OLDHAM 58 ORRELL ST JAMES 0
IAN WILSON, Bower Fold, Stalybridge, Sunday

OLDHAM inevitably had too much power and class, and duly defeated a brave and battling Orrell St James side to move seamlessly into round three of this season’s Challenge Cup.

The amateurs, though, emerged from the contest with considerable credit.

Given the strange unavailability of Boundary Park, the match was played in the unfamiliar surroundings of Bower Fold in Stalybridge, which will not have helped to attract the sort of attendance that the club coffers at Orrell would have liked, of course.

But there was a not unhealthy crowd in attendance when proceedings kicked off. And they soon realised that there was to be no chance of any sort of shock result. Oldham had scored three times within the first 14 minutes, with all three tries scored by their impressive halfbacks, and with Kieran Dixon converting all three – he kicked six from ten in all, two from the touchline – the score was 18-0, and the contest was decided.

The first score went to Riley Dean from ten metres out, from dummy-half, in Oldham’s second set of the match, and he got the second too, on the end of good work by youngsters Marcus Geener and Harvey Makin, with new Aussie recruit Cole Geyer supplying the final pass.

And then Morgan Smith got in on the act, sprinting in from 15 metres after a midfield break and  very clever outside-inside passes from those in support.

The visitors worked very hard on defence throughout, and showed some ability on attack too – substitute Jake Williams never stopped working while he was on the field, both halfbacks tried to distribute bravely, and winger Sam Burns and fullback Jack McHugh both did well to defuse attacking kicks as well as looking impressive when running the ball out.

But they were forced into making too many errors in collision, gifting the Roughyeds a preponderance of possession – and the top Championship side’s attacking skills are simply too much for an amateur team to have any hope of coping.

Oldham’s fourth score came on 20 minutes, with Dixon squeezing in at the corner after  right-to-left passing, and the next six minutes later had an identical build-up. Debutant fullback Jack Walker provided the final, very clever, slipped pass. Walker himself finished the first-half scoring, also on the end of an efficient passing move in the left-hand corner.

Dixon’s hat-trick score was recorded just two minutes into the second half – identical in construction to the previous two – though his fourth, in the 51st minute, gave him the opportunity to show rather more elusive running skills, when he cut diagonally across the Orrell defence from about 20 metres out to touch down under the posts.

And three more tries were added as the second half progressed, to Tom Nisbet and Ben O’Keefe, these demonstrating that the Roughyeds’ ball distribution skills did include the ability to create space for the outside backs on the right-hand side as well, and finally to Smith again, this time in support after a long break down centre-field.

GAMESTAR: Kieran Dixon managed 28 points in total from four tries and six goals.

GAMEBREAKER: The professional side’s three tries within the first 15 minutes settled the outcome.

MATCHFACTS

OLDHAM
1 Jack Walker
21 Tom Nisbet
3 Ben O’Keefe
5 Jake Bibby
2 Kieran Dixon
6 Morgan Smith
7 Riley Dean
8 Jack Ormondroyd
14 Cole Geyer
19 Harvey Makin
24 Marcus Geener
12 Ryan Lannon
18 Jaron Purcell
Subs (all used)
15 Ted Chapelhow
9 Matty Wildie
10 Owen Farnworth
11 Matty Ashurst

Tries: Dean (3, 10), Smith (14, 80), Dixon (20, 26, 42, 51), Walker (32), Nisbet (62), O’Keefe (72)
Goals: Dixon 6/10, Ashurst 1/1

ST JAMES
1 Jack McHugh
2 Sam Burns
3 Liam McLoughlin
4 Callum Taylor
5 Jack Gallagher
6 Joe Charnock
7 James Causey
8 Tom Whittle
9 James Dandy
10 John Hutchins
11 Chris Doran
12 Josh Wilde
13 Sam Lewis
Subs (all used)
14 Harry Mosley
15 Ben Tordoff
16 Jake Williams
17 Ryan Ellis

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0, 22-0, 28-0, 32-0; 38-0, 44-0, 48-0, 52-0, 58-0

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Kieran Dixon; St James: Jake Williams

Penalty count: 5-7
Half-time: 32-0
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas
Attendance: 671