ROUGHYEDS assistant coach Brendan Sheridan believes the team showed a fighting spirit as they grabbed the two points from Rochdale’s grasp with a 24-20 win at Spotland.
Oldham were noticeably rusty and, for large parts, were second best as they struggled to deal with the strength of Hornets, as well as their quick play-the-balls.
The youthful Hornets side caused a number of line-breaks but the Oldham team, packed full of experience, found a way to win in the face of adversity.
“We were very patchy, but to come away with the win after not playing to the standards we set is the most important thing,” said the Oldham assistant.
“We’ve had character right from the start of the year and even though there were a lot of things that went wrong, myself and Mike (Ford) still believed we could pinch it at the end.
“The try at the end showed the three traits I was looking for: communication, composure and clarity.
“I’m proud of the boys; it’s a tough place to come and we’ve been on the end of a few of those where we have lost in the last minute, so it’s nice to get the win.”
Roughyeds caused a number of problems, despite their rustiness, especially down the right edge which resulted in a hat-trick for Nick Rawsthorne – who now has seven tries in five appearances – which Sheridan admitted was a key target area.
“There were things in the victory that we had worked on. We highlighted that area and Nick had a field day.
“You pinch yourself a little bit, because there were parts in that game where we were well off and Rochdale were really good.”
With games coming thick and fast, Oldham’s backroom staff have their work cut to keep bodies fresh.
“It’s a short turnaround so our staff have got to be on their toes, especially our medical staff
“Luckily we’ve got Jordan (Paga) coming back and Zac Baker, and Ah Van will come back into the squad at some point so we’ve got a chance of resting some bodies up.
“It was a tough battle out there today, and I’m so proud of the boys for pulling through at the end and they owed it to themselves to do that.”
