Boundary Park, home of Oldham Athletic, adopted home of new-look Oldham Rugby League Club for at least the next ten years, and our town ’s centre of sport for thousands of local people with red and white or blue and white blood in their veins, or even a mixture of both, will rock and roll to the beat of thousands of Oldham people on Sunday when Mike Ford’s Oldham Rugby will kick-off against Hunslet at 2pm, ahead of the televised England v Slovakia last 16 European football international, which starts at 5pm and will be shown live on big-screen TV in the public bar.
What a day for local sports lovers of both the oval-ball game and the round-ball game, with Oldham Rugby returning to play on the much-publicised £1m pitch for the first time May 5 when they thumped Newcastle Thunder 74-0. Since then, they have played five away games on the spin at Cornwall, Keighley, North Wales, Newcastle again and Workington., wInning four but losing to arch-rivals Keighley at Cougar Park.
That defeat cost Sean Long’s men top spot in Betfred League One but as the intriguing war with Keighley for the right to finish top and thus go up automatically gathers momentum – both clubs play on Sunday – Oldham have prised back top spot with both clubs having won ten of their 11 games, but with Oldham out in front with a vastly-superior points difference.
Whoever was responsible for determining our loop fixtures knew what they were doing and the outcome of this two-club scrap for top spot might well be decided by the Keighley game here on July 21 and the return in Bronte Country on August 18. What rivalry in those games !
I’m taking Oldham to win them both, to avenge May’s defeat over there, and to book their place in the second tier as League One champs, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
Anything can happen, though, in the bumpy ride along the road. That’s why it is so important Oldham win on Sunday against a hard-to-fathom Hunslet, whom we hammered 62-0 at their place, but who, by something of an irony, were the only team to win at Keighley this year.
Latics, of course, are out of season. But you’ve only to look at the number of St George flags fluttering from bedroom windows up and down the town to realise how much interest there will be locally in England v Slovakia. Those flags come out in abundance whenever England are in Europe or the World Cup. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. I vividly remember 1966 and Ken Wolstenholme’s famous comment when the lad from Ashton, Geoff Hurst, killed off the Germans once and for all. There are not many of us left, hence the ever-growing interest whenever England get a sniff of something that means something.
Fordy, of course, used to play football – he still dabbles at vets’ five-a-side – so he knows a bit about Gareth Southgate, penalty shoot-outs, midfield men and strikers.
Says Mike:
“You don’t need a ticket to watch England in the bar. Anyone can go in there. As far as Oldham Rugby is concerned it’s business as usual. Our band will be playing in there until 4.30 or thereabouts and all are welcome.
“The only thin g different is that, from this Sunday, all food and drink in the stadium will be card only. You can still pay cash at the turnstiles and at the Oldham Rugby shop, but food an d drink is to be dealt with separately from this Sunday.
“I know it’s short notice but I’m afraid there is nothing else we can do about that.”
To mark Armed Forces Week there will be a parade of 60 volunteers before the match and a minute’s silence for those killed in conflict.
This will double-up as a tribute to Rob Burrow. Of Oldham’s nine remaining league games, seven are at home and there will be a bucket collection at each game for the continuing fund to beat MND, this coinciding with Rob’s number 7 jersey and with Kevin Sinfield’s 7 in 7 marathon challenge.
