WIDNES VIKINGS 10 OLDHAM 28
JAMES GORDON, DCBL Stadium, Friday
OLDHAM got revenge over Widnes with a deserved twelfth league win a row since their early-season defeat in the reverse fixture.
Although the Vikings came into the game on a nine-match winning run of their own, they had no answer to the intensity of the Roughyeds who inflicted a first home league defeat of the season on the hosts.
The scoring was opened on six minutes by Oldham’s Widnes-born centre Ben Davies, who got up highest to catch Josh Drinkwater’s kick and go in under the posts.
Oldham had the better of the set-for-set play, though Widnes did force two drop-outs and saw Jordan Johnstone, who had his head bandaged due to an early cut, stopped close to the line twice.
The only deep break of note was made by Oldham winger Tom Nisbet, who burst through down the left and was eventually halted by Ryan Ince.
The hosts probably would have been happy to go in 6-0 down at half-time but Oldham had other ideas, Jack Walker weaving through on the last tackle to score under the posts with Morgan Smith converting as the hooter sounded.
Widnes came out firing at the start of the second half, and dragged themselves back into the contest. A Nisbet hand stopped a certain try for Matt Fleming but, from the resulting scrum in the middle, Matty Fozard picked the ball up at loose-forward and sold a dummy to walk round under the posts.
It took six second-half minutes for Oldham to see possession, recovering the ball deep in their own half, but two big contributions by Bayley Liu meant they made it pay. First, he earned a six-again on the floor with his desire to get up and then a few tackles later, his break scattered the Widnes defence, and with no markers in place Ben Hartill scooted from dummy-half to score from 15 metres.
Only a big one-on-one tackle by Jack Billington stopped the excellent Adam Milner from stretching the lead, before at the other end Nathan Connell had a try chalked off for obstruction.
A Smith penalty on 57 minutes made it a three-score game at 20-6, though in the end it wasn’t really needed. A disputed decision when Nisbet spilled the ball and Danny Richardson was tackled into touch gave Oldham a scrum 30 metres out, and they shifted it left with Luke Forber finishing in the corner to all but put the game beyond Widnes.
Fleming managed to get a second try for the Vikings, stretching out to put the ball on the line after seemingly having been stopped by Walker, but when the hosts wasted two chances close to the line with two Richardson passes going to ground, the game was gone.
Oldham added icing on the cake on 75 minutes, Smith’s chip kick to the right caught on the full by Nisbet who slid over in the right corner to consolidate their top-four place.
GAMESTAR: Adam Milner led from the front for Oldham as they dominated the middle.
GAMEBREAKER: Ben Hartill’s try after Widnes’ bright start to the second half restored a twelve-point advantage that Widnes never looked capable of clawing back.
MATCHFACTS
VIKINGS
23 Nathan Connell
1 Matt Fleming
25 Kieran Taylor
3 Jack Owens
5 Ryan Ince
17 Danny Richardson
7 Tom Gilmore
8 Dan Murray
9 Jordan Johnstone
21 Jay Chapelhow
12 Max Roberts
11 Sam Wilde
15 Lewis Hall
Subs (all used)
14 Matty Fozard
16 Danny Langtree
18 Morgan McWhirter
20 Jack Billington
Tries: Fozard (43), Fleming (64)
Goals: Richardson 1/2
OLDHAM
1 Jack Walker
22 Tom Nisbet
4 Ben Davies
5 Jake Bibby
29 Luke Forber
6 Morgan Smith
23 Josh Drinkwater
15 Ted Chapelhow
9 Matty Wildie
10 Owen Farnworth
11 Matty Ashurst
26 Brad Day
13 Adam Milner
Subs (all used)
7 Ben Hartill
12 Ryan Lannon
16 Ewan Moore
27 Bayley Liu
Tries: Davies (6), Walker (39), Hartill (48), Forber (58), Nisbet (75)
Goals: Smith 4/6
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12; 6-12, 6-18, 6-20, 6-24, 10-24, 10-28
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Vikings: Jay Chapelhow; Oldham: Adam Milner
Penalty count: 8-7
Half-time: 0-12
Referee: Matty Lynn
Attendance: 2,677