Derby hat-trick for
ROCHDALE Hornets claimed their third win over Oldham in 2017 as they picked up a 34-24 victory at Bower Fold in the final game of the regular season.
Alan Kilshaw admitted it wasn’t a ‘vintage’ performance but it was enough to pick up the two points in another fiery meeting of the two clubs.
A blistering start saw Hornets lead 18-0 inside the first 20 minutes, and due to that they managed to keep their opponents at arm’s length throughout the contest.
Their goal line defence throughout was resilient and remarkable, as they stood up to the test a number of times to keep Oldham at bay.
There were some brilliant performances, especially from deadline day signing Dec Kay, as the fullback had Oldham on the back foot every time he touched the ball, and was also great in defence.
Kevin Penny also impressed as he grabbed a brace and made some dangerous carries, while Jono Smith and Ant Walker were solid in the forward pack.
It was Penny who broke the deadlock just four minutes in, as he raced the length of the field to score an interception try which Danny Yates converted.
On 13 minutes the lead was extended to 12-0, as Kay benefitted from a Smith offload to race over for a six pointer.
Lewis Galbraith forced a knock on five minutes later, and off the back of that Jake Eccleston finished off Ben Moores’ clever break from dummy half.
Within four minutes the hosts crossed for their first score, as Dan Smith ducked under a tackle to cross from close range.
Then, on 26 minutes tempers flared, as George Tyson ran from the opposite wing to land punches on Moores, with both players spending the next 10 minutes in the sin bin.
Just before the break the Roughyeds struck with what could have been a game-changing try, as Adam Clay was first to react to a knock-on from Scott Leatherbarrow’s last tackle kick.
Straight from the kickoff Hornets forced a knock-on themselves, and when Oldham held on in the tackle too long Yates knocked over a penalty goal, as his side led 20-12 at half-time.
When the home side crossed four minutes into the second half there were only two points in it, as Dave Hewitt touched down Michael Ward’s offload.
There was an immediate reply from the visitors though, as Lewis Foster’s bomb was dropped in the in-goal and Jordan Case accepted a gift of a try.
It was a tense period which followed, as both sides went close, with Walker going over but being judged to have knocked-0on in the act of scoring.
He played a huge part in the next score though, as he broke and found Foster in support, and it was that man Kay who finished off the move to open up a 12 point lead.
The lead was halved soon after though, as Tyson pounced on Leatherbarrow’s grubber to give his side hope.
It was false hope though, as Moores came up with a miraculous offload which eventually found its way to Penny, who had all the space in the world to stroll in for his second.
The rest of the game petered out, with Hornets enjoying another derby win, as they finished ninth ahead of the Championship Shield campaign.
Steven Neild, Adam Clay, George Tyson, Sam Gee, Connor Williams, Scott Leatherbarrow, Dave Hewitt, Dan Smith, Kenny Hughes, Tyler Dickinson, Liam Bent, Luke Adamson, Jack Spencer. Subs: Daniel Grimshaw, Sadiq Adebiyi, Michael Ward, Ben Davies Smith (22), Clay (39), Hewitt (44), Tyson (68) Leatherbarrow 4/4 Dec Kay, Kevin Penny, Jake Eccleston, Lewis Galbraith, Chris Riley, Lewis Foster, Danny Yates, Lee Mitchell Ben Moores, Jo Taira, Jono Smith, Josh Crowley, Ant Walker. Subs: Ryan Maneely, Gavin Bennion, Matty Hadden, Jordan Case
Penny (4, 71), Kay (13, 64), Eccleston (18), Case (49)
Yates 5/7
Dec Kay was everywhere! He came up with some brilliant cover defence and crossed for two tries, with a further two chalked off for forward passes. What a great find he has turned out to be.
7-9