Wildcats secure semi spot
Wakefield Wildcats booked themselves a place in the last four of the Carnegie Challenge Cup with a 46-4 win over Oldham.
Last Updated: 01/06/08 5:55pm
Wakefield head coach John Kear continued his love affair with the Carnegie Challenge Cup as his side booked themselves a place in the last four with a 46-4 win over Oldham.
The Wildcats cemented their first semi-final appearance for 29 years after overcoming a lacklustre start to eventually stamp their authority over their National League Two opponents with nine tries.
As a result the five-time winners are now just 80 minutes away from a first final appearance since their 12-3 defeat to Widnes in 1979, whilst their coach is closing in on becoming the first man to guide three different sides to Challenge Cup success.
However, the hosts did not have things all their own way and found themselves trailing early on as Oldham opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a 60-metre breakaway try from winger Lucas Onyango after an error from Duncan MacGillivray.
The forward's slip-up epitomised Wakefield's start as they enjoyed plenty of possession but were guilty of making a number of unforced errors.
Gleeson opener
It was only after a knock-on from Onyango with 20 minutes gone that the home side gave their fans something to cheer as they were able to compose their attack and open their account.
Sam Obst was the creator, shuffling across the Oldham line before firing a pass into the chest of Sean Gleeson who reached out to score. Danny Brough - a winner with Hull and Kear three years ago - spurned the conversion.
Brough created a second try for his side three minutes later though, sliding a kick in for Damien Blanch to touch down in the corner, although he again failed to convert.
Oliver Wilkes and Gleeson made sure of a more comfortable half-time for their team-mates as they added two late tries, the first of which came after a neat pass from Brough, who converted both.
Despite their late flourish in the first half, Wakefield failed to find cohesion at the start of the second but still added a further try as Brad Drew overpowered his part-time opponents from close range.
Powerful
Oldham - who last won the cup in 1927 - refused to throw in the towel with hooker Simeon Hoyle and former Wigan scrum-half James Coyle both producing powerful displays.
But neither could stop Jamie Rooney racing 60 metres to score on 53 minutes after an outstanding offload from Oldham-born Danny Sculthorpe
The floodgates began to open and Brough nipped in for a try of his own after collecting Tony Martin's pass, with Rooney notching a scrappy second for himself as he bundled over from close to the line.
Martin then grabbed a try of his own to complete the scoring six minutes from the hooter, as Oldham's part-timers understandably began to wilt under the pressure.