SCOTT Naylor hailed a ‘fantastic’ performance after Oldham’s 27-6 triumph in the rescheduled Ladbrokes Challenge Cup fourth round tie at Halifax.
While club officials were thumbing through the record books to find out when Roughyeds last won at Halifax , the players were celebrating their win in a noisy post-match dressing room and head coach Naylor was giving his own run-down on a strong all-round performance in which his troops in two shades of green never looked like surrendering the initiative.
He said:
“It was fantastic — gritty, tough and resilient. Even when we put ourselves under pressure we manned up in defence to restrict them to one try on their home ground.
“Every man in the 17 gave everything he had to give and I can’t ask for more than that.
“When we had the ball we asked a few questions of them and scored some good, off-the-cuff tries. We controlled the game for most of the 80 minutes and played it the right way. When we got in front we stayed in front, despite having a player in the bin and losing the penalty count.
“That in itself showed how much effort we put in. We fully deserved it and I hope the lads get the credit they deserve off everybody this week.
“It showed once again that we have a lot to offer this season.
“It was a big night for the fans after the disappointment of losing to York and it was good to see them enjoying themselves and to hear them in fine voice.”
Fax boss Richard Marshall said:
“I fielded a young side, but I don’t want to take anything away from Oldham.
“They came with a simple, but very effective plan, which involved a good kicking game in which Hewitt kept sending us back. It was similar to how we played when beating Leigh.
“Our attitude wasn’t quite right and certainly not when compared with Oldham’s attitude.
“We played a young team and I take full responsibility for that. I thought that team was good enough to win and to play a lot better than it did.
“Oldham took us to task. They were really fired up and they deserved their win — simple as that.
“I took a calculated risk, bearing in mind that we go to Toulouse on Saturday. The young lads will have learned a lot. I’m sure they’ll play with more pride and passion next time.”
