Wonderful end to a thriller as Oldham soar

ON THE CARRY: Oldham full-back Richard Lepori tries to break through. PICTURES by PAUL STERRITT.

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OLDHAM 21, SHEFFIELD EAGLES 20

THE shrill blast of the final hooter dropped the curtain on a thriller and sparked ecstatic Oldham celebrations on and off the Bower Fold pitch yesterday.

Two totally-committed teams slammed into each other for 80 spellbinding minutes and when this white-hot game was over Scott Naylor's men were victorious by the narrowest of margins - Lewis Palfrey's drop goal three minutes from the end proving decisive in a 21-20 win.

Equally telling in the dying seconds was Jamel Chisholm's clean catch of a teasing cross-kick to the corner. He kept his nerve, rose to collect under pressure and got a penalty because he was tackled with his feet off the ground.

A kick to touch and two or three tackles later it was all over: a triumph for lads today back at their day jobs against opponents who play full time.

It was a match with everything: seven tries, good rugby, rugged defence bordering on the brutal, end-to-end excitement and nerve-jangling drama, all coming to a head with Palfrey's winner and Chisholm's last-gasp rescue act.

With the same 17 players in the same positions as last time, revved-up Roughyeds continued where they left off against Batley Bulldogs and made Sheffield sweat blood for every metre gained or point scored.

With Phil Joy and second-rowers Gary Middlehurst and Liam Thompson in stunning form, Oldham's starting pack did a great job in laying down the foundations for what was to follow.

In the kicking department, Eagles halves Cory Aston and Rhys Jacks had the edge on Palfrey and Steve Roper in the first half, but the home pair shaded it after half-time to play a key role in the Roughyeds' win.

Off the bench, only Mark Mexico gave Roughyeds much to think about, but in sharp contrast Joe Burke, Michael Ward, Kenny Hughes and Jack Spencer were all immense when Naylor chose to unleash them into the firing line.

Among the backs Chisholm, Adam Clay and Richard Lepori also had big games out of defence. Chisholm had his best game yet and as he gains confidence he is starting to show signs of the huge potential Naylor saw at London Skolars last year.

Despite his game-changing break in the second half, paving the way for Ward's try, Lepori will want to forget his three errors in misfielding high balls – a pity this because other aspects of his performance were spot-on and contributed significantly to Oldham's performance.

A defence-dominated first half produced few scoring chances for either side, but Oldham were twice caught out by clever grubber kicks into the in-goal, Jacks providing Matt Fozard with the first of his two tries early on and Aston doing likewise for Menzie Yere to add a second after half an hour. Aston improved both for a 12-0 lead.

Oldham were in no mood to capitulate, as demonstrated when first Clay and then Chisholm cleaned up sweetly at the back and turned defence into attack with exciting breaks up the middle.

With half time drawing close dual-reg teenager Liam Johnson snapped up another Aston kick destined for Oldham's goal area. With the entire Eagles side moving forward, he sped away in the opposite direction and covered nearly the full length of the pitch to record a crucial try which Palfrey converted.

Roughyeds resumed after the break in dominant mood. In their best spell so far, the forwards were making inroads, Hughes was running the Eagles defence ragged and Lepori was coming in from the back to cause the visitors massive problems.

Within a few minutes of Ward's try, Hughes scored a second from dummy half after commanding approach work by Burke, Spencer and the outstanding Thompson.

Palfrey's conversions gave Roughyeds 18-12, but Fozard kept Eagles in the game with his second try, Aston failing to convert this time.

The scene was set for a frantic finish and that's what we got, first with a Palfrey penalty, then a Matt James try that Aston again failed to improve - and finally the Palfrey drop goal that was to prove decisive.