THE score says it all, but on a personal note this great win for Whitehaven will be remembered for Callum Phillips’ four second-half tries.

Returning to the side on the bench after a four-match ban, Phillips replaced on-loan hooker Aiden Roden after half an hour and provided the strike power ‘Haven needed to turn pressure into points.

His razor-sharp support play gave him three tries, but the one that underlined what Gary Charlton’s men were all about in winning at Oldham for the first time in years came when he led the visitors’ fantastic chase of a pin-point kick by Nikau Williams.

So enthusiastic were ‘Haven that the chase was almost like the Charge of the Light Brigade.

It put Oldham’s rookie, young full-back Callum Green under enormous pressure -- not for the first time -- and Phillips was there first to capitalise when Green lost the ball.

Although he scored four of ‘Haven’s six tries, the former Town half-back will be the first to agree that this was no one-man show.

All 17 put in a good shift and none more so than full-back Lachlan Walmsley, scrum-half Nikau Williams, Phillips and forwards Liam Cooper and Tom Wilkinson.

It was teamwork, though, that wore Oldham down and finally crushed them in a one-sided second half when ‘Haven were at their best and, astonishingly, ran in 30 unanswered points to inflict the Roughyeds’ first home defeat this season in Cup and Championship.

Barrow Raiders (Cup), Swinton Lions and Halifax Panthers had all been seen off previously at Bower Fold and Oldham had twice come from behind at half time to keep their opponents scoreless in the second half when attacking down the slope to the Stalybridge town end.

Oldham always elect to play uphill first half if they win the toss and then do the business ‘down town’ in the second half.

In winning the toss and giving Oldham what they wanted by electing to have first use of the slope, ‘Haven boss Charlton either thought it was an issue of no relevance or he used it as a cunning plot to lull Oldham into a sense of false security.

Either way, it worked a treat.

Oldham pride themselves on their second-half performances down the Bower Fold slope - and to get smashed 30-0 in the second 40 here hurt; it really hurt.

At the same time it showed the magnitude of Whitehaven’s triumph.

In many ways, and removing the slope from the equation, Gary’s gladiators beat Oldham at their own game with a performance that was strikingly similar to that with which Roughyeds demolished Barrow, Swinton and Halifax.

They played with enormous energy, enthusiasm, hard graft and self-belief, but beyond that they played the wet, rainy conditions better than Oldham, producing an infinitely better kicking game and finally winning the arm wrestle to go 18-4 in front in the 47th minute.

It was at that point that Oldham seemed to acknowledge it wasn’t going to be their day, whereupon ‘Haven started to play exciting, open rugby.

They had done the hard graft, won the hard slog up front and now, with the rain having stopped, it was time to enjoy themselves with Walmsley, Williams and Phillips, of course, to the fore.

In the final quarter, Phillips crossed for three of his four tries, Walmsley finished with six conversions from six attempts and the job was done.

Oldham will say with some justification that at least three of Whitehaven’s tries were handed to them on a plate.

That doesn’t take into account, however, that they were pressured into error and that ‘Haven’s energy, enthusiasm and collective will to win constantly put the home side on the back foot in the first place.

In a nip-and-tuck, evenly-matched first half, Oldham went ahead after half an hour with a well-worked try by Callum Green, but just before half-time ‘Haven snatched the lead when Oldham winger Ben Holcroft failed to clean up a Williams kick on his own line and Cooper pounced for the try. Walker landed a beautiful conversion off the touchline.

Home fans watching on Our League thought Oldham would dominate the second half, as they have done so often this season, but once Jesse Joe Parker scored in the corner and Walmsley kicked another beauty off the touchline, Roughyeds were second best in every aspect of the game.