OLDHAM 24 WIDNES VIKINGS 30
IAN WILSON, Boundary Park, Sunday

WIDNES had been the only side to win a league game at Oldham this season, and their resilience enabled them to repeat the feat when it mattered.

There should be no doubt, though, that they thoroughly deserved to take the spoils – though in the somewhat convoluted play-off structure that the RFL have come up with for 2026, the Vikings will now head north to play Newcastle Thunder.

The first half was like an old-fashioned game of hard rugby, with no quarter asked or given, sets being alternated, and defences facing a real battering, though successfully, in their attempts to halt powerful charges by both sides in turn.

But suddenly Danny Richardson burst clear on half-way in the eleventh minute, and two minutes of sustained Vikings pressure ensued.

Former Roughyed favourite Danny Langtree had a try ruled out for obstruction, and another ex-Oldham player Adam Lawton was twice brought down only just short. But eventually a break down the right by another former Roughyed, Ryan Ince, put Richardson over without a finger being laid on him. His conversion meant an early 6-0 lead for the Vikings.

Oldham seemed to up their game as a result. One superb break by Tom Nisbet only failed to lead to a score when Jack Walker knocked on over the try line, but in due course, after one Ince knock-down of a scoring pass, and one near-try by former Viking Owen Farnworth, another Widnes knock-down under their own posts allowed Farnworth to touch down to make the scores level after Morgan Smith’s simple conversion.

There followed another period of Widnes pressure, culminating in Lawton this time managing to make his huge bulk count wide out, though Richardson had his only conversion failure of the afternoon.

But by this time Oldham had brought sub Cole Geyer – fresh back from his loan spell with Huddersfield – onto the field, and his liveliness out of dummy-half seemed to pep up his side significantly. The result was some sustained pressure in the ten minutes before the half-time hooter, and two converted tries.

Geyer himself got the first, after good work by Jake Bibby and Matty Ashurst in particular, and Ben Davies the second, after Josh Simm had rescued an attack down the right that seemed to be petering out.

With the score 18-10 to the Roughyeds, and the Vikings with three men out for the rest of the game injured – Sam Wilde’s shoulder went in his first tackle, and both Mike Butt and Nick Gregson had disappeared for unsuccessful HIAs by early in the second quarter – the second half looked likely to be very hard work for them. But not a bit of it. An Oldham error gave Lawton the chance to go over for an identical second in only the 41st minute, and just three minutes later, Langtree strolled through a huge gap inside the Oldham red zone, to take the score to 22-18.

Tit-for-tat scoring now seemed the order of the day, with defence conspicuous by its absence.

Ted Chapelhow put Oldham back in the lead when he caught a Josh Drinkwater bomb seemingly unchallenged in the 48th minute to dot down under the posts.

But Widnes nosed back ahead just three minutes later. And it was another former Oldham man, this time Jumah Sambou, who made the vital incursion. His clean break down the left wing, and inside ball to Nathan Connell, made it 24-28.

And that, then, was that! Oldham attacked for virtually the final half-hour – a Richardson penalty for Oldham indiscipline was the exception – but incredible resilience by the Widnes defensive line somehow held them out.

GAMESTAR:  Danny Richardson’s varied kicks troubled Oldham all afternoon, and he contributed in other ways too, though Adam Lawton also deserves an honourable mention too.

GAMEBREAKER: The Jumah Sambou break in the 51st minute, leading to Nathan Connell’s try, gave the Vikings the lead after a see-saw start to the second half, and his side’s defence then just managed to cling to it.

MATCHFACTS

OLDHAM
1 Jack Walker
33 Josh Simm
5 Jake Bibby
21 Tom Nisbet
29 Luke Forber
6 Morgan Smith
23 Josh Drinkwater
10 Owen Farnworth
9 Matty Wildie
12 Ryan Lannon
11 Matty Ashurst
26 Brad Day
13 Adam Milner
Subs (all used)
4 Ben Davies
14 Cole Geyer
15 Ted Chapelhow
18 Noah High

Tries: Farnworth (23), Geyer (36), Davies (39), Chapelhow (48)
Goals: Smith 4/4

VIKINGS
23 Nathan Connell
5 Ryan Ince
3 Jack Owens
29 Jumah Sambou
2 Mike Butt
17 Danny Richardson
7 Tom Gilmore
8 Dan Murray
9 Jordan Johnstone
21 Jay Chapelhow
11 Sam Wilde
16 Danny Langtree
13 Nick Gregson
Subs (all used)
14 Matty Fozard
18 Morgan McWhirter
19 Adam Lawton
35 Max Banditt

Tries: Richardson (13), Lawton (27, 41), Langtree (44), Connell (51)
Goals: Richardson 5/6

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 6-10, 12-10, 18-10; 18-16, 18-22, 24-22, 24-28, 24-30

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Cole Geyer; Vikings: Danny Richardson

Penalty count: 5-7
Half-time: 18-10
Referee: James Vella
Attendance: 1,638