OLDHAM 42 BARROW RAIDERS 4
IAN WILSON, Boundary Park, Sunday
CENTRE Jumah Sambou went in twice as Oldham repeated last year’s Challenge Cup victory over Barrow.
What perhaps was surprising was just how convincingly they defeated them. The Raiders were, in all truth, embarrassed by the extent to which the Roughyeds simply outclassed them, certainly for the first hour of what turned out to be in effect a no-contest.
Barrow traditionally do not always travel well, and it is very much to be hoped that was the case here, if they are not to find the 2025 league season a huge struggle.
The imbalance between the two sides is accurately expressed by the fact that Barrow only enjoyed three attacks in the whole of the first 40 minutes, and two of those were on the back of clever Brad Walker kick restarts.
Both came to nothing, though both Ramon Silva and Jarrad Stack were held just short by the incredibly committed home defence.
Otherwise, the home side demonstrated utter domination, the points spree beginning on their first set, Sambou powering through two attempted tackles near the left corner after a quality long pass by Josh Drinkwater.
Mo Agoro got the second on 20 minutes, on the end of slick left-to-right passing, the winger also showing immense power from close range to touch down wide out.
The class of Australian star Drinkwater again created the next score, a clever grubber just being reached by Kieran Dixon as the ball rolled close to touch in-goal.
And the fourth was back to the right side, Danny Craven having the ball ripped out of his hands as he was about to touch down, only for Iain Thornley to score as it rolled in-goal. Dixon landed the first of his five conversions from eight attempts.
Spectators wondered whether a more competitive Barrow might emerge for the second half – but scores by Pat Moran, from close range, then Riley Dean, who got on the end of a clever reverse chip-kick, both within the first eight minutes, quickly disproved that possibility.
Then probably the game’s ‘champagne moment’ after 53 minutes helped take the lead out to 36. It was Drinkwater at the heart of things again, a marvellous sleight of hand by the former Warrington halfback giving Craven a 20-metre dash to the line.
There was a significant change in the final phase of the match. Helped by a 13-3 penalty count in their favour, Barrow spent almost all of it on desperate attack, mainly in the form of unimaginative forward bashes close to the Oldham posts.
The the home side showed equal determination to prevent the score that the visitors clearly so badly wanted to record.
As it happens, after a sinbinning for each side (Owen Farnworth and Ryan King) following a fairly insignificant late fracas (there had been a yellow card for Silva midway through the first half), Barrow did manage to get over, through Andrew Bulman in the right corner.
But just to show who was boss, Sambou then powered through again just before the final whistle.
GAMESTAR: There were lots of Oldham candidates, but rookie centre Jumah Sambou brought the crowd to their feet on several occasions in comfortably his best performance so far in his very brief career.
GAMEBREAKER: The Roughyeds’ first-half display was simply overwhelming, and Barrow were reduced to effectively no-hopers afterwards.
MATCHFACTS
OLDHAM
6 Danny Craven
5 Mo Agoro
4 Iain Thornley
18 Jumah Sambou
2 Kieran Dixon
7 Riley Dean
23 Josh Drinkwater
8 Gil Dudson
9 Matty Wildie
15 Jay Chapelhow
11 Matty Ashurst
17 Elijah Taylor
13 Adam Milner
Subs (all used)
14 Bailey Aldridge
16 Pat Moran
21 Ted Chapelhow
10 Owen Farnworth
Tries: Sambou (2, 79), Agoro (20), Dixon (30), Thornley (37), Moran (44), Dean (48), Craven (53)
Goals: Dixon 5/8
Sin bin: Farnworth (75) – involvement in fracas
RAIDERS
1 Luke Cresswell
2 Andrew Bulman
3 Matty Costello
18 Curtis Teare
5 Shane Toal
6 Brad Walker
7 Ryan Johnston
8 Tom Walker
14 Aaron Smith
10 Ramon Silva
11 Ellis Robson
30 Jarrad Stack
13 Ryan King
Subs (all used)
14 James Greenwood
19 Delaine Gittens-Bedward
22 Alex Bishop
33 Jamie Pye
Tries: Bulman (78)
Goals: B Walker 0/1
Sin bin: Silva (18) – infringement in tackle, King (75) – involvement in fracas
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 8-0, 12-0, 18-0; 24-0, 30-0, 36-0, 36-4, 42-4
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Oldham: Jumah Sambou; Raiders: Brad Walker
Penalty count: 3-13
Half-time: 18-0
Referee: Kevin Moore
Attendance: 1,064
