Whitehaven beat Oldham 40-20 in Howard Hill’s testimonial game at the Recreation Ground to lift the Seat Cup.

Hill, who was skipper for the night, was full of praise for the Whitehaven team which was mainly a mixture of youngsters from the reserve grade and veterans like Aaron Lester and David Fatialofa.

“I thought the youngsters in the team really did themselves proud. They showed what a talented group they are, which has to be good for the future of the club.

“I’ve also got to give a big thank-you to Oldham for coming in mid-week after the original Sunday game as frosted off. It isn’t easy coming for a long trip on a Wednesday but they did and contributed to a great night,” said Hill.

It was new Australian Dylan Skee who set the ball rolling on eight minutes when he slipped through to score from dummy half and he also potted the conversion.

Prop forward avid Ford and stand-off Tyone Dalton soon followed him over and Skee’s two conversions gave Hill’s side a handy advantage.

Then it was former Whitehaven rugby union flier Paul Lancaster who finished-opff well when the ball was moved smartly along the line.

There was a flurry of activity when Haven legend Lester stopped Wayne Kerr with a strong challenge an as a result referee Gareth Hewer had to send both players to the sin bin.

(Oldham did get a penalty out of it but Oldham made a mess of their best chance of the half and Haven went in at the break comfortably clear.

Four minutes after the restart Oldham did open their account when winger Mark Brocklehurst followed-up a kick to the corner and got in for the touchdown.

But Haven were soon  back in the groove and 16-year-old Jay Rossi got in for a try after Oldham had lost possession. This time Scott George added the conversion.

Oldham responded again an Craig Robinson crossed for a try in the corner before Whitehaven produced the try of he night. Dalton cleverly slipped through the middle before finding Lancaster with the [perfect final pass.

Youngster Mark Watson as next to cross but in a big finish Oldham grabbed two tries themselves as Chris Clarke and Mick Fogerty got in with Chris Band converting both.

MAL WALKER was there to provide the best pictures of the night for getnoticedonline.co.uk. Howard Hill, man of the moment, has the Seat Cup in the company of legends Aaron Lester and David Fatialofa; David Ford goes in for his try and immediately above is Paul Lancaster scoring one of his two tries.

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