Benson staying cool after Widnes upset

I WANT TO BREAK FREE: Roughyeds centre Marcus St Hilaire (with ball) attempts to evade a Widnes tackle during his side’s superb 22-20 victory.

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WIDNES 20, OLDHAM 22

TONY BENSON sounded a note of caution after seeing his side earn a superb victory against the Northern Rail Cup favourites.

Andy Ballard's heroics – the ex-Salford winger kicked seven goals from as many attempts and also claimed a try late in the first half – helped the Roughyeds edge a thrilling game at the Stobart Stadium.

With Rochdale Hornets arriving at Boundary Park on Wednesday night, though, the Oldham coach was keen to keep his squad's feet firmly on the ground.

"We can't get carried away," Benson said. "This win will mean nothing unless we back it up with another one on Wednesday.

"I'm proud of all the boys, but we can't think too far ahead. Rochdale will be tough, very tough, opponents and the derby clash could possibly be a harder game than than this one.”

Oldham were forced to stretch every sinew to secure this terrific result.

In the end, only a last-ditch tackle by Paul O'Connor on former Roughyeds man Gavin Dodd prevented the home side from completing a gutsy comeback.

Down to 12 men following the first-half sending-off of full-back Loz Wildbore for throwing punches at Danny Halliwell, the Vikings were reeling as the visitors racked up an 18-4 lead shortly after half-time. It would have been an even greater advantage had Lee Greenwood's 'try' not been ruled out, on the advice of a touch judge, for a forward pass on 57 minutes.

Strangely, that decision seemed to rouse Widnes. Tries for Paddy Flynn and John Duffy within three minutes of each other brought the score back to 18-14 and when Anthony Thackeray made the most of an overlap to score out wide on the left, Dodd adding the conversion, there appeared to only be one winner. Also in Widnes' favour by that point was the fact that player numbers were equal, due to Jason Boults being sin-binned for a tired, high tackle.

Oldham showed great resilience, though. Ballard stroked home his sixth penalty of the afternoon after Dodd had moved off the mark following a completed tackle and though Greenwood could have made sure of the game but for a fumble of James Coyle's kick downfield with four minutes left, another penalty for holding down – referee James Child wasn't the most popular figure in the Stobart Stadium, notwithstanding the fact that the majority of his decisions were on the money – gave Ballard the chance to successfully kick the match-winner.

Still there was time for drama, in a game which had more twists and turns than a theme park rollercoaster. As Dodd burst free down the left with only seconds left, in diving across the line he appeared to lose grasp of the ball as O'Connor made a last-ditch attempt to stop him from touching down. The verdict of 'no try' was a massive relief to Oldham.

While displaying plenty of guts to see the game out, Benson's men also displayed no little skill throughout the 80 minutes.

The start was particularly strong. James Coyle, criticised on occasion last season for his kicking, caused all sorts of problems for the home team due to his precision with the boot.

Wildbore had already floundered under one up-and-under by the time he completely missed a second, giving Jason Boults a clear run in to the line after only four minutes.

Though Dodd reduced the arrears with a try on the left on 26 minutes, the Roughyeds were more than holding their own even before Wildbore lashed out to see red.

Ballard's try right on half-time, off James Coyle's well-judged kick to the corner, only underlined that fact.

The way Oldham dug their collective heel in at the back end of the game, despite facing massive pressure, showed that the pre-season fitness drive had paid dividends.

"The boys worked really hard in pre-season," added Benson, who had no complaints with the officiating of the game.

"We did a lot of work in judo and wrestling and that came in handy. “