Park started the North Lancs/Cumbria League game well, and after applying some good pressure in the first 10 minutes, George Smith, playing out of position at scrum half, and back row Tim Clark combined well, and from the resulting penalty it was Smith who slotted over the first points.
The workmanlike and well-organised Oldham pack started to go about their business, and after a spell on the front foot, midway through the half the impressive visitors scrum half went over for a converted score.
Park’s chances of scoring a try in reply were thwarted by a mixture of dropped passes and good defence, and they had to settle for a 30-metre penalty from Smith.
That reduced the deficit to one point, but another brilliant individual effort from the Oldham scrum half to score between the posts made it 14-6 at half-time.
With Park back row Grady Slater being sin-binned, the Oldham pack cranked up the pressure in Hawcoat’s 22 before getting reward for their efforts with a push-over try to extend their lead.
Before the end there was still time for Oldham to collect their fourth bonus-point try. Typically it came from a Hawcoat mistake, with the loose ball being snapped up and basic handling and support play got the ball out to their back row in space to touch down. Park make their longest away trip of the season to Littleborough to this week with a warning that if their performance levels don’t improve it is going to be a long day.
On a disappointing day the good news was the win for the A-team against Upper Eden on a rare occasion when both senior teams were at home.
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