Sheffield Eagles suffer late heartbreak at the hands of Oldham RLFC
The Eagles will look to put this result behind them
The Sheffield Eagles’ winning streak came to an end on Sunday afternoon, as they suffered a 31-30 defeat at the hands of Oldham RLFC in what was a thrilling encounter.
The Eagles were going into the game on a fine run of form, winning their last six matches and making a late push for the top six in the league. Looking to continue their climb up the table, head coach Craig Lingard made two changes to his starting line up, with Millar coming in for Walkley and Bower in for Hodson. This meant Bussey was named on the bench, as well as Peachey making the squad as 18th man. Fresh off the back of a convincing win against Halifax Panthers last weekend, the Sheffield side were hoping to make a statement to the rest of the league against an Oldham side who have lost only three games all season.
It was Oldham who started the game with the upper hand, scoring three tries in the opening 15 minutes and racing to a 16-0 lead, tries from Chapelhow, Simm and Nisbet. With the game threatening to get away from the away side, the Eagles galvanised going close with Gill before shipping the ball out to the wing for Joe Brown to score in the corner. Making the most of the momentum swing, the Eagles kept up the pressure with Gill making a break. Desperately trying to prevent the Eagles break away, Josh Simm took down Gill in an offside position and was sent to the sin bin.
A man up the Eagles looked to claw their way back into the contest, the away side sprung into life as Foster powered over the line for their second of the afternoon. And they weren’t done there. With one minute to go in the first half it was Griffin’s turn to force his way over the line bringing Sheffield back within two points of Oldham. In most games this would be the final action of the first half, but with the bit between their teeth, everything was working out for the Eagles, with Butterworth securing an invaluable 40/20 and giving the Eagles possession deep in the Oldham half. Three minutes over the 40 minute mark, Gill secured the first half comeback scoring the Eagles’ fourth try of the half as they came back from a 16-0 deficit to lead the game 20-16 going into the break.
With the game back underway, the flow of tries did not stop with Oldham putting an end to the Sheffield scoring spree as O’Keefe put the home side back ahead with a quickfire try under the posts. Unlike the first half however, the Eagles did not let Oldham take over the game, with Reilly running a great line through the middle to wrestle the game back Sheffield’s way.
A truly back and forth game, neither side was able to take any real control of proceedings with Oldham this time benefiting from space down the wing for their fifth try of the game from Forber which put the homeside 28-26 ahead. Throughout the game there was a lack of discipline from both sides, with penalties being given all over the pitch. With the scoreline staying within two points since the start of the second half, one mistake could result in heartbreak for either team.
A string of errors from both sides meant the scoring slowed down as we entered the final five minutes of the game, before an Oldham mistake, kicking the ball short from a goal line drop out gave the Eagles a chance to salvage themselves a point with a penalty. The penalty was converted by Bower, levelling the game at 28-28.
But the drama didn’t stop there. With the intensity of the game clearly getting to both sides, a Sheffield mistake off the kick-off gave Oldham another opportunity to pull ahead in the closing moments, as Smith slotted a penalty through the posts to lead by two points once more in the final few minutes. Testament to how they played throughout the afternoon, this late sucker-punch still wasn’t enough to put the Eagles down. Winning a scrum thirty metres out from their own try line, slick hands and composure under pressure released the Eagles up the pitch, and all Oldham could do to prevent the try was give away a penalty ten metres away from their own try line. With only seconds to play, Connor Bower stepped up for the second time in the game and scored another penalty to surely secure the draw for the Sheffield Eagles.
With the clock in the red, the referee allowed time for Oldham to take the kickoff and restart the game for the final time. A brilliantly placed kick from the home side resulted in a goal line drop out for Sheffield, meaning Oldham would regain possession for one last assault on the Eagles’ defence. In heartbreaking fashion for the visitors, Oldham worked their way back up the pitch and within drop goal range for Drinkwater. 35 metres out, the Oldham man calmly placed the ball between the posts, winning the game for the home side and breaking Sheffield hearts.
That was the final action of the game and signalled the end of an absolute classic. Despite late heartbreak, the Eagles showed incredible fight to first come back from 16 points down and then to keep on pushing when the game looked lost. This put an end to the Eagles’ six game winning streak, losing out to the same team who ended their unbeaten start to the season.
The Eagles will look to put this result behind them as they look ahead to their next game back at home against Hunslet next week and finish their season on a high.
Sheffield Eagles: Eden, Brown, Oakes, Gill, Millar, Morgan, Abdull, Fitzsimmons, Johnson, Reilly, Bower, Foster, Griffin‘
Interchanges (all used): Bussey, Butterworth, Bowes, Matongo
18th man: Peachey
Tries: Brown (23’), Foster (35’), Griffin (40’), Gill (40+3’), Reilly (54’)
Goals: Bower (3/3), Abdull (1/3), Morgan (1/1)
Oldham RLFC: Nisbet, Simm, Bibby, O’Keefe, Forber, Smith, Drinkwater, Farnworth, Wildie, Chapelhow, Ashurst, Day, Milner
Interchanges (all used): Forber, Vaalepu, Bentley, Davies
18th man: Liu
Tries: Chapelhow (4’), Simm (9’), Nisbet (15’), O’Keefe (43’), Forber (58’)
Goals: Smith (5/6), Drinkwater (1/1 drop goal)