RU men in vital win

OLDHAM RUFC snatched a dramatic 17-16 victory at Aldwinians to further ease their relegation worries in North Lancs/Cumbria division.

Indeed, after back-to-back wins against high-flying Tyldesley and struggling Aldwinians, Oldham suddenly find themselves just below half way in the table.

It was a terrific game of rugby at Audenshaw as both sides produced some good attacking play and some excellent defending.

Oldham maintained their recent improvement in the forwards as they had the edge in the scrums and lineouts, with former player-coach Steve Molloy and Adam Waterhouse again the pick of the pack men.

And Colts scrum-half Mark Goodman also displayed his potential by linking up well with experienced stand-off and captain Gareth Barber.

Oldham were forced to make one late change in the pack when Ziggy Vatikions withdrew. Luckily they had the experienced Rob Burston as back-up.

They camped in the Aldwinians half for the first 10 minutes only to fall behind from the hosts’ first attacking move which resulted in a penalty which James Warran kicked.

Aldwinians extended their advantage to 8-0 midway through the opening period with a try from scrum-half John Edwards after a period of sustained forward pressure.

Oldham hit back with two tries in the final five minutes of the half to snatch a 12-8 lead.

Adam Langley started and finished the move which opened Oldham’s account. His kick downfield launched a forward drive from which the ball was flung along the backs for Langley to touch down.

And it got even better in the final minute when they scored again after a break involving McEwan, Molloy, Goodman, Barber and James Wilkinson who produced a neat side-step to create an opening to score.

Barber kicked the two extra points but missed an easy penalty early in the second period and there was a nagging worry that it might prove costly.

Not long after, scrum-half Paul Thorpe touched down for Aldwinians as the home side edged 13-12 ahead.

But the pendulum swung Oldham’s way not long after the hour mark when Andy Gorry intercepted an Aldwinians move and sprinted over half the length of the field to score.

Warran then kicked a penalty for Aldwinians which reduced the deficit to 17-16 with 16 minutes still to play.

Oldham defended resolutely and were unlucky not to win by a more impressive margin after replacement Alex Wilkinson had a try ruled out for an earlier knock-on by Chris Heptonstall.