Stags do a job on Roughyeds

George Tyson powers through the last tackle to score a try for Oldham - but at the oother end of the pitch Oldham gave Hemel too much room

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HEMEL 44, OLDHAM 32

TO the impartial observer this was a great game of rugby league and a fantastic advert for the quality of Championship One.

To supporters of mid-table Hemel Stags it was one of those matches that make it all worthwhile. To Oldham fans it was disappointing, frustrating and worrying.

Scott Naylor’s men were bound by the law of averages to be given a dose of their own medicine sooner or later.

Steve Nield was the villain of Pennine Way yesterday in another high-scoring game that went down to the wire.

Oldham, 38-32 down, were chasing the game and surging forward with time fast running out as full-back Nield threw a wide cut-out pass to the left wing which nestled snugly into the arms of Hemel’s James Hill.

He was off like a flash in the opposite direction and the converted try made it 44-32, threatening to deny the visitors the consolation of a bonus point.

As ineffective as they were in defence, Oldham deserved something from this yo-yo of a game, given that it was finely balanced until the closing minutes.

Justice was perhaps done when Jy-mel Coleman was narrowly off target with a penalty shot from half way — his first miss of the game — and then put a long-range drop-goal attempt just wide.

Those failures apart, Coleman ran the show from start to finish. He had a blinder; head-and-shoulders man of the match.

What many people won’t know is that this outside-half, who kicked eight goals from nine shots, wouldn’t have got anywhere near the kicking tee if regular marksman Barrie-John Swindells, Championship One’s top points scorer, hadn’t hurt his arm in training.

Coleman volunteered to take the added responsibility alongside local lad Eddie Mbaraga, a monster of a man who normally plays prop.

Hemel’s plan was to throw a monster pack at the Oldham forwards, use mighty Mbaraga as an extra forward, and rely on the classy Coleman to come up with the big boot and football expertise in the middle.

It worked like a charm, though an argument can be made that Oldham played into his and Hemel’s hands by standing back instead of putting him under pressure. Whenever he was attacking Oldham’s defensive line Naylor’s men seemed to freeze, giving him lots of time to pick his spot.

Oldham scored some cracking tries of their own but it was their inability to quieten Hemel’s main man and stifle the home’s sides big forwards that ultimately brought an end to their run of four wins.

A superb break from dummy half by Danny Whitmore, supported by Nield, gave on-loan Steve Roper his first try for the club in the eighth minute.

Phil Joy’s knock-on in the tackle allowed Hemel to break straight back and two tries in two minutes by Simmonds from dummy half and Hill when released down Oldham’s left side took them into a 12-6 lead.

After that the sides took it in turns to score.

At 30-26, Langtree unleashed Agoro up the touchline from deep inside the Oldham half and the winger scored a great try which Palfrey improved.

Oldham were in front for a third time and with those huge Hemel forwards starting to tire and make mistakes things were - very briefly - looking good for the visitors.

But up stepped Coleman to send pacy full-back James Cameron into the clear in the build-up to a try by centre Michael Brown, which Coleman converted for a 36-32 lead.

He had Roughyeds in more trouble soon afterwards. Tyson took him out with a shoulder charge and Coleman kicked the goal.

It was at 38-32 that Oldham went in search of the equalising try and goal, only for Nield to gamble on putting out a wide ball and suffer the consequences.

If the pass had found Dale Bloomfield and he had gone in, Nield would once again have been the hero. It didn’t and Hemel put a finely-balanced game to bed.