NORTHERN RAIL CUP - EAGLES QUALIFY DESPITE A BATTLING PERFORMANCE FROM OLDHAM

OLDHAM 22 SHEFFIELD 24

Oldham took on Sheffield at Park Lane this evening and twice shocked the Eagles by etablishing ten point leads. Sheffield however, fought back and claimed victory with a John Coleman penalty five minutes from time.

It was the hosts at their temporary home who made a great start with two tries in the first 12 minutes.

Fullback Paul O'Connor grabbed the first after six minutes after good work from Mark Brocklehurst. Matt Ashe goaled and Oldham were 6-0 to the good.

With Mick Fogerty initially running rampant Oldham were well worth their advantage. It was the centre who created the second try as he fed the ball out for Brocklehurst and the former Rochdale winger touched down.

As the half moved on, the bigger Sheffield pack began to exert more influence. Papua New Guinea international Trevor Exton and substitutes Sam Barlow and Alex Rowe started making inroads and after good work from the latter, Barlow went over the top of O'Connor to score.

Irish man John Coleman goaled before adding a smart try himself after 32 minutes as he surged through a hole left by injury to Fogerty. His conversion handed Sheffield the lead for the first time and despite a couple of penalties and opportunities for Oldham, that was how it remained at the break.

Oldham drew first blood in the second half. A loose ball was picked up by Oldham who advanced downfield quickly with only a good tackle from Ashley Thackeray on Brocklehurst. A quick play the ball and good support saw Neil Roden go over. Ashe converted and on their next possession the Roughyeds scored from distance when Marcus St Hilaire drew Thackeray and worked with Lucas Onyango for the pacy winger to finish. Ashe again goaled and all of a sudden it was 22-12.

With Oldham in control Dave Ellison was held up over the line before Sheffield forced back to back sets. The hosts kept their nerve before Sheffield made good inroads and pulled a try back through Peter Green on the hour. Another Eagles try quickly followed, a second from Barlow and Coleman levelled the score - 22-22 with 17 minutes remaining.

As the clock counted down Oldham conceded a penalty for a high tackle and Coleman struck his 4th goal to edge the Eagles in front. On their next possession Sheffield won a further penalty but good defence forced an error from the otherwise tidy Craig Cook.
Oldham then chanced their arm with some expansive play but Sheffield ran the clock down to pick up their third win in four qualifying games.

Grounds for Concern:RL Comment

Oldham Rugby League club finally have a venue to play their Northern Rail Cup game with Rochdale Hornets.

After a week of frantic phone calls and much communication between the club and the RFL, Oldham had been set to play their game against local rivals Hornets at the Castleton Sports Complex, home of Mayfield ARLFC. This venue played host to the recent low key Law Cupgame between the teams, however concerns over the safety of the venue for first team action forced the Roughyeds hand and they will now play this game at Park Lane, home of Sedgley Park Tigers RUFC.

I feel sorry for the Roughyeds, their fans are long suffering and deserve better. It is a great pity that the club have been turfed out of Boundary Park, although if truth be told I don't think they were ever made to feel welcome at the venue. This I do find strange as Oldham Athletic are hardly setting the football world alight and in these times of recession you would have thought they would have welcomed additional income, particularly following the demolition of one of the stands at the stadium.

Oldham showed enough last week to suggest a spirited campaign lies ahead. A young squad will undoubtedly improve and in Tony Benson they certainly have a mn that will work hard to get that improvement. All they need now is a regular home.

Rumours around the rugby league world suggest the new ground for the Roughyeds will be that of Vodkat League side Oldham Boro, the Whitebank Stadium off White Bank Road.

I for one wish them luck and success.