Fifty years of hurt...
Got a reason to look forward to Sunday's game? Here's another one.

This season, we've been spoiled almost to the point of sickness with this, the spiciest and most local of local derbies. But if you thought that Sunday's game was all about this season, think again.

In the great tradition due Hornets/Oldham clashes, we went back through the record books to see how the two have teams fared over the last century - it's a fixture that's never less than interesting.

One hundred years ago, both teams were playing in the South East Lancashire league - in a fixture programme that took in Stockport, Broughton Rangers and Runcorn. In the first derby clash of the season Oldham lost 10-6 at Rochdale (hooray), only to reverse the result with an 11-nil home win just 7 weeks later.
It's interesting to note that, during that same season, Oldham had their game at Hunslet abandoned after 62 minutes because it went dark.

Ten years later, Oldham and Hornets met three times. Twice in the league, Hornets losing at 'Sheddings by 24 6 and winning 11-3 at home - and in the Lancashire Cup final at Broughton where Hornets ran out winners 12-5.

This time Oldham had their game at Salford abandoned after 65 minutes due to heavy snow - they were winning 8-nil at the time and the score stood!

1922 saw the inaugural 'Infirmary Cup' which Oldham won at the 'Sheddings by 12-8 on the 9th September. In the season that followed, Oldham beat Hornets home and away (11-0 and 18-6 respectively). Three nil indeed!

Over the next decade, Oldham won the Infirmary Cup a further seven times to Hornets' three, but  in 1932 maintained their record of bizarre abandonment's with their game against St Helens Recs falling foul of '...fog and darkness..." at half time.

1949 saw the advent of the newly named 'AJ Law Cup' - which Oldham won convincingly 35-2. In traditional fashion, Oldham had their home game with Castleford abandoned after 52 minutes when a pea-souper descended over the 'Sheddings.

Indeed, a glance through the record books shows Oldham's history littered with a litany of abandonments due to: '...crowd encroaching onto pitch...'(1901) ; '...kit arriving late causing game to run over into darkness...' (1906); '...blizzard...' (1909); '...state of the pitch...' (1927); '...severe cold...' (1930); '...thunderstorm!' (1931); '...bad light after 11 minutes of extra time...' (1963); '...freezing fog...' (1966); '...rainstorm after 23 minutes...' (1968) and: '...fighting...' (v Leigh in 1983). Weirdos.

But it was in 1952 that Oldham set the precedent for today's game. Meeting Hornets five times (Law Cup, Lancashire Cup home and away legs, plus home and away in the league), Oldham ran out winners a staggering five times.

So, having seen Hornets register four wins thus far this term, we have the opportunity today redress the balance of history. Having carried an unspoken - and largely forgotten -  burden for half a century, it's time to put things right. Five nil? Playoffs glory? Revenge for last season? The right to gloat? Sunday's game delivers the chance of all of these - and some real historical significance too.

We've waited a full 50 years for this.   Let's do it.