Oldham RLFC 34-40 Midlands Hurricanes
1895 Cup – Quarter Final
By Tom Kiernan-Wilson
Mark Dunning’s men came into Friday night’s fixture knowing they would have to do it tough. Coming off the back of a five-day turnaround following a 64-0 away loss to full-time London Broncos, the Canes would also need to shift a few people around following the loss of Ryan Johnson and Oliver Roberts at The Cherry Red Records Stadium.
For the first 20 minutes, the hosts absolutely blew the Canes away and a repeat of last Sunday’s defeat looked potentially on the cards. However, what would follow would be perhaps one of the better comebacks to be seen this season.
Jake Bibby would open the scoring two minutes in as he pounced on a deflected intercept by Aidan McGowan (4-0) and Riley Dean would convert from out wide (6-0). Oldham almost went back to back, but a great tackle by Todd Horner would briefly halt their momentum. Seven minutes in, Oldham would double their lead as Jaron Purcell was fed a short pass to cut through the line and score just right of the sticks (10-0), with Dean converting once again (12-0).
The Yeds would then go back to back as a nice offload from the winger before being dragged into touch would find Ewan Moore who dotted the ball down (16-0), and Dean again would convert (18-0). Oldham would extend their lead further when Luke Forber would receive the ball and leap into the corner with an acrobatic effort (22-0) that Dean once again converted (24-0).
However, the fat lady wasn’t singing just quite yet. With their first real opportunity on the hosts line, Captain Jon-Luke Kirby would feed Mikey Wood who in turn would offload to Tyler Dickinson in space, who promptly charged over and used his momentum to carry himself over the line (24-4). Sully Medforth would be on hand to convert (24-6).
The Canes would then go back to back with arguably the finest try of the night. Tom Wilkinson would charge forward and put Else in space to pass to a rampaging Toby Warren, who bust the line and fended the Oldham defence to offload to Else who chipped and collected his own kick before bounding through a gap to score left of the sticks (24-10). Sully would once again convert (24-12).
Two minutes later, the Canes would get their third as a training ground move from the scrum would see Sully feed Matty Chrimes who broke the line before tripping and rolling over the line to score (someone tell Fred Durst) (24-16). Sully Medforth would convert (24-18).
Three minutes later – and just nine minutes after our first try – we would draw level as Sully Medforth would take the ball and give a nice show and go before racing under the sticks (24-22) before converting his own effort (24-24).
Despite the Canes expecting Oldham to come out firing, it was the Canes who would open their account as Sully Medforth would sell a dummy down the right edge before kicking an inside grubber that Luis Roberts would gratefully pounce on (24-28). Sully Medforth would kick a nice conversion from out wide to nudge us further in front (24-30).
Five minutes later, the Canes would rue some ill discipline as a six-again conceded on the last tackle would put Oldham in a strong position, with Riley Dean taking advantage to cut through and score (28-30). Dean would then go on to convert his own try (30-30).
As the sides entered the final 20 minutes, the Canes established a 10-point lead. A Sully Medforth kick on the last would seemingly go nowhere, but instead two fortuitous bounces would see it soar over Forber and into the arms of Aidan McGowan who raced down the right wing to score (30-34). Sully would then nail an impressive conversion from out wide to score (30-36).
The Canes would then go back to back as Cian Tyrer would take a long pass from Else before racing down the left edge to score (30-40). Sully was unable to add the extras, but an all-important two score lead would establish some breathing room for Midlands. This would prove crucial, as just three minutes later Jake Bibby would pounce on a grubber to bring the sides within a converted try, but Dean would miss his first conversion of the evening.
For the final 10 minutes, an unrelenting Oldham would challenge the Canes line but Midlands held firm. Notable efforts include Tom Wilkinson bringing down Luke Forber down the left edge as he broke away, and Matty Chrimes and Aidan McGowan combining to force the Oldham attacker into knocking on.
In the final couple of minutes, Sully Medforth was provided with an opportunity to kick a drop goal but his effort was dragged well wide. It would ultimately prove irrelevant as Aidan McGowan would pounce on an Oldham grubber to kill off any comeback attempt.
This result earns Midlands a place in the 1895 Cup Semi-Final against either London, Widnes or Rochdale (to be confirmed at 4pm on Monday), with our current home game v Goole Vikings on Saturday 13 June likely to be rearranged to accomodate that fixture. Mark Dunning’s men will however have to see if they can repeat Friday’s feat this coming Friday, as we face Oldham once again at Boundary Park in the Championship.
Man of the Match:
Tom Wilkinson (Sponsored by JW Visual | TransformTech Ltd)
Tries:
Dickinson, Else, Chrimes, Medforth, L Roberts, McGowan and Tyrer
Cons:
Medforth (6/7)
