IT was a great day for Roughyeds . . . that memorable afternoon on October 6 last year when we beat big-spending Newcastle Thunder 18-14 at the Vestacare Stadium to clinch promotion to the Betfred Championship.
It was a Promotion Final that had everything – thrills, spills, great tries, desperation tackles and Jimmy Beckett’s 63rd-minute winner which provided the 19-year-old and all the Oldham fans in a crowd of 1,204 with memories that will last a lifetime in Jimmy’s case and probably nearly as long for everyone else.
Even after the young on-loan prop’s decisive score there were many more heart-stopping moments as Thunder piled on the pressure in search of the winning try; none more so than when Declan Kay read a defensive situation perfectly and intercepted a pass that was destined to put in his opposite number at the corner.
Thunder led three times at 4-0, 8-6 (half-time) and 14-12 but in the end tries by Danny Langtree, Zack McComb and Jimmy Beckett, each goaled by Paul Crook, saw Roughyeds home and the promotion celebrations could begin.
You can see it all again at 7pm this Friday night, May 8, [on YouTube][1]. Don’t miss it — a great game, a great occasion and a reminder of what we’re missing during this Covid-19 shut-down and what we can look forward to when action resumes.
For the record Oldham lined up on that memorable day like this:
Hawkyard; Kay, McComb, Leeming, Johnson; Crook, Hewitt; Joy, Owen, Law, Bridge, Langtree, Bent. Subs: Spencer, Wilkinson, Whittel, Beckett.
Like many other clubs who are streaming big games from the past, we have opened a virtual on-line store to raise vital income for the club during the current national crisis.
To help the club get through this unprecedented situation, the idea is for people to virtually ‘buy’ what they would normally buy at a home game.
The system is fully secure and fans who take part will get a receipt sent to their email address.
People can start to buy NOW and can continue to do so up to the game, during the game and after the game (especially when we’ve won !).