Dumb and Dumber
Dumb football and a moment of madness cost Hornets dearly.
Hornets hadn't been in this game for 70 minutes. A persistence in playing stultifying one out football against an Oldham side that looked comfortable moving the ball around had seen Hornets slip gradually off the pace until the game seemed gone.

But in what seems like typical fashion lately, Hornets started to play a bit once it all looked a bit too late and amazingly clawed their way back to parity with barely a minute left on the clock. With possession from the kick-off coming their way, all Hornets had to do was do nothing stupid for 60 seconds.

However...

The game started unpromisingly; referee Nicholson penalising Hornets in the first three sets; Oldham accepting two penalties to take the lead. In their one lucid moment, Hornets worked the ball wide to Chris Campbell via Tommy Hodgkinson and a Radney Bowker grubber to level the scores.

Then Hornets put the gameplan into neutral; standing off the Oldham attack to gift them free yards at almost every play. Most grateful recipitent was Ricky Bibey, who sucked in defenders and offloaded the ball almost at will.

On the half hour, a towering Turner bomb caused havoc in the Hornets in-goal and as defenders flapped, Wilkinson dropped on the loose ball to score. On Oldham's next attack, the Hornets defence stood stock-still as the ball was passed hot-potato-like in front of them. Eventually, Hough had had enough and plunged through the static defence to score by the posts. Half time 16-4; the first half, for the most part, unwatchable.

If Hornets were to get anything from this game, it was imperative that they scored first. But with Goulding having hiked the ball skywards after 42 minutes, the rest of his team took on the role of spectators as Dodd gathered the kick and then ran 80 metres untouched to score.

22-4 and the game gone? As usual, Hornets attempted their now customary Lazarus-like revival. Firstly Richard Varkulis chipped into the deficit with a try after 52 minutes. Then the introduction of Sam Butterworth had Oldham backpedalling - he weighed in with a typical jinking effort with ten minutes remaining. Goulding's conversion effort bounced tantalisingly on the crossbar and back into the field of play.

Swapping glances between scoreboard and stopwatch, the sizeable Hornets following in the 800 crowd began conjugating the odds of stealing something from the game at 24-18.

Almost immediately, Hornets broke again: McCully chewing up the yards and, three on one on the fullback, elected to pass inside to Cantillon who spewed the ball with the line at his mercy.

With less then two minutes remaining Chris Giles set off on a weaving run up the left flank, swatting defenders as he went and looping in behind the posts to improve the conversion. Bobbie Goulding obliged and - beyond belief - Hornets were level with less than a minute on the clock.

All Hornets had to do with the kick-off possession was hang on for five tackles, hoof the ball as far downnfield as possible and pin Oldham down for a couple of plays.

Instead, Hornets produced a moment of madness. On just the third tackle, Bobbie Goulding threw a wild looping pass to the left wing. Oldham's Munro couldn't believe his luck as the ball fell into his hands.

With seconds remaining, Oldham worked the ball to Turner who cooly placed his drop goal between the uprights to give Oldham a deserved win.

Hornets supporters left feeling a mixture of disappointment and anger: disappointment that their side looks incapable of playing any real football until they absolutely have to; and anger that all that was required to take something from a game they didn't really deserve any reward from, was to produce one set of faultless rugby league.

There are undoubtedly talented players in the Hornets squad - but some have to take a long look in the mirror this morning and ask themselves if they're really up for it.