Below par Oldham triumph again
Date published: 22 August 2011
ON THE BREAK: Hat-trick hero Danny Bravo breaks for his first try, and Oldham’s third, in the win over South Wales
Oldham 48, South Wales 34
Sixth win in eight sets up play-off charge
OLDHAM were below their ruthless best, while still doing enough to feed the growing play-off expectations of their fans.
It's six wins from eight now in a tight division — and that's a run that will send out a clear warning to play-off rivals, most of whom have been anything but consistently successful in recent weeks.
This latest win didn't match the defensive intensity of those against Whitehaven, Keighley and Rochdale, but its eight tries, sparkling attacking rugby and top-notch performances from younger members of the side gave supporters much to savour.
Danny Bravo and Ben Heaton led the way, Bravo with a hat-trick of tries, Heaton with a brace and both with a maturity of performance which further enhanced the growing reputations of these two 21-year-olds.
Two more young guns, Callum Casey and Danny Whitmore, also caught the eye as Roughyeds rattled up a 42-12 lead only to surrender the initiative and end up clinging to a 42-34 advantage in the last few minutes.
What caused an inexplicable collapse is difficult to fathom, but it began when Scorpions stand-off Andy Gay ghosted past three or four defenders without a finger laid upon him to give the visitors renewed hope.
Minutes later full-back Heaton went down under a tackle in agony from an ankle injury, this resulting in positional switches involving Shaun Robinson, Mark McCully, Bravo and Michael Ward.
Winger Robinson went to full-back, McCully moved out to the wing, Bravo filled in at left-centre and Ward came off the bench for his second spell in the second-row spot vacated by Bravo.
While Oldham were still adjusting to life without Heaton, Gay again found a gap down the middle to lay on another Scorpions try for Casey Bromilow, after which Marcus St Hilaire was sin-binned for holding down pacy winger Dalton Grant a fraction too long on a lightning counter-attack.
The Welshmen had loads of pace out wide and at half-back and they used it well in a period when they had all the ball and Roughyeds were a man short and still coming to terms with their enforced changes.
Two more Scorpions tries followed, by hooker Steve Parry and winger Curtis Cunningham. Had Jamie Murphy not been in such a hurry to convert the Cunningham score that he suffered his first failure, the visitors would have been within six points of Oldham's total.
They couldn't get closer and on the last play of the game the ever-alert Whitmore scooted clear from dummy half to score under the posts and seal the win.
Earlier, Roughyeds had produced some dazzling rugby to lead 18-12 at half-time and then go to town by scoring 24 unanswered points in eight magical minutes, tries coming from Bravo (his second), Heaton (his second), Neil Roden and then Bravo's third.
Roden, who formed an accomplished half-back pairing with Forber, was pivotal to most of his side's best attacking moves. His was the final pass in all three of Bravo's tries and he also scored himself when supporting a classy break up the middle by Heaton.
John Clough and Valu Bentley had the beatings of the Welsh defence during this spell in which Heaton and Bravo wrought havoc every time they had the ball.
Early in the second half referee Craig Halloran was forced to limp off with an ankle injury, reserve referee Adam Gill taking over.
Gill had no hesitation in showing St Hilaire the yellow card for preventing Grant's quick play-the-ball. There were no complaints from Oldham but the home side was puzzled when, on a Roughyeds' head and feed, the scrum wheeled and Parry was allowed to pick up at the back of the pack and race away to score.
Forber kicked beautifully to land eight conversions from as many attempts and it was just as well, given how close Scorpions got when fighting back so strongly in the last quarter of the game.
