Oldham do a job on Town

Chris Clarke joins Oldham team-mate Jason Boults to wrap up Workington scrum-half Carl Forber

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Oldham 28, Workington 18
NOW that's more like it. In seven days Martin Roden turned a bunch of Oldham also-rans into a team ready, able and willing to take on the division's best and smash them into submission.

Workington Town came to Whitebank having put 48 points on leaders Barrow the week before and ready to climb one more rung on the ladder to a championship triumph and a £50,000 prize.

They left for home with nothing more than a bonus point courtesy of a defiant Oldham outfit that now has a better-than-evens chance of figuring in the top-six play-off next month.

Whatever ploy the caretaker boss used to put the bulldog spirit back into a side that is only temporarily in his charge, it worked.

The Cumbrians were stunned by the quality of Oldham's attacking rugby in the first half and frustrated in the second period by the home side's mean and menacing defending against all odds.

Roughyeds led 24-0 at half-time and then mounted an epic rearguard action, playing up the hill, to defend their line for most of the second period despite being penalised a dozen times for a variety of infringements.

Key to Oldham's triumph was a willingness to match the Town forwards physically – a job in which Jason Boults and Stenchion received terrific support from younger forwards like Thompson, Acton, Chris Clarke, Liam Gilchrist and debutant Danny Langtree.

Centres Ward and Cookson did a similarly-impressive job wider out as Roughyeds produced their best display since they beat Workington away and Barrow at home (in both cup and league) in the first few weeks of the season.






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