THREE tries gave the Roughyeds victory over their local rivals in a scruffy Northern Rail Cup encounter at Sedgley Park on Monday night.

From the off, Dewsbury official Jamie Leahy was in fastidious mood – handing out 33 penalties in total – and on the back of two, Dave Ellison opened the scoring for Oldham from close range. Matty Ashe converted.

Hornets hit back when a superb phase of handling and support saw Danny Smith dive in out wide.

The stop-start nature of the game continued and on the stroke of half-time Ashe knocked over a penalty to give his team an 8-4 lead.

The second half started with Dayne Donoghue’s dismissal for an alleged late tackle on Ashe, although there was some debate among the crowd as to whether the referee had seen the incident clearly.

This proved a key incident in the game with Oldham scoring two tries in five minutes as Hornets regrouped.

Joe Chandler was first to react when his grubber kick ricocheted off the boot of a Hornets defender.

Following that, a high kick to the corner was allowed to bounce and Lucas Onyango scored. Ashe converted the second for a 20-6 lead.

Hornets didn’t throw in the towel at this stage and it was testament to their excellent fitness levels that they staged a late rally with tries from Danny Samuel and Bolu Fagborun.

Oldham, though, had the final say with an Ashe penalty in the final minute sealing their victory.