Mudbath tear up

SQUELCH . . . Ryan Arundale shows neat footwork on the boggy pitch.

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Oldham RUFC 1st 5, Bolton 1st 3

ON a day when the two other matches involving Oldham teams were postponed because of waterlogged or mudbath pitches, this North Lancashire and Cumbria League showdown at Manor Park survived.

Oldham played in their blue away kit, but so muddy was the surface that the only way of

differentiating between both sets of players was by watching the direction they were attacking!

That said, plaudits must go to Oldham groundsman Alan Hollingsworth and assistants Keith Chadwick and Stuart Brennan for once again turning out a pitch both teams and the referee were happy to play on.

Third-placed Bolton had beaten Oldham at home earlier in the season, but the tables were turned as the hosts leapfrogged them in the table.

It was a day for attrition rather than flair and one on which Oldham rang the changes yet again.

Players battled hard in front of a large crowd, bolstered by the annual players’ reunion (see picture). Oldham started confidently, making good ground early on, but were guilty of trying to play too much rugby when they would have been better advised to go for field position.

This allowed Bolton to apply early pressure and, in their desire to win back possession, Oldham committed four penalties in as many minutes, the last for foul play, which saw Froggatt receive 10 minutes in the sin bin.

While he was absent, Oldham put in a huge defensive shift on their own try line and eventually Bolton elected to kick the seventh penalty and stand-off Mills made it 3-0.

The tables were turned soon after when the Bolton flanker received 10 minutes in the bin, and Oldham took advantage.

A scrum near the Bolton line ended with Will Mellor taking everyone by surprise with a darting move over the try line. Callum Megram, out wide, slipped as he attempted the conversion.

As half-time approached, Oldham’s Ryan Arundale received a yellow card for holding, while Bolton’s influential centre Will Bate also got 10 minutes for swearing at the referee.

It was amazing that a game played in good spirit could see the sin-binning of four players, but the same style of physical play provided the theme for the second half with big hits rather than silky skills prompting gasps from the touchline.

Oldham were comfortable after the break and hung on for victory, full-back Charlie Roscoe winning the man-of-the-match vote.