Between Maye's 17th minute effort and Wilkinson's 73rd minute consolation, Hornets steamed seven tries through an, at times, bemused Oldham defence.

After a tense opening quarter, Oldham's expansive game paid off; Maye's try trumping Danny Wood's earlier penalty to give the Roughyeds the lead.

Oldham strove to give the ball as much width as possible, and it took a superb last ditch tackle by Tommy Goulden to prevent another score.

But Hornets were making good yards up the middle as new boys Ryan Benjefield and Craig Robinson drove the Oldham defence backwards; and it was on this platform that Matt Firth fed Paul Anderson into space to score after 25 minutes.

The introduction of Sam Butterworth and Phil Cantillon to the fray wreaked havoc in the Oldhan line - Cantillon's trademark darts from acting half and Butterworth's mercurial running leaving the Oldham defence clutching air.

On the half hour, Tommy Goulden backed up a good break down Oldham's right flank to score; and four minutes later, Sam Butterworth left Svabic flat-footed as he glided in direct from a scrum.

The half was capped by Robinson's shuddering tackle on Oldham full-back Gorey that had the main stand wincing.

Half time 20-4 and Hornets gaining shape, rhythm and momentum.

Indeed, Hornets began the second half with a real bang. Just four minutes in, Cantillon exploded through the heart of Oldham's defence; Butterworth appeared on his shoulder to carry the break upfield and he drew the cover perfectly to launch Chris Giles in under the black dot. Exquisite football.

Eight minutes later, Butterworth produced a carbon-copy of his first half try: this time Barber was the fall-guy as Sam ghosted in untouched.

Despite Mr Kirkpatrick's attempts to penalise the game to a pedantic standstill, Hornets continued to capitalise on their scraps of possession. Having withstood an Oldham barrage (that twice ended with Oldham handing over on Hornets' line and three times with goal-line drop-outs) Hornets marched smartly upfield and worked the ball wide for Richard Varkulis to score.

The impressive Robinson capped a blockbusting debut with a well deserved try; crashing through tiring defenders to score.

But Oldham plugged away and, with their fans already streaming for the exits, worked the ball down the right wing where Svabic's grubber was flapped at by Mayberry and Wilkinson took advantage to touch down.

Despite the unlimited substitutions and ever-changing line-up, Over the 80 minutes Hornets did find cohesion and fluidity. There was always the sugestion that Darren Abram would have Hornets better drilled on defence and, for long periods in this game, both line and scrambling defence looked strong, willing and organised.

So, while the Law Cup is no real barometer for forthcoming performance, it does let us know the point we're starting from. And, on this performance, it's as good a start as we could expect.

Andy Gorski received the Law Cup from Ray Taylor's wife Barbara; and Matt Firth the Carl Marriott memorial trophy as Hornets' man of the match. Rest of the photos.