Oldham withstand Widnes in Good Friday draw

Oldham survived a Widnes onslaught to earn a 10-10 draw at the DCBL Stadium as tries from Mo Agoro and Jack Johnson extended the Roughyeds' unbeaten run to five games.

The Vikings produced a spirited display in which Allan Coleman's side came from 10-0 down and dominated for long periods, but Oldham's stubborn defence ensured that an under-par performance did not end in defeat.

And with Halifax losing to Bradford, Oldham are now only two points off the pace at the top of the Betfred Championship ahead of the Bulls' visit to Boundary Park next Friday night.

Head coach Sean Long was down to his last 18 fit bodies, handing a debut to teenage Wigan back row Lukas Mason and restoring the fit-again Agoro to the wing. Danny Craven was a makeshift centre and Bailey Aldridge started at hooker with Matty Wildie having undergone elbow surgery this week.

Long's men started brightly and Agoro looked like he has never been away, pouncing on a floated pass from deep and racing on the outside to score acrobatically in the corner in front of an impressive Oldham travelling support.

But that proved the only score of the first half as Oldham's usual slick attack stuttered, while the defence worked overtime to keep a hungry Vikings at bay. Widnes had two tries ruled out - one for a forward pass and one for offside - while Oldham were also denied when Johnson's touchdown was ruled out for a forward pass by Jordan Turner.

Long's half-time team talk looked to have worked well as the visitors grabbed a nerve-settling second try early in the second half. Johnson scored it, but credit former Widnes man Adam Lawton off the bench with a huge charge down the middle, with Aldridge and PLT breaking away to allow Johnson to finish in the corner. Drinkwater converted for a 10-0 lead.

That though was as good as it got as Widnes powered back. Back row Rhodri Lloyd helped himself to two tries by running good angles and suddenly the Roughyeds were on the ropes, crucially - much like last week against Featherstone - a missed late kick kept Oldham in the game.

Both sides missed drop goal attempts in a chaotic finish, with Oldham ultimately hanging on for the draw.

"The way we were coughing up the ball and making basic fundamental errors and compounding those with penalties and poor discipline left us doing too much defending," Long told Roughyeds TV.

In that respect it is a point gained but the lads are upset that it is a point lost.

Widnes can play and were really peppering our line, so credit to our D which was strong but you can't give a team like Widnes that much possession and territory because at some point they will break you."

The draw ends a run of four straight wins but a second draw of the campaign keeps Oldham second. Bradford Bulls come to town next, for a huge Friday night under the Boundary Park lights.