The A627M El Classico Delivers - As Hornets fall Just Short

Hornets 25 - Oldham 30

Bit of a rushed report from the airport today as I'm travelling with work, but bloody hell, what a game that was.

The A627M El Classico has a history of frenetic, full-blooded encounters and this game had the lot - end to end stuff, 40/20s, nine tries, a bumper 1000+ crowd, a couple of punch-ups and a cheeky drop goal packed into 80 minutes of spectacular effort.

After a first minute break by Danny Davies and Gaz Langley (increasingly, Rugby League's most entertaining double act), Oldham went straight back upfield for Palfrey to score.

Hornets kep plugging away and a well engineered Danny Yates try gave Hornets parity just two minutes later.

With neither side giving an inch, It took close to half an hour for Hornets to break the deadlock, with Wayne English scooting in from close range. In a strange case of deja vu, Oldham marched back up the field where Gilchrist fed off a smuggled Hobson pass to score.

With the hooter imminent, Hornets found Paul Crook with the space and composure to drop the goal that gave the home side a 13-12 half time lead.



But it was Oldham that started the second half with more purpose and, in a lightning ten minutes pulled Hornets completey out of shape with a tripple try-whammy from Thompson, Langtree and Clarke (who looked to have received the decisive pass from a player with a foot in touch).

Hornets dug deep, hitting back with two tries in three minutes from the right-side strike duo of Gareth Langley and Daniel Davies - and went looking for the converted try that would steal the game. To no avail. Oldham just about held firm and Hornets had to settle for the bonus point.

Scant consolation - but what a fantastic advert for KP Ch1 Rugby League.