Wath Brow Hornets made progress in the Xamax BARLA National Cup with a 24-10 home win in the first round of the competition.

It means they will have another home tie on Saturday when Orrell St. James will visit west Cumbria.

The victory over Oldham St. Anne’s was very satisfying for the Hornets as they turned-out a very young side with just four players over the age of 20.

The opening quarter was very even with James Dixon leading the young Hornets’ pack round the field looking for the openings.

They made the breakthrough on 22 minutes when a cross kick over the head of the Oldham winger was scooped up by Matt Sibbald who sprinted over the line. Curtis Teare landed the conversion.

This seemed to give the youthful Brow team more confidence and a second try came ten minutes later when James Dixon crashed over, almost taking the post with him, and again Teare converted.

Times was running out in the first half when the Brow went in again following a good handling move.

This time, it was winger Ellis Curnow who made the whitewash with Teare landing a touchline conversion.

It had been an effective first-half performance by Wath Brow but Oldham came out for the second half in a better frame of mind and, for the first time, began to put real pressure on their hosts.

The defence held stoutly until the 66th minute when they breached the Brow line as Sam Akeroyd went in from acting half-back. Ryan Powell converted.

It could have been a testing time for the young home team but quick reactions from 17-year-old Jake Pearce saw him race 60 metres for the clinching try, again converted by Teare.

In the last minute, Oldham scored a second try, this time by Darren Fletcher but it was mere consolation.