rivals — a few weeks ago.

Naylor went on: “We were good in everything we did. The players deserve all the credit. All 17 of them got stuck in and proved to Batley that when we do things right we are extremely difficult to play against.

“Our goal-line defence was very good and that comes from a collective desire to stop opponents’ scoring, no matter what the state of the game. Those were the sort of things we spoke about during the week.

“The dressing room is such a better place to be after a performance like this. It's only two points on the ladder I know, but it represents a big win for our club.

“A crucial part of the game was the first 20 minutes after half-time when our set completion rate ran at 100 per cent.”

A stunned Bulldogs boss John Kear said: “We’ve been reading too much about ourselves in the press.

“We are very disappointed with how we played, but Oldham played very well, particularly in defending their line.”