Roughyeds recover to smash Barrow

Oldham secured a seventh straight victory with a hard-fought 40–18 win over Barrow, overcoming the Raiders’ blistering start.

Roughyeds found themselves 12–0 down and without captain Matty Wildie, who had been sin-binned, all while not yet having touched the ball in a mad opening to the game.

Ever the disruptors, the Raiders made the environment a hostile one, but Roughyeds re-grouped and grew in confidence – even after having two tries chalked off for suspected knock ons – to break Barrow.

“We didn’t panic,” said Roughyeds boss Alan Kilshaw. “We got over the line three times before we actually got one.

“Sometimes you come here and it is not the game that we all love. They’ve got players missing today and they were trying to find a way – we get that.

“At times we went away from our game model and we got dragged into a bit of that, but to score 40 points at Barrow and to be second in the league is not bad after the week we’ve had.”

It was the pace of Tee Ritson which stunned Oldham early on when he broke through down the left before handing on to Luke Cresswell who did the rest.

Ritson put Barrow two scores in front off the back of Wildie’s sinbinning for his reaction following a penalty for holding on that came after Ryan King’s involvement in not letting the Roughyeds captain free.Oldham struck back, and looked to have scored when Jack Walker broke free and outstretched an arm to ground the ball, but Ryan Cox ruled a knock-on.

Then Adam Milner found his way over, only for Cox to rule the score out again, inexplicably, for another knock-on.

Despite still being 12-0 up, Barrow’s in-your-face tactics began to backfire. A penalty decision was reversed in Oldham’s favour when Joe Bullock decided to launch the ball at the head of Ben Davies.

On the half-hour mark, Adam Milner went over again, but this time the score stood. Moments later, Riley Dean produced a superb dummy to wrong-foot Johnston, leaving him on the turf as he broke through to score and drag Oldham firmly back into the contest.

Ewan Moore put Oldham in front, before half time, when he rose highest to collect Dean’s high bomb and Bibby gave his side further breathing room just minutes into the second forty.

Barrow struck back, just after an hour gone, with Ritson going over for his second, but Davies soon put to bed any thoughts of a Raiders comeback when he powered through to restore the two-score lead.

Josh Drinkwater got in on the act late on, and there was time for Moore to snatch a second to wrap up a big win at Craven Park.