REPORT: TOWN VS OLDHAM

Our Town men hosted Oldham, and got agonisingly close.

Workington Town may have fallen just short against promotion-chasing Oldham on Sunday, but the performance produced in front of a passionate home crowd showed exactly why there is renewed belief around the club heading into the final stages of the season.

Coming into the game against one of the Championship's strongest sides, few outside the Town camp gave the hosts much chance. When Oldham raced into a 22-0 lead inside the opening quarter, many would have expected the contest to become one-sided.

Instead, what followed was one of Town's most spirited displays of the season.

The visitors arrived at the Fibrus Community Stadium firmly in the hunt for a top-four finish and demonstrated their quality early on, taking advantage of field position and possession to build a commanding lead.

For a moment, it looked as though Town would be facing another difficult afternoon.

But this side refused to accept that.

Gradually, Town found their rhythm and began to take the game to one of the competition's strongest outfits. The response started before the break when Mason Lewthwaite produced a superb break before finding Rio Corkill in support to get the home side on the scoreboard and inject life back into the contest.

The try lifted both the players and supporters and ensured Town headed into halftime with genuine belief.

That belief only grew after the restart.

Town came out with a completely different energy and intensity, taking the game to Oldham in a way few teams have managed this season.

Corkill grabbed his second try shortly after the restart, and suddenly the visitors were beginning to feel the pressure.

When Oldham were reduced to twelve men following a sin-bin, Town seized the momentum.

A sensational length-of-the-field move saw Evan Lawther burst clear before producing a perfectly timed offload for Braden Leigh to finish. The home crowd sensed something special was brewing.

Moments later, Jamie Doran sliced through the defence before finding Tyce Walmsley in support to score, completing an incredible turnaround.

From 22 points behind, Town had stormed into a 24-22 lead.

The noise around the ground reflected what everyone was thinking: an upset that had seemed impossible just an hour earlier was suddenly within touching distance.

Even after taking the lead, Town continued to ask questions of the Oldham defence. The hosts forced repeat pressure, threatened the line on multiple occasions and looked every bit the equal of a side challenging near the top of the division.

It ultimately took a late score from the visitors to swing the contest back in their favour, denying Town what would have been one of the results of the Championship season.

While there was understandable disappointment at the final whistle, the overwhelming feeling was one of pride.

The character shown by the players, the quality of the rugby produced, and the refusal to give in after such a difficult opening period demonstrated exactly what this group is capable of.

Most importantly, the performance offered a glimpse of what can be achieved when the standards shown on the training field are transferred onto matchday.

Against one of the strongest teams in the league, Town not only competed but they came within minutes of pulling off a famous victory.

The challenge now is to take that confidence, belief and intensity into the weeks ahead.

If this performance is anything to go by, there is every reason for Town supporters to be optimistic about what comes next. Sometimes a narrow defeat can say more about a team's future than a comfortable win, and Sunday's display felt very much like one of those occasions.

We now turn our attention to Salford away this Sunday at 3:00pm.