IN FRONT of Oldham’s biggest crowd since 2008, Roughyeds inflicted a bruising 44-6 defeat on title-challengers Keighley Cougars, writes Kasey Smith.

The Main Stand at Boundary Park had to be opened to accommodate the 2,572 supporters who watched a dominant Oldham display.

In contrast to the reverse fixture, where Roughyeds came up desperately short, it was Oldham who bossed Cougars in every department.

There were debuts for new-signing Riley Dean, as well as Adam Sidlow who has joined the club on a short-term loan deal with both players having a positive impact on the game.

Logan Astley made way for Dean while top try scorer Cian Tyrer was, again, left out in favour of Dixon who had another strong performance. Some tough decisions, but Oldham now have genuine competition for places in every position.

Back in the side was Danny Craven, having served his one-match ban for foul and abusive language, and his kicking game was first class, making life as difficult as possible for Cougars.

It was Oldham’s pack which was the more dominant this time, led by the relentless Owen Farnworth who has been outstanding in a red and white shirt this season.

Far from being solely a big, strong outfit – which you might accuse Keighley of being – Oldham possess deadly pace and tricky players who can unlock defences when they have the ball in dangerous territory. And they did exactly that on Sunday afternoon.

Oldham took the lead on six minutes through Mo Agoro who dived over in the corner, after being played in by Dean.

Keighley had their chances, with Sa’u going close early on, but Oldham, so good at defending as a unit, kept Cougars – who had scored an average of 37 points a game going into the match – at bay.

Captain Jordan Turner doubled the lead after forcing his way over from close range with Dixon converting a penalty to make it 12-0.

A clever offload by Sidlow to hooker Matty Wildie allowed Brad Gallagher to ground Oldham’s third after his quick step wrongfooted the Cougars defenders.

Roughyeds extended their lead to 20-0, moments before half-time, after Dixon kicked another penalty goal.

Miller was forced off with an injury, and matters got worse for Keighley after a knock-on and then a penalty conceded deep in their own half.

The inevitable Oldham try followed, and this was probably the pick of the bunch. Aldridge looped a precise pass into Pat Moran’s path, catching the Cougars defenders off guard as they followed Dean’s clever dummy run. This opened up a huge gap for Moran, who offloaded to Jack Johnson, who then tapped it to Agoro, who scored again.

To their credit, Keighley kept battling with Pickersgill denied from close range and, after two Oldham knock-ons, Jordan Schofield was able to spin and ground the ball under the posts.

But there was to be no comeback. Just minutes later, Danny Craven scored Oldham’s fifth and in the closing stages, Jack Johnson bagged two more.

Victory opens up a three-point gap between Keighley in second and Oldham now have one hand on the League One trophy.

Oldham: goals, Dixon 8/9; tries, Agoro x2, Turner, Gallagher, Craven, Jack Johnson x2

Keighley: goals, Parker 1/1; tries, Schofield

OLDHAM: Laulu-Togaga’e; Agoro, Jack Johnson, J.Turner, Dixon; Craven, Dean; Farnworth, Wildie, J.Chapelhow, Wardle, Gallagher, Moran. Subs: Aldridge, T.Chapelhow, Josh Johnson, Sidlow (all used). 18th man: Astley.

KEIGHLEY: Pickersgill; Blackmore, Ryder, Sa’u, Walkley; Bishop, Miller; Maher, Flanagan, Revell, Robson, Lanskey, Brown. Subs: Parker, Ioane, Schofield, England (all used). 18th man: Dean.

Ref: Kevin Moore HT: 20-0 Pens: 11-8 Att: 2572