Lovegreen has plenty to work on

RUGBY UNION:

De La Salle 29, Oldham 21

OLDHAM firsts were unable to build on good possession as they slipped to defeat in a hard-fought opening game of the new North Lancashire Division One season.

Guy Lovegreen’s side dictated the scrums, but lost the ball in contact too often.

The line-outs were also poor, with De La Salle stealing the throw on several occasions when Oldham were in the ascendancy.

De La Salle scored the first of their five straights in the fifth minute when a drive to the line eventually opened up a gap.

Oldham spent the next quarter in the hosts’ half, but instead of retaining the ball, were guilty of forcing a pass and chances were wasted.

De La Salle added a second unconverted try for a 10-0 lead, before Oldham got their first points.

It got better for the visitors in first-half injury-time when Josh Brown won the chase for Charlie Roscoe’s kick through. McEwen added the conversion and a 14-10 lead at the break.

De La Salle responded with a try seven minutes after the restart, and three further touch downs in the last quarter saw them build up a 29-14 advantage.

With five minutes left, Brown scored a converted try.