Benson: We didn’t deserve to win

TONY Benson wasn’t tempted to use Neil Roden’s early injury, Alex Thompson’s puzzling yellow card or the niggling nature of the game as reasons for Oldham’s poor offering in the Good Friday derby.

“They no doubt had a bearing on the result,” said the disappointed Roughyeds' boss. “But we didn’t play well enough and we didn’t deserve to win.

“Our attack didn’t function and there were long periods when we looked lost. We had chances, but we failed to take them.”

Benson admitted to being confused by the crucial incident in the second half when a high tackle on Thompson sparked a brawl in which players of both sides traded punches, but only Thompson was sin-binned.

He said: “That was harsh. He genuinely didn’t know why. He took the head-high shot and we got the penalty, but he’s the only one who ends up in the bin.

Oldham hooker John Clough was put on report following an incident after the final hooter.

Hornets coach John Stankevitch: “I’ll look at it on video but as I saw it, what happened was totally unacceptable.”

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