Widnes pre-season test beckons for Roughyeds

Oldham Roughyeds will face Widnes Vikings in a pre-season fixture at the Vestacare Stadium on Sunday, January 22 (3pm kick-off) as part of the club’s preparations for the 2023 Betfred League One season.

The fixture will provide the perfect test for Oldham's new-look side as they pit their wits against a strong Championship side guided by the experienced John Kear.

Admission prices will be £12 for adults, £3 for students and FREE for under 16s, with a transfer to seats in the stand costing £1 extra.

Tickets can be purchased on the club ticketing page.

Matchday hospitality is available at £30 per head.

Please call the office on 07904 898177 or email: enquiries@roughyeds.co.uk to book.

The clash will be one of the first opportunities for Yeds fans to get a look at new signings such as Gregg McNally, Pat Ah Van, Matty Wilkinson, Jack Blagbrough, Lewis Sheridan and Zac Baker, to name but a few.

Widnes Vikings, whose squad features former Oldham players in Ryan Ince and Liam Bent, have brought in experienced players such as Kyle Amor, who was guest speaker at Oldham's 25th anniversary dinner last Friday.

It will be Kear’s first full season at the Vikings after he took charge of the club mid-way through last season, winning six of his 11 games in charge.

For Oldham's last victory over Widnes, you have to go back 13 years to 2009 when the Roughyeds beat them 22-20 in the Northern Rail Cup first round.

The victory was notable for the fact that Steve McCormack, then Widnes coach, lost his job as a consequence of that result.

Head coach Stuart Littler said: “It’s a short pre-season this year, so it’s good to get some games under our belt and to make sure we’re ready to go come the start of the season at the beginning of February.

“Widnes got stronger as the year went on under John Kear.

"He had a massive influence on that squad when he came in and he’s made some very astute signings for the season ahead

“It will definitely be a challenge for us and the idea is to give the boys some game time and see where we are at towards the back-end of our pre-season.

“Hopefully we’ll have some good performances in there which will give us a few selection headaches, as a staff, as we move forward into developing what our starting 17 will look like come week one.”

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