Resilient Roughyeds survive Batley scare

Head coach Sean Long praised Oldham's resilience as his side withstood a ferocious Batley fightback to earn a crucial 22-18 Betfred Championship win at the Fox's Biscuits Stadium.

Roughyeds saw a 10-0 first-half lead turn into an 18-14 second-half deficit before Ryan Brierley's 70th minute try levelled the scores and Josh Drinkwater's boot secured the victory.

"You come to places like Batley and any win is a good win," Long told Roughyeds TV.

"This was a really gritty win that showed real resilience and steel.

"We showed character and fight to get that try and defend our line."

Long had experienced pair Matty Ashurst and Matty Wildie back in the side, with Jack Johnson starting on the wing as injuries ruled out Mo Agoro and Mathieu Pons.

And it was Johnson - scorer of a hat-trick against the Bulldogs earlier in the year at Boundary Park - who gave Oldham the lead, finishing off a flowing move up the hill started by a Brierley break.

Kieran Dixon missed his first effort at goal but he would soon have another go as Johnson scored his second from a floated Drinkwater pass. 10-0 Oldham, and in firm control.

But Batley are a notoriously tough opponent on home soil and the hosts were back in the game when Lucas Walshaw powered over just before half-time, Butterworth converting to reduce the deficit to 6-10.

And the home side struck again early in the second half, substitute Niall Flynn pouncing on the last tackle, the conversion nudging Batley 12-10 in front.

But Oldham are learning the art of patience this year and were soon back ahead.

Having forced Batley to drop out, Roughyeds worked the ball from right to left with Dixon squeezing in at the corner.

He would miss the touchline conversion, but Oldham had a narrow lead.

Back came Batley, a Dixon dropped ball allowed John Kear's men a good spell of possession on the line, and Walshaw grabbed his second on the last tackle to put the Bulldogs back up by four.

Long made a bold tactical change, bringing hooker Wildie back on to the field in place of winger Dixon.

The reshuffle saw Brierley drop back to full-back from the halves, and Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e move to the left wing.

It worked a treat as Brierley darted through a gap to level the scores in the left corner, and with Dixon off the field Drinkwater once again showed he has ice in his veins to convert from the touchline.

With minutes remaining Oldham kept Batley stifled at the bottom of the hill, and a late penalty under the posts secured the two points.

"I felt I needed to get Brierley on the ball a bit more and wanted two full-backs there swinging," said Long of his tactical change that tipped the scales back in Oldham's favour.

"I thought it could open things up and it showed how adaptable and coachable our lads are.

"Batley were really good and we showed some real grit and resilience to defend our try line especially in the first half.

"We showed real fight in that second half when we went behind, we needed a try to get the win and showed belief towards the back end.

"We have talked about winning tight games because we have come unstuck a couple of times against the big clubs. Our leaders held it together."

Oldham were made to sweat by an inspired Batley performance, but calm heads, a tactical tweak and a bit of class ultimately saw Long's men through.

This was an absolutely crucial win to set up the run into the play-offs, which now includes trips to both London and Featherstone.

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