Half-time fix enabled Roughyeds to hit back

COACHING staff and players “fixed up one or two things” at half-time when Oldham trailed Barrow 12-4, said head coach Scott Naylor.

Barrow, desperate for a win to enhance hopes of qualifying for the play-offs, stunned the home side early on by going 12-0 up inside 16 minutes and by getting on top in the forwards, where Roughyeds usually reign supreme.

Said Naylor after the 28-12 win: “Barrow’s first-half performance was as good as anything we’ve seen this season from teams at Whitebank. They were winning the ruck and pushing us back and that’s something we’re not used to.

“We had a chat at half-time and we looked much stronger on the resumption. We tackled harder, ran harder, controlled the ball and started to cause them to make mistakes. We looked a lot more like our old selves in the second half.

“Josh Crowley had one of the best games he has ever had for us. Michael Ward also had a big game and Adam Clay showed how tough these boys are by playing only three weeks after cracking a couple of ribs. He must have been in some pain, but that’s the sort of player we’ve got now.”