Workington Town's survival hopes took a serious dent when they were beaten 30-16 by Oldham on Sunday.

Boss Phil Veivers said his side created enough opportunities to do a lot better, but suffered from poor execution and control.

Some members of the side, he said, chose one of the most important games of the season to have an off-day.

But he couldn’t fault the desire and effort of the team as a unit, especially in the second half when they had use of Oldham’s Bower Fold slope.

He went on: “The hill here is very significant. We were the better side in the second half when we had it but it didn’t help when we turned round 24-6 down when in reality it should have been 18-6.

“That would have given us a real chance, but we didn’t deal with the restart kick – not for the first time this season – and it hurt us hard.

“There are also issues at the club which have been well documented and those things affect the players as well.

“We were twice brought back too for forward passes. I thought one was forward, but not the other one.

“As I say, I couldn’t fault the effort of the lads, but it hit us when we lost Graeme Mattinson with an arm injury and then, late in the game, Callum Phillips suffered damaged ribs. It was a cheap shot. He will need x-rays.

“It was a very physical game, in which Oldham perhaps out-enthused us at times .

“Carl Forber made space for himself and for others on our left edge, but we needed to be more clinical in our finishing and in our general execution.”

Oldham coach Scott Naylor, having seen his Roughyeds beat Town for the first time in three outings, was naturally delighted.

He said players who had come into the team – Scott Turner, Lewis Palfrey, Joe Burke, Sammy Gee – were “absolutely outstanding”.

And he added: “I can’t praise the lads too much for the way they turned it round from last time.

“The win has put us into a stronger position in terms of staying up, but that’s all it’s done. There’s still a long way to go.”