OLDHAM are still unbeaten in League One, though they remain in second place to Keighley Cougars, who have six wins from six games (12 points) compared to the Roughyeds’ five from five (10 points).
It begs the question: will either of them slip up before they clash at Cougar Park on Sunday, May 26 in what will be the second of FIVE consecutive away games for Sean Long’s men, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
They play bottom-of-the-table Newcastle Thunder at Boundary Park this Sunday (3pm), while Keighley are also at home (3pm) to Hunslet, but it’s your last chance to see our team of all talents on home territory for seven weeks, during which time we have blank Sundays on May12 and June 9 and trips to Cornwall (May 19), Keighley (May 26), North Wales Crusaders (Sat, June 1, 5pm), Newcastle (June 16) and Workington (June 23).
After this Sunday, our next home game is against Hunslet at BP on Sunday, June 30 – the best part of two months away — so please bear that in mind when weighing up the situation.
Two months without income from a home game is a long time between drinks, so we really do need as many people as possible at BP on Sunday when we go for our sixth straight win in the league with an excellent chance of regaining, from Keighley, the best for-and-against difference in the division.
We already have the best defensive record by a mile and the second-best attacking figures and with Cougars right up there too we will be going flat out to maintain that momentum against a Thunder side that was in the Championship last season, but then hit the hardest of times which initially threatened the club’s very existence.
Thunder come to town with a squad that bears no resemblance to the one they once had, but with a management and a hard-core fan base that will fight like they’ve never fought before to keep the rugby league flag flying in the shadow of Newcastle United up there in the soccer-mad North-East.
To that end they deserve our greatest respect — and a decent home attendance.
Our Players’ Association will be very active at the game, first donating a cheque for £200 to Oldham Athletic chairman Frank Rothwell for his fund-raising for the
Alzheimer’s Society. This will take place on the pitch at half-time.
After the game, in the Broadway Suite, Billy Broomhead will receive his Heritage Certificate. Bill, a scrum-half, came north from Tenby RU Club in the 1964-65 season. He made 30 first-team appearances before settling in Oldham and becoming an adopted Oldhamer. he and his wife still live in Grotton.
