OLDHAM 36 SALFORD 28
IAN WILSON, Boundary Park, Sunday

AFTER the euphoria of victory over London, Oldham may have expected a rather more comfortable ride against Salford, who deserve great credit for achieving what they already have this season.

If so, they were very quickly disillusioned. After surviving some early pressure from the home side, the visitors went ahead with their first serious attack, and then, even after Luke Forber had helped bring the scores level four minutes later, Dave Hewitt’s men scored twice more before the half-hour was up.

Furthermore, Salford, for their constant harrying and rapid line speed, which clearly discomposed the Roughyeds, very much deserved their 16-6 lead at that stage.

Former Oldham man Joe Hartley had begun the scoring when a loose Oldham pass on halfway went to ground, and he was able to dribble the ball all the way to the line. Kieran Dixon goaled.

Forber’s riposte was rather more in the classical style, two drives down the right and then superb transfer across the field giving the winger space to crash over. Morgan Smith landed the first of six goals from six attempts.

But Dixon – another ex-Oldham player, of course – showed the knack all afternoon of making his kick-offs seemingly impossible to field cleanly, and the result after Forber’s try was a simple crash-over score by Charlie Glover down the right, again converted.

Then it was Dixon himself, from acting half-back at close range, after a clever scoot by the superb Brad Dwyer, who edged the score out to 16-6 in the 23rd minute.

It was by now evident that, whatever their good intentions may have been, Oldham were way below the levels of concentration and rugby nous that had characterised their display against London, with knock-ons and rushed and inaccurate passes galore.

However, after Dixon’s try, the pack began to get on top via some direct running, and the result was two Matty Ashurst tries, with which Smith’s goals, allowed them to go in at the hooter, somewhat undeservedly, 18-16 ahead.

The first came after a 33rd-minute Salford penalty-kick which failed to find touch, with close interpassing in centrefield in the visitors’ danger zone creating the space for the secondrow to go over, and a very similar Ashurst score came just before half-time.

Another close-range try by a forward – Bayley Liu this time, though the credit should also go to Brad Day’s drive which set up position – seemed to have established the home side in a more comfortable position.

Indeed, Day should be exempt from any criticism, his direct running causing the Salford tacklers trouble all afternoon (when he managed to get over in the 80th minute, to cement his side’s victory, it was a very much deserved score).

Salford had other ideas, though. Oldham’s error count continued to mount, and they took full advantage.

Another uncatchable Dixon kick-off after Liu’s score soon resulted in a Joe Baldwin acting half-back try, converted by Dixon.

Then, after a superb Josh Drinkwater pass gave Ashurst his hat-trick try in the 69th minute, and immediately after a double sinbinning after an incident after a tackle and a consequential melee, a smart dash from close range by young substitute Corey-Jay Sharpe, improved by Dixon’s fourth goal from five attempts, brought the margin back to just two points once again.

But Day’s score helped clinched it for Oldham.

GAMESTAR: Try hat-tricks don’t often fall to secondrow grafters, so it has to be Oldham’s regular 80-minute veteran Matty Ashurst.

GAMEBREAKER: Oldham’s upped defensive commitment, after Salford had got back to within two points late on, averted the possibility of one of the shocks of the season.

MATCHFACTS

OLDHAM
1 Jack Walker
18 Josh Simm
3 Ben O’Keefe
21 Tom Nisbet
17 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
7 Tom Forber
27 Bayley Liu
35 Noah High

Tries: L Forber (12), Ashurst (33, 39, 69), Liu (49), Day (80)
Goals: Smith 6/6
Sin bin: Nisbet (73) – fighting

SALFORD
46 Declan Murphy
39 Callum Green
5 Jack Holmes
20 Joe Hartley
1 Kieran Dixon
7 Toby Hughes
28 Lewis Pilling
31 Alfie Tate
9 Brad Dwyer
37 Jack Bibby
12 Oliver Garmston
13 Charlie Glover
33 Cole Oakley
Subs (all used)
26 Reece Stanton
29 Oliver Polec
32 Joe Baldwin
22 Corey-Jay Sharpe

Tries: Hartley (8), Glover (15), Dixon (23), Baldwin (52), Sharpe (75)
Goals: Dixon 4/5
Sin bin: Murphy (73) – fighting

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 6-12, 6-16, 12-16, 18-16; 24-16, 24-22, 30-22, 30-28, 36-28

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Matty Ashurst; Salford: Brad Dwyer

Penalty count: 5-7
Half-time: 18-16
Referee: Lucas Seal
Attendance: 1,752