Roughyeds are made to suffer

Photo: Dave Murgatroyd

ADAM Clay celebrates scoring a late try ­- but it wasn't enough to squeeze Oldham home to victory on a day to forget in Blackpool

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YEARS from now when they're telling grandchildren how they played rugby league for Oldham, Scott Naylor's boys will still be unable to explain how they surrendered a 20-0 half-time lead at Summer Bash 2016.

Swinton prop Andy Bracek was held up over the line and super sub Matty Beharrell forced back-to-back sets just before half-time, but that was all the Lions had to show in a first 40 that saw Oldham in complete and total command.

They scored tries by Kenny Hughes, Danny Langtree and Adam Files; went close on numerous other occasions; and crossed the Lions line again when Lewis Palfrey went under the sticks only to be prevented from touching down cleanly by a terrific, last-ditch tackle from Liam Marshall.

Referee Warren Turley ruled 'no try' but went 'upstairs' for confirmation and had his on-the-spot verdict rubber-stamped by the video official.

It happened again on the stroke of half-time when Files crashed over from dummy half close to the line, but on that occasion technology worked in Oldham's favour.

Palfrey had his kicking boots on, landing all three conversions and a long-range penalty, and Oldham went in for the half-time break looking confident, comfortable and in no way troubled by anything the Lions had to offer.

They would get an ear-bashing from coach John Duffy ­- taken as read ­- and they would come out for the second half determined to do better.

The sum total of Swinton's positive response and Oldham's inability to pick up where they left off ­- complacency maybe ? ­- turned the game on its head.

PATTERN

Palfrey failed to find touch with a penalty ­- and that was to set the pattern for a second half in which Roughyeds surrendered their initiative and their momentum and the Lions began to roar for the first time.

They were desperate to score first to stay in the game and with Hull KR reject Beharrell running the show it quickly became apparent that this was a different Swinton side to the one that had barely raised a gallop in the first stanza.

A replacement for hooker Anthony Nicholson after 26 minutes, the slight yet brilliant Beharrell was, metaphorically speaking, head and shoulders above everybody else on the field once the big fellows in front of him finally decided that Oldham's forwards were not going to have everything their own way.

He found an ally in half-back Chris Atkin and between them Atkin and Beharrell paved the way for the Lions to trim Oldham's lead to eight points while a lot of fans were still returning to their seats from an interval walk-about.

First Macauley Hallett scored ­- a direct result of Palfrey's failed penalty to touch ­- and then Roughyeds conceded one, which led to Atkin scoring a second try.

For the next 20 minutes Oldham pulled themselves together but, unlike the first half, they weren't able to turn pressure into points.

Strong-running Michael Ward thought he had scored, but the official rejected his claims; Liam Thompson knocked-on Ward's pass with an open line ahead; Sammy Gee was penalised on tackle one for not getting to his feet after the tackle and playing the ball.

Time was ticking away and Oldham still led 20-12 with quarter of an hour to go. Then they suffered a double whammy when, in the space of five minutes, Beharrell engineered a try for Rob Lever and then scored himself when chasing his own kick which caused confusion and panic in Oldham ranks.

Lions had hit the front for the first time in the 70th minute, setting the scene for a nail-biting finale in which all the 50-50 decisions went Swinton's way.

A Palfrey touch-finder was given initially as a 40-20, but Lions pleaded with referee Turley to go to the screen. He did and then reversed his decision to give Lions head and feed.

Despite this setback, Ward kept Oldham in the ascendancy with a sledge-hammer fend which opened the way for Adam Clay to score in the corner and level at 24-24.

SWERVE

With time running out Palfrey's conversion off the touchline appeared to swerve just inside the far post, but without hesitation both touch judges flagged 'no goal' to the dismay and consternation of everybody in the Oldham camp.

To rub salt into an already gaping wound, Lions forced an Oldham error on the next play and man-of-the-match Beharrell dropped the goal that crowned an amazing Lions fightback and left Roughyeds pointless and wondering what had gone so horribly wrong.