No fairytale ending for Roughyeds
Date published: 12 September 2011
Winger Shaun Robinson does his best to take the team forward during the play-off defeat at Spotland.
Rochdale 39, Oldham 18
NO play-off final for Oldham this year, then.
Hopes of a fifth big day in a row were well and truly dashed by a 39-18 defeat at Rochdale Hornets, where Roughyeds were inferior in every department and were outplayed from kick-off to final hooter.
Three times previously this year they had beaten their derby rivals, scoring 110 points in the process, but on this play-off occasion when it mattered most Tony Benson's men came a very poor second.
They got off to a dreadful start with three early howlers which, ominously, Hornets were able to turn into tries by Paul Crook, Richard Mervill and Dean Gorton in the opening quarter of an hour.
It was to set a pattern in which Oldham were always chasing the game against opponents who, unlike previous meetings, managed to find the form which had enabled them to finish three places and four points better off than Roughyeds in the final Championship One table.
Hornets responded positively to coach John Stankevitch's demand for a more aggressive and physical approach in defence with which to complement the side's speed and flair with ball in hand.
They were to target Neil Roden who, unlike him, failed to catch the ball from kick-off — a costly unforced error which was quickly followed by similar mistakes by Mark Brocklehurst and Jason Boults, both on tackle one, deep inside Oldham's half.
Crook and Mervill made scoring look easy, then Gorton capitalised on Mervill's high kick to take the rebound off John Gillam and score in the corner.
Oldham managed to hang in with tries by Shaun Robinson and Neil Roden, but they then missed a great chance when Danny Whitmore broke up the middle, but failed to find support on either side.
Whitmore and Callum Casey livened up Roughyeds around the rucks, but Hornets worked hard on slowing them down and went further ahead with Crooks's second try and Ashall's drop goal to establish a 23-10 interval lead.
Roughyeds could ill afford to err as often in the second half, not with only two recognised props in Boults and Liam Gilchrist.
Valu Bentley, who started in the front-row, was replaced by Gilchrist after 20 minutes, while five minutes later Boults made way for
19-year-old Matthew Fogarty, a three-quarter, to sample life in the engine room for the first time.
They were up against no fewer than five front-row men in the Hornets squad, each of whom was rotated regularly.
If that handicap wasn't enough for Oldham, the unlucky Fogarty survived only 15 minutes to half-time and four minutes after it before he left the field with a recurrence of an elbow injury.
Not surprisingly, Oldham found it tough going to compete on terms with the Hornets pack — giving home half-backs Steven Roper and Paul Crook a golden opportunity to run the show in midfield, which they did with aplomb.
Stand-off Crook was an outstanding man of the match. He kicked Oldham to death, finishing with two tries, six goals and a drop goal for 21 points, not to mention a 40-20 midway through the second half which knocked the stuffing out of the increasingly frustrated visitors.
Trailing 23-10 at half-time, Oldham dominated possession and field position in the third quarter, but were unable to crack a tough and resolute Hornets defence.
It was on the back of such an impressive defensive stint that Hornets then took the game out of Oldham's reach by use of the boot at every single opportunity.
Crook and Roper each dropped a goal to follow Ashall's lead just before half-time; Crook landed a couple of penalties from half-way after Forber's restart kicks had failed to go the 10; and wingers Andy Saywell and Dale Bloomfield each crossed in the corner as a weary Oldham defence was outflanked.
Oldham replied with late tries by Brocklehurst and Mark McCully, but by that time Hornets were too far ahead to be concerned.
