We fought hard from the first minute to the last — Benson

NOWHERE TO GO: Oldham’s Alex Thompson runs into St Helens pair Carl Forster (left) and Shaun Magennis.

PRIDE was the over-riding emotion as Oldham fell to defeat against in-form St Helens.

Fresh from walloping Widnes 62-0 at their superb Langtree Park home the previous week in Super League, Saints — technically the away side — fielded a team full of world-class talent to put the determined Roughyeds to the sword in this Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth-round tie.

“We fought hard from the first minute to the last and didn’t give up at any stage,” said Oldham coach Tony Benson.

“It sounds silly because of the score, but there were periods where we dominated for five or six sets in a row.

“I am really happy about that, as it is not an easy thing to do against a team like Saints.

“Our defence held for long periods and particularly towards the end. We got them in their own half and they found it reasonably hard to get out.”

The conceding of penalties — often down purely to the speed at which the Super League giants play the game — hurt the Whitebank outfit, particularly in the first period.

And the lively Jamie Dallimore’s sin-binning early in the second half didn’t aid the cause either, while full-back Miles Greenwood had to be carried from the field in the second period as a result of an ankle injury.

Benson added: “It was penalties that we found tough and we had plenty against us at various times.

“We tried hard to push our structures under the pressure we knew Saints would put on us and we managed to do that for periods.

“Towards the end, they may be bigger and stronger but we showed we can contain them when we really put our minds to it. So confidence-wise, that will add a lot.”



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