Oldham defeated by Liverpool Collegiate

Andy Joy touches down under the posts

Ill discipline didn't help Oldham RUFC as they slid to a 37-21 defeat at the hands of Liverpool Collegiate.

There was little by way of foul play during the game, but Oldham managed to rack up six yellow cards to none, which meant they played an hour with only 14 men and at one point had only 12 players on the pitch.

After the visitors bagged an early converted try, a fleet-footed Alex Jobson stepped through the defence and off loaded to Andy Joy who touched down under the posts - Jobson’s conversion levelled the scores.

But as the game progressed the mood seemed to change, and Oldham were conceding penalty after penalty and Collegiate started to take full advantage.

They looked likely to retake the lead from a scrum 5m out, but Jobson intercepted and ran the length of the pitch to score beneath the posts, and his conversion gave Oldham a 14-7 lead.

However, a devastating penalty count meant that the rest of the half belonged almost entirely to the visitors, and they added two tries, one of which they converted to lead 19-14.

The game was very much in the balance as the second half commenced, and Oldham had reason for optimism when they were awarded a 5m scrum and Stuart Brennan was able to touch down.

Jobson’s conversion saw the hosts regain the lead at 21-19.

Oldham rarely had the ball for the rest of the game, though, as penalty after penalty gave Collegiate good field position and yellow card after yellow card left the frustrated Oldham defence working overtime.

Collegiate converted a penalty to lead 22-21 and a converted try increased the lead to 27-21, and a further converted try and a penalty resulted in a final score of 37-21.

Meanwhile, it’s been a very sad week for everyone at Manor Park as the club lost Barry 'Taff’ Jones, who was 79.

Tough as flint on the outside, but with a heart of gold, 'Taff' would have given you anything if he could.

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