Ashton: We lost to a class act

COACH Paul Ashton took the philosophical view of his Oldham side's heavy defeat in the Reserve Championship (under-23s) play-off final at Featherstone.

A year ago, with Ashton as John Hough's assistant, the Roughyeds' second team finished second in the league behind Widnes Vikings and then beat them in the final to win a trophy for the first time.

This year, with Ashton in charge, they finished third behind Featherstone and Halifax, but won at Halifax in the play-off semi-final only to suffer a 72-6 hammering at Featherstone in a one-sided final.

Oldham were the only side all season to take anything off an outstanding and unbeaten Rovers side, who were held to a 30-30 draw at Whitebank a few weeks ago.

Said Ashton: "We were outclassed in the final by a team that has been trouncing everybody all season. We gave away too many penalties and when you do that a class act like Featherstone will punish you.

"As the only Championship One team in the competition, though, it was a major achievement just to reach the final two years on the run.”

Ashton pointed out that six of the young players in the Roughyeds' senior side that beat a hugely-experienced Workington last weekend — David Cookson, Michael Ward, Jamie Dallimore, Alex Thompson, Chris Clarke and Danny Langtree — were all products of the club's decision to launch a reserve team four years ago.








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