A try just before the half time whistle saw Oldham take a 14-6 lead over Workington Town at the break.

It could have been a lot worse for Town as the normally reliable Paul Crook missed two of his kicks for the Roughyeds and the visitors also bombed a couple of chances.

The game started in the worst possible fashion for Town as Oldham got over the whitewash with just 1.23 minutes on the clock.

The kick-off from Jordan Tansey went dead and Oldham powered their way up to the Town line and Liam Bent crashed over. But the normally reliable Paul Crook was off target with his kick.

Town looked to bounce right back and they saw two good chances go to waste. First they were pulled back as the ref deemed the pass from Stevie Scholey to Oliver Wilkes forward as they closed in on the line.

Then Caine Barnes, the former Seaton amateur on loan from Wigan, spotted a gap in the Oldham defence and exploited it, running 60-metres before being hauled down agonisingly close to the line.

But they got their just rewards on nine minutes as a lovely little pass out of the back of his hand from Carl Forber released Nicholas Gregson and he raced the final 15 metres to score, Jamie Foster tagging on the extras.

Town got close on a couple more occasions but they couldn't add to their score and then Oldham hit back.

The Roughyeds were near the Town line when Danny Langtree got out of the tackle and scampered over, this time Crook adding the goal.

They were nearly in again when a Luke Nelmes offload almost put in Luke Hooley but the ball was knocked forward and Town breathed a sigh of relief.

A great tackle from Karl Olstrom in front of the popular side put the Oldham player into touch to give the home side a chance but again it petered out.

Oldham began putting Town under increasing amounts of pressure, making good yards downfield with each set.

But thankfully for the home team, they also seemed to struggle to find the final ball to get across the whitewash.

Then, in the final minute of the half, Oldham got a scrum 20-metres out from the Town line and it came quickly out to the left when Lee Kershaw rounded the defence to score.

The hooter sounded for half time as Crook lined up the kick and he missed it but the visitors still led 6-14.