Oldham U14s v Fylde U14s

After a tough game last week against Bolton, It didn’t get any easier as the U14s welcomed Fylde U14 to Manor Park for the last game of the group stage of the Lancashire Cup. Oldham had Joel Cunniffe, Ryan Clayton and Jamie Queenan back in the squad but were without Lewis Miller who had suffered an ankle injury playing for his school team.

Oldham u14s captain Max Walsh won the toss and decided to receive the ball. It was a freezing, winters day in Oldham but this did not affect the players of both teams as the game started with a frantic pace. Both teams were doing the basics incredible well, looking after the ball and showing some excellent rugby skills in tricky conditions. The centre partnership of Harrison Green and James Collinson was working well with both making some excellent breaks but just didn’t have the support to turn them into try’s. At one stage Oldham had gone through 9 phase of play which at u14s level is fantastic to see. Scrum half Jamie Queenan was controlling the game from the back off the ruck while forwards Walsh, Gino Mcara and Alex Jones were making some hard yards. After 15 minutes it was clear one of the defences had to break and it was Oldham’s who gave in first as the Fylde scrum half threw a dummy to go in under the sticks. The conversion was missed. From the re-start Oldham went straight back under their own sticks as the Fylde backs used the overlap to score out wide, again the try was unconverted. After some stern words from coach Tim Barlow, Oldham got their heads back into gear and after some great work by Toby Ryland-Jones down the left wing, the ball found itself with Collinson who broke back down the middle off the pitch to score under the posts. The kick was missed but Oldham were definitely in the game. The fast and hard pace of the first half came at a price with Harrison Green (ankle) and Reece Longdin (finger) both having to leave the pitch with injury.

Half Time: Oldham u14 5 v Fylde u14 10

Fylde started the brighter of the two teams in the second half and again were in under the sticks after some poor defence from Oldham, this time Converted. Without Green and Longdin, Oldham were finding it hard to keep the ball and Fylde took advantage of this and scored another 2 quick tries both unconverted. Oldham again then woke up and started playing the rugby they are capable of. This put the visitors on the back foot and Oldham started advancing their attacks and gained a good foothold in the game. After some great hands by Oldham’s backs, Ryan Clayton “Spider” found his was way into the oppositions 22, only to be tackled short of the line. The ball then found its way to Joel Cunniffe, who from 5 meters out isn’t going to be stopped. Try unconverted. From the resulting kick off, Oldham went straight back on the attack which led to an Oldham scrum just outside the 22. This saw number 8 Max Walsh used via a well-practiced scrum move to go in for Oldham’s 3rd try of the game, sadly again unconverted. With 5 minutes to go, Oldham threw everything they had at the visitors, however Fylde’s defence was excellent and the home side were unable to score any more try’s. Instead it was Fylde who finished the strongest with their centre going in for the final try of the day. Unconverted

Full Time: Oldham 15- 32 Fylde

This was a fantastic game to watch and was a great battle between two closely matched sides. Oldham have shown massive improvements since the turn of the year, signs that are there to be seen by everyone. The game could have been very different if Oldham didn’t suffer the two injuries just before half time. Coaches Josh and Tim struggled to pick a man of the match and give it as a team award for all the players as they had all shown outstanding commitment and effort throughout the game. However the Fylde coach did give Oldham’s man of the match to James Collinson