Old Parkonians made the journey to Manor Park for Oldham’s latest fixture on Saturday with the home side hoping for better fortunes than of late. It was another case of it being so close for Oldham as they failed to get over the line once again.
Oldham started brightly gaining early territorial advantage and having won a penalty in the opponents 22 decided to run and after some good lead up play from the pack Corey Kelly opened the scoring and with Alex Jobson converting Oldham were 7-0 up in as many minutes.
Parkonians however answered back following a poor kick off reception from Oldham which has become a troublesome area of late and from this showed their capabilities by recycling possession a number of times, stretching the Oldham defence to score in the left corner. With the score at 7-5 with the conversion missed it was time for either side to really take a grip of the game.
Cam Robinson playing at stand off created Oldham’s next score following decent play from Oldham as they worked in from a lineout to move up field and start attacking the Parkonians line. With a number of defenders lining up he took the ball to the line hitting a flat ball for Captain Tom Davies to run a great line to go in under the posts untouched to give Jobson an easy conversion and Oldham stretched their lead to 14-5.
Parkonians answered back with a penalty 3 points when Oldham were caught offside to bring them closer at 14-8 again failing to clear the ball up field when the chances arose.
Davies got his second of the day as the home team began to show their capabilities by building possession and showing signs of the ability to tie their opponents in with keeping the ball and possession. With Jobson again converting with 5 minutes to go to half time Oldham seemed in the driving seat at 21-8 up.
As too often this season Oldham became their own worst enemy. All that was needed was to get to half time and see out the remaining minutes with little or no risk rugby needed. However Oldham decided to try and put a play on just outside their own 22 metre line when all that was needed was a decent clearance and following a knock on Parkonians took full advantage to score a converted try on the stroke of half time to bring them back to within 7 points at 21-14.
The second half started off scrappy with neither side gaining control up front and with Oldham losing influential pair Sean Carter and Reuben Moss to injury, Oldham’s pack became less effective in the open
With the set piece key Oldham found joy at scrum time against Parkonians and the lineout was evenly matched with Jack Taylor competing well against larger jumpers.
Oldham had the chance to move further in front when a Jobson penalty went wide but Oldham continued to go forward and were rewarded with a further try when Jobson took an opportunity following a number of phases to take the ball on the right hand side beating a defender on the outside to cross. With the conversion unsuccessful Oldham now led 26-15.
Parkonians answered with a try of their own when the Oldham defence read poorly and with a number of players shooting up instead of drifting the visitors had an easy stroll in with the Parkonians centre not only walking over unchallenged but being able to move closer to the posts with ease making the conversion much easier. With that kicked over the score was 26 – 22 with Oldham still in front.
Oldham made their way into the opponents half and again were awarded a penalty and Jobson stepped up knocking it over taking Oldham’s lead back to 7. With plenty of time still on the clock could Oldham see the match through? Game management was key and as per the previous three games Oldham could not complete the task at hand. A number of times Oldham had the chance to turn Parkonians and make them play from their own half but instead decided to keep the ball in hand or kick short. A midfield penalty allowed Parkonians to kick to Oldham’s 22 metre and from the lineout ran a set move that cut Oldham to threads as a number of Oldham payers missed the ball carrier as he ran a line back against the grain to score under the Oldham posts. With an easy conversion the scores were now level at 29-29 with literally a couple of minutes left. Oldam kicked off attempting to pressure the away side into a mistake however they held firm and kicked the ball out of play as the referee called the final play.
3 points for Oldham from the draw and try bonus point got them off the ground in the league table was some solace to be taken from what should have been a victory. Game management at key times cost the Manor Park outfit. Tom Davies was awarded Man of the match for his brace of tries and solid defence.
Jim Forster
