Oldham RUFC 10, Keswick 6: RU men snatch dramatic win

OLDHAM RUFC snatched a dramatic first victory of the season in North Lancs/Cumbria division with the last move of the match against Keswick at Manor Park on Saturday.

After losing their first three league games, this was a must-win match for the local side.

And it was a nerve-jangling finish in which Oldham so nearly threw away victory which had been in their grasp.

They had been 5-0 ahead just short of the hour mark when they conceded two penalties, each for dissent, which Michael Braithwaite kicked to give the Cumbrian club a 6-5 advantage.

With almost 10 minutes of stoppage time completed and Oldham’s victory prospects looking doomed came the moment when they dramatically snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Keswick.

Replacement Mark Goodman thought he had scored the match-winning try only to have it ruled out as the referee claimed he was on his back and had not grounded the ball correctly.

After three subsequent scrums, Oldham won a penalty from which Gareth Barber took a quick tap and the ball was swung across the backs for Michael Ward to touchdown.

Barber’s conversion hit a post though, happily, it did not influence the outcome of the match.

There was a moving moment before kick-off when Oldham’s first, second and veterans teams and their opponents from Keswick, Heaton Moor and Rochdale lined up for one minute’s silence in memory of first-team squad player Bob Simpson who had died suddenly at the age of 40.

It proved a dour match, though Oldham’s pack performed far better than in the three league losses. This could have been because of the returns of the front-row pair of Dean McEwan and Chris Heptonstall whose experience and technical know- how ensured they were not shoved about as the team had been in previous matches.

It was not until four minutes before half time that Oldham broke the deadlock, though previously they had had three or four promising moves when they had been let down by an errant final pass.

The breakthrough finally came when Will Mellor booted the ball downfield from near his own 22-metre defensive line and followed up to reclaim the ball and release Barber who raced 30 metres to the try line to give Oldham a 5-0 lead at the break.

Braithwaite’s penalties after 58 and 81 minutes swung the balance of play Keswick’s way and Oldham are going to have to get to grips with dissent in the ranks as they could so easily have lost a match for the second time in succession for speaking out of turn to the match official.

Luckily Ward came to the rescue of his teammates as Oldham climbed one spot to third bottom, though they remain in the relegation places.




Oldham are at home to Cumbrian club St Benedicts on Saturday in the second round of the EDF Energy Senior Vase as they start out on the Twickenham trail having received a first-round bye.