PAUL Crarey had few complaints about the result as Barrow Raiders opened their pre-season matches with a a 24-10 defeat at home to Oldham yesterday.

The Raiders had capitalised on a promising start in the 10th minute when teenage winger Adam Ford sprinted at least 70 metres for the opening try.

But they lost their way after this and Betfred League One side Oldham took control after half time.

And while Barrow head coach Crarey did not read too much into the outcome, he still felt there was plenty of areas for improvement from his team.

"We probably got what we deserved," said Crarey. "I thought we started really well; we played on transition and scored a great try with Fordy.

"We bombed a couple of chances early on and even at the death we should have scored. But in the second half, we wanted to complete, we knocked on on the first set and after that we only had seven sets in the whole of the second half – and I don't think we completed one.

"It's all little things, but we're not going to read too much into it. We've done well in friendlies before and started the season poorly, so it's something to work on."

Under-19 players Ford and Charlie Emslie, who was on the interchange bench, earned the plaudits from Crarey for their displays – as did former Furness Raiders stand-off Jake Carter, who got a consolation try late on.

"I'm proud of Charlie Emslie and Adam Ford," said Crarey. "Charlie didn't get big minutes, but he did well and Jake Carter scored a try on his debut.

"But we were a bit mix-and-match, but next week we've got the three PNG guys coming and Martin Aspinwall is back – and hopefully Dan Toal as well, so we'll improve."