Angry Benson hits out

Photo: Pictures by ANTHONY MILLER

CHRIS MURPHY tries to fid a way through the defence

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OLDHAM 0, FEATHERSTONE 68

Second-half dip simply not good enough – coach

OLDHAM RL coach Tony Benson questioned the desire of his players after a crushing home defeat at the hands of Featherstone Rovers in the group stages of the Northern Rail Cup.

A decent first-half effort saw the hosts trailing by 14 points, but the wheels came off after the interval.

Benson said: "I am hurting. There were positives in the first half as we did well to restrict them to a relatively close scoreline. It was encouraging.

"But, after initially starting alright in the second, it all collapsed, which is so disappointing.

"There were a couple of back-to-back tries and Featherstone ran away with it in the end. We could not cope with what they threw at us.

"We faded badly in the contact and failed to dominate tackles, and our opponents showed their class towards the end.

"Above all, it was an attitude thing that led to us caving in, and that hurts more than anything else.

"We had a heart-to-heart in the dressing room after the game and the coaching staff have let the players know in no uncertain terms what we thought about the game.

"Luckily, it is early in the competition and we have time to improve.

“But we are going to face adversity a lot during the year and we must deal with it."

Benson refused to use his team's lack of match time as an excuse — three postponements in as many weeks, as well as a reserves call-off has left a number of senior players severely lacking sharpness.

He added: "I don't really want to use that as an excuse. Obviously more matches are always beneficial to have under your belt when you are up against a good side like Featherstone, but I don't think it was a major factor.

"The commitment was not as strong in the second half, rather than fitness levels dictating the course of the game."

Benson may now feel the need to shuffle the pack for the second group game — a trip to South Wales Scorpions on Sunday.

Fev got off to a flying start when Tangi Rofati crashed over in the corner down the right following good support work from Andy Kain and Ben Kaye.

Liam Finn missed the conversion by some distance. The hosts momentarily believed they were back on level terms a couple of minutes later, but Miles Greenwood's effort was ruled out for offside.

Rovers had to be on their toes as their opponents responded positively, Jamie Dallimore going close to forcing his way over the line only to be stopped in his tracks at the death.

Fev increased their advantage with 17 minutes on the clock.

Rampaging Finn sold Bentley a classic dummy and burst through down the right channel before adding the extras himself.

And 10 minutes later, Johnny Grayson touched down to make it 14-0.

This time Fev found joy on the left moments after Neil Roden, making his first appearance of the campaign, had dropped the ball.

Finn did not manage to convert but his side ended the half in commanding style, with the home outfit struggling to find a way through a solid defence.