Roughyeds blitz title rivals

Photo: Pictures by CHRIS SUNDERLAND.

THERE was celebration from Jon Ford after completing his superb hat-trick for Roughyeds.

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OLDHAM 28, CRUSADERS 10

TOO often over the years Oldham have promised to deliver, pulled in extra supporters for a big game . . . and then fallen flat on their faces.

Not this time. Blowing it on the big occasion is not on the Whitebank agenda these days.

The 28-10, five-tries-to-two triumph in this top-of-the-table Championship One clash was as emphatic as the score suggests.

From the moment they went 12-4 up with the first of Jon Ford's hat-trick of tries with 16 minutes on the clock, you could sense the Roughyeds had something special lined up with which to delight the second-biggest Whitebank crowd since the club moved there in 2010.

On the back of another inspirational performance by the forwards, Lewis Palfrey played a captain's knock by kicking Crusaders to death and leading his side around the field with the assurance and s

elf-belief of a veteran.

In comparison, Jamie Dallimore had a quiet game, but he didn't have the advantage of playing behind a fiery pack of young workaholics who, in every game, relentlessly hit the ball at speed, take the tackle and then return for more on the next play.

All the Oldham forwards put in a huge shift, but the lead was set by Liam Gilchrist, Phil Joy, Mark Hobson and Michael Ward, and the rest followed suit.

Playing down the slope, Roughyeds led 18-4 at half-time, having played their opponents off the park with a brand of hard, controlled rugby.

They monopolised possession and enjoyed territorial advantage with most of the action played out at the bottom end of the ground.

Crusaders were shaken by the ferocity of Oldham's defensive work and, unusually for them, dropped lots of ball which helped to keep the home side in control.

Palfrey's kicking game was near perfect. With only two minutes gone, his clever little chip was taken on the full by Hobson, whose quick, inside ball sent in Kenny Hughes for the opening try.

A rare Crusaders counter produced a right-wing try for Dan Birkett, but the remainder of the half belonged to Palfrey and Ford.

The captain's second crossfield kick, this time to the right, enabled Ford to follow the ball and leap high into the air before touching down.

He was to perform an encore after Ward's clever offload opened up space for Palfrey to put boot to ball once again.

The kick was again inch-perfect, and so was the timing of Ford's jump as he launched his tall frame

skywards to pluck the ball out of the air and drop over the line.

Palfrey failed to convert, but made amends near half-time by landing a long-range penalty to keep the score ticking along nicely.

A torrential downpour over half-time made handling tricky for both sides and Oldham failed to capitalise on an early Crusaders mistake.

Winger Mo Agoro went over in the corner, but a Hobson pass was ruled forward.

There was no stopping Crusaders at the other end, however, Jono Smith crashing over from close range for a try, improved by Tommy Johnson, which cut the home lead to 18-10.

After that, Roughyeds went through a period when they constantly struggled to control the wet ball.

But the more mistakes they made, the tougher and more united they became in defending their line.

Birkett was brought back for a forward pass before Oldham's young debutant full-back, Tom Whitehead, saved the day with a stunning one-on-one tackle on Stuart Reardon in full flight and with plenty of room to spare.

It was a defining moment, given that Reardon looked a certain scorer and a try under the posts at that stage would have reduced Oldham's lead to two points.

The former GB international went down injured soon afterwards and will miss the rest of the season with a snapped Achilles - a huge blow to the Welsh side's title aspirations.

Oldham survived another scare when Birkett put a foot in touch as he headed for the corner flag.

But, as has happened so often in the Roughyeds' run of 10 wins from the last 12 games, the home side soaked up everything that was thrown at them – and then finished the game well on top with late tries.

A gleeful Ford completed his hat-trick in the 74th minute after good approach work by Sam Gee and the impressive Whitehead.

Palfrey was off target with his touchline conversion, which meant Roughyeds needed to score again to deny Crusaders a vital bonus point.

With time running out, Palfrey's long-range penalty attempt dipped just under the bar.

But, on the next play, Oldham moved the ball wide to the right where Palfrey, Whitehead, Danny Langtree and Ford handled with precision before Agoro went over in the corner.

This time Palfrey's kick was a beauty, and Roughyeds were home and dry with plenty to spare.