OLDHAM, 14, FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 40
FEATHERSTONE Rovers will hit the road to Wembley for the first time since 2021 on Saturday, June 7 after a comprehensive 1895 Cup semi-final win over Oldham at Boundary Park.
Answering their early-season critics in emphatic style, Rovers nilled Oldham in a one-way first half, scoring three unanswered tries on the back of a near faultless defensive display.
They snuffed out any Oldham resistance in the second half to run out convincing 40-14 winners in front of 600-plus travelling supporters who turned the Jimmy Frizzell Stand at Boundary Park into party central at the final whistle.
After leading 18-0 at the interval and squeeing the life and energy out of their hosts in the first half, despite an Oldham fightback which conjured up three tries, Rovers hammered home their advantage with two late tries from man-of-the-match Caleb Aekins and Connor Wynne in the last five minutes.
Head coach Paul Cooke promised disciplined defensive effort from his side and Rovers delivered that in spades, repeatedly rocking the home side back on their heels, starting the match quickly and taking a 2-0 lead with a Reynolds penalty in the ninth minute.
What followed in the remainder of the first 40 minutes was an object lesson in the art of the game of rugby league with Rovers completing defensive and attacking sets which gave their opponents little or nothing to work with on eitherside of the ball.
Tries from Aekins, Wynne and Webb, two Reynolds conversions and Reynolds’ early penalty saw Rovers end the first half comfortably in front after reducing Oldham to chasing shadows.
Oldham hit back twice early in the second half through unconverted Davies and Milner tries to cut Rovers’ lead to 10 points before normal Rovers service was resumed.
Webb and Hampshire grabbed a try apiece with Reynolds converting both before Oldham troubled the scoreboard again, but Rovers then responded with the try of the contest, Jones cruising in under the sticks to finish off Olpherts’ scintillating line break.
Lowe grabbed what proved to be a consolation try for Oldham with 10 minutes to go, but further tries from Aekins and Wynne in the closing minutes sealed a memorable Rovers victory.
Teams
Oldham: Laulu-Togaga’e, Lowe, Turner, Hirst, Davies, Dean, Drinkwater, Dudson, Forber, Chapelhow, Ashurst, Milner.
Interchanges: Pelissier, Craven, Farnworth, Moran.
Featherstone Rovers: Aekins, Olpherts, O’Connor, Gale, Wynne, Hampshire, Reynolds, Springer, Jubb, Beckett, Webb, Hardcastle, Addy.
Interchanges: Jones, Arnold, Williams, Vuniyayawa.
Scorers
Oldham
T:Davies, Milner, Lowe,
C: Drinkwater
Featherstone Rovers
T: Aekins 2, Wynne 2, Webb, Hampshire, Jones.
C:Reynolds 5
P: Reynolds 1
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas
Attendance: 1750