Roberts set to rally his thwarted troops

CHARGING THROUGH: Robert Roberts (centre) powers on through the tackles for Oldham.

ROUGHYEDS captain Robert Roberts is backing his boys to bounce back from the disappointment of a Challenge Cup exit.

The victors’ prize — a quarter-final home tie against holders St Helens — wasn’t in place at the time when the final whistle blew on the Roughyeds’ ambitions at the Darlington Arena.

But when it became apparent following the last-eight draw the following day, the fact that Gateshead and not Oldham had landed the money-spinning tie won’t have improved moods much in the Roughyeds camp.

As far as Roberts is concerned, though, it is important both to put the defeat into perspective and to move on quickly, for fear that it overshadow the Co-operative Championship One clash at home to Hunslet on Sunday.

“After 20 minutes of the game we could, on another day, have been 16 or 18 points ahead, had Andy Ballard caught that ball or Lucas Onyango done likewise,” said Roberts, who is still feeling his way back to full fitness following a period of over a month out of action with a rib injury.

“It is all ifs and buts though and that game has gone now. Financially, going through would have given the club a big boost, but the focus is now completely on the Hunslet game.

“They have strengthened massively this year though saying that, we shouldn’t approach the game scared to play them.

“We will look at the video of the Gateshead game this week, put it to bed and then focus all our attentions on Hunslet.”

Roberts is also keen to point out that positives, as well as the much-discussed negatives, can be drawn from the experience of playing against a side who, after winning National League Two last season, have shown themselves capable of scoring heavily on their Championship contemporaries in 2009.

“Defensively we were probably as good as we have been in the last three or four games,” Roberts added.

“You have to remember that they are from the league above, yet we could have been quite a few points up at half-time.

“The fact they had a new coach in Steve McCormack to impress also had a part to play, as that always gives sides a lift.

“We only have ourselves to blame, trying to play catch-up in the game.

“But having said that, I was pleased with the way the boys dug in.

“While we could have fallen by anything up to 50 points, instead the boys dug in, fought back and showed a fair bit of character there towards the end.”