Disappointed but realistic on Challenge Cup defeat

WE ARE very disappointed not to have progressed to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals and we know now that it could have been us, rather than Gateshead, who went on to land a last-eight tie against St Helens.

That would have been very rewarding not just from a team point of view, but also for the club as a whole in terms of the financial benefits it would have brought.

For big parts of the Gateshead game I thought we went very well. You have to be realistic about things and they are a team from the division above who are very good on attack.

The only way you can beat them is to prevent them from having too much possession — because they will get you eventually — and to score against them when you have the ball.

Looking at the first half, defensively we were fantastic as they threw everything at us, and vice versa.

It was a tough period, but we then fell over going out after half-time. The plan was to apply pressure by playing the game in their half, but unfortunately precisely the opposite happened.

At one stage out of 16 sets, we had the ball five times and that sequence included a period of six in succession where they scored three tries and sealed the game.

Even including that period, our defence was good and it was just individuals missing a tackle here and there which led to the Gateshead tries.

It was tough and on other days it may have happened differently, particularly looking at our scoring chances in the first half.

You can’t just brush it aside, though. We needed to catch those passes and get ourselves into the right position to score the tries and we didn't quite manage it.

I feel that overall, we have definitely progressed since the Dewsbury game. Defensively we have been very strong since then and our attitude has improved as well.

One of the main comments in the changing room after Gateshead was that we really feel like a team now. We defended six sets in a row on our line and that shows that we have within us a lot of quality and unity.

It was first apparent when we travelled down to London that we are really feeling like a close-knit team now and that has to be a good sign for the future.

Picking the side for games right now can be quite a difficult task. Quite often you find yourself telling someone they are not playing without them really having done anything wrong, other than being unsuitable for that particular match.

People often say to me that we have a massive squad but really it is about 22 or 23-strong at the moment which is less than other teams around us. The difference is, we have quality throughout.

This weekend’s opponents Hunslet are going very well and have been adding to their squad every couple of weeks.

They are very strong and see themselves as serious candidates for promotion, while their track record this year indicates they are probably ready to have a good shot at it.

tony-benson@oldham-chronicle.co.uk