In this N F P match played on 18 Jun 2000 at Spotland, Rochdale , the referee was Steve Nicholson, and 2073 people watched. In extremely hot and sunny weather, the half time score was 12- 16, and Oldham received 6 penalties to Widnes's 4.		GAMESTAR Simon Knox
Oldham	34
Widnes Vikings	26

TOP 6 CHANCES BURNT

Widnes lost any chance of finishing better than 7th place in this terrific match played under intense sun against a powerful Oldham side that enjoyed the lion's share of possession.
The home side came out all guns blazing in the first half, and Widnes seemed to be weak in comparison. In 6 minutes, Oldham were ahead thanks to a Steve Molloy try. The on-loan international would go on to play a big part in this match, but his early drive gave Oldham a lead they deserved.
Pat Rich got the goal, in fact missing just one of out 6 mostly difficult attempts.
The second Oldham try was VERY dubious. Kevin Mannion was offside at a high kick, but even when he gathered it, he knocked on. The referee ruled play on and the try was scored wide out. Another dodgy decision by none other than Steve Nicholson giving Widnes offside after an Oldham kick ahead almost gifted a Roughyed try, but stout Vikings defence held firm.
The big men of Oldham were now beginning to tire, and the spritely youngsters of Widnes began to take over.
Simon Knox started to knock the opposition about a bit, gaining many hard yards in the searing heat. This territorial advantage enabled Steve Gee to take a pass and burst through the gap, twice in ten minutes. Phil Cantillon, after a couple of long runs in midfield, scored a trademark short range effort from the play the ball. Widnes were ahead, but once again our kicking let us down and we were unable to pull away.
In the second half, with Oldham down to ten men after Cantillon was held down near the line, Widnes were expected to tear the Oldham pack apart again, but that plan failed to materialise.
Whenever Widnes did get the ball, they dropped it early on. And when Oldham had the ball, they either scored or placed neat kick to keep Widnes penned in.
With seconds ticking away and the game seemingly out the Vikings' reach, Chris Murphy made a name for himself. The substitute second-rower took the ball wide out on the right, and knocked the defenders out of the way before sprinting 60 yards to score. The conversion attempt, needless to say, was fluffed. But four minutes later, Karl Fitzpatrick showed us the dribbling skills we haven't seen at Widnes since the 80s, to score by the posts. The goal was scored, and there were only 4 points in it.
Despite a couple more periods of possession, the Vikings just couldn't get that crucial score. When Oldham hammered the final nail into the Widnes coffin, it was a cruel finish to a tortuous afternoon of Rugby.

WIDNES

1. James Briers
2. Afi Leuila
3. Chris Percival
4. Eddie Kilgannon
5. Karl Long
6. Liam Jones
7. Lee Birdseye
8. Simon Knox
9. Phil Cantillon
10. Steve Argent
11. Steve Gee
12. Mick Hill
13. Tommy Hodgkinson
14. Damian Munro
15. Chris Murphy
16. Karl Fitzpatrick
17. Lee Hansen