Rangers grab vital victory

SADDLEWORTH Rangers completed a thrilling 30-23 home win over Normanton Knights to keep promotion within their sights.

Fraser Coley and man-of-the-match Michael Coates touched down at Shaw Hall Bank Road to turn a 23-22 deficit into a vital two National Conference League division one points.

“We played very well in what was a brutal game,” said Rangers coach Keith Brennan following a testy clash.

“They were a good side but we stood up well, especially the young lads who we brought into the side.”

Normanton, who had won six games in a row prior to this one, had led 12-8 at half-time. Tries from Coates and Adam Jeffries gave Saddleworth the advantage before Dane Dunwell and Andy Greg responded with efforts for the Knights that were improved by the boot of Mick Hill.

Coates added two second-half goals to Jeffries’ second try to put the home side ahead before Hill levelled the game with two penalty goals. A John Hodgson try, supported by a conversion and drop goal by Hill, seemingly had the visitors in control, but Rangers battled back.

After Coates had closed the gap with a 65th-minute try, Coley snatched the lead for Saddleworth with an effort in the corner and Coates was in again to notch a second try and fifth goal to seal the win.

ANOTHER defeat for Oldham St Anne’s, this time at fellow strugglers Eastmoor Dragons, keeps them firmly in relegation trouble in division one.

By virtue of a 46-18 win, the Wakefield side have now leapfrogged Mick Cashin’s Saints in the table and it was a flurry of first-half tries which did the majority of the damage.

Six scores, from Leigh Joyce, Adie Mulcahy, Mike Williams, Peter Ratcliffe, Richard Colley and Steve Harber, plus four Joyce goals, put the game out of reach for St Anne’s, whose sole opening period response came through a David Cookson effort set up by Rick Badby.

Trailing 30-4, the second half wasn’t much better for the visitors with Ratcliffe and Colley both adding to their tallies, Greg Wilby getting in on the act and Joyce adding two goals.

St Anne’s weren’t helped by a red card on the hour, Paul Ashton getting his marching orders for dissent, but despite being a man down the visitors started throwing the ball around and were rewarded with three tries.

Darren Fletcher was first in off Badby’s kick to the corner, Grant Bithell went over for a Chris Conway-goaled try and Dane English also touched down.