Dangerous Hawks were always on our minds

THERE was never any danger of us entering the Hunslet game underestimating either the opposition or the occasion.

Looking at the Co-operative Championship One league table beforehand, with the Hawks sitting just behind us it was clear that this was a real six-pointer.

We knew it — and so, judging from the way that they played, did Hunslet.

From the start we were on top but in fairness, they scrambled well and there were probably three tries we could have had through our good play and breaks which didn’t quite have an end product.

We also didn’t help ourselves at times during that first half, losing too much ball. We needed to create pressure through field position and that was something we spoke about at half-time.

A few key decisions didn’t go our way on the day. Their try from Nicko Slain three minutes from half-time really frustrated the boys, as it was clearly a double movement and shouldn’t have been awarded.

At the same time, I was annoyed at our short side defence earlier when their left winger Michael Mark scored, as that should never have been allowed to happen. To tackle as well as we had and then to let in a try like that wasn’t good at all.

But it was great to see that we were committed to getting it right after the break.

In the second half we knew we had to retain the ball and in doing so, get better position. We were also well aware that it would be continue to be a tight game, especially with the rain coming down, and concentrated on playing in their half and defending the territory we had made.

We were under the cosh a couple of times from decisions that went against us but we just got on with the job this time rather than answering back, which was good to see.

With the quality of the tries we scored against Hunslet, it is clear that we are capable of very good attacking play. Efforts like the one that Danny Halliwell scored in the first half, at the end of an excellent move, don’t simply come about by accident but rather as a result of hours and hours of practise in training.

I feel that while there is a way to go, we are making progress. Certainly, we are creating good opportunities now whereas in the past, opportunistic plays were creating our tries and defensively we are much better as we showed by ‘nilling’ them in the second half.

Again on Sunday, I felt that our support was just fantastic. It wasn’t just the fact that the crowd was above 1,100, though that was positive, but the fact that the fans were so vocal.

We get great backing and the players really do appreciate it. I have been at a few clubs now — but I can say that here at Oldham it is truly unique.

tonybenson@oldham-chronicle.co.uk