Stage one of the Bobbie Goulding revival fell perfectly into place as his new look Hornets side out muscled and out-enthused a somewhat flaccid Oldham to take the 2008 Law Cup.

Despite a shape-shifting unlimited number of substitutions, in order to give as many players as possible valuable game-time, Hornets looked consistently cohesive as Steve Deakin's loose collective of 'big name' signings flapped and flailed.

And it was Hornets who got the scoring underway after just five minutes: Good pressure up the narrow side saw man-of-the-match Ian Sinfield burrow through bodies to score in the corner. Chris Hough made light of the difficult conversion to take Hornets into an early 6-0 lead.

But Oldham hit back just five minutes later: good hands across the line creating space for St Hilaire to score by the flag. Nanyn hoyed the ball into the Pearl Street stand.

Having survived a let-off when Oldham centre Halliwell opted to cut back into the cover rather than ship the ball to unmarked winger Littler, Hornets went straight back downfield where the impressive Martin Ainscough stepped through defenders to score. Hough slotted the two and added a penalty for good measure to take Hornets in at the break 14-4 up.

Hornets started the second half in similarly enthusiastic mood: enthusiastic defence providing the platform for lots of nice work with the ball-in-hand. Indeed, one sequence of 12 passes drew appreciative applause from the home support.

With Oldham reticent to engage the Hornets attack, Craig Bower floated a delicate chip into space, the bounce falling favourably for the supporting Chris Campbell who scooted in by the posts. Hough goaled, 20-4.

After much huffing and puffing, Oldham's two best players combined to peg back the Hornets' lead: a well-timed pass by Coyle finding Roberts with just enough stretch to find the line. Nanyn missed the conversion. 20-8.

But Hornets hit straight back. Good pressure on defence saw Oldham cough the ball; Hornets pushed players into the attacking line; Craig Bowers lofted a pinpoint chip to the posts, where Martin Ainscough hurled himself through the crowded in-goal to touch down. 26-8.

With Goulding keen to see all of his charges in action, Hornets chopped and changed the line-up in the later stages. Oldham capitalised on a side pulled somewhat out of shape and exploited Hornets influx of smaller players.

Firstly Joseph exploited napping markers to flop in from a yard and give Nanyn a conversion he couldn't miss (26-14), then good approach play from the visitors saw Boults touch down. Nanyn converted and, at 26-20, the Oldham fans finally roused themselves from their slumber.

But as Oldham threw players forward, the defence stood resolute to give Hornets a well-deserved Law Cup victory.

Much like the rest of us, Bobbie Goulding was a happy man: " I'm really pleased," he said. "Players were supporting one another: if we made a big tackle, slapping each other on the back. There was loads of enthusiasm." This was echoed by skipper Jim Elston: "This has showed that we've got heart, we know how to play the game, but more importantly that we are a team... it's now about taking that forward into the rest of the season."