Sam Ratcliffe's return cannot save Thornhill Trojans from defeat at Oulton Raiders

​On a tough day for the club there were some bright spots, however, including welcoming back Sam Ratcliffe, who had been out of the game for the last 12 months.

He was thrown in at the deep end at full-back and his performance was remarkable against an Oulton team in ruthless form.

Without such a composed performance from Ratcliffe, the margin of defeat would have been far greater as the full-back stopped several clear cut scoring opportunities for the home team and was named official man of the match.

Joel Gibson was another player who stood out for the Trojans as he tried to take them forward and did more than his fair share of the work in defending.

But it was simply a case of men against boys as the Raiders team tested the resolve of the Thornhill youngsters. Oulton had too much strength and power which they used to cut Thornhill open time and time again.

Their first score came straight from a scrum as the ball was shipped out to the wing and Adrian Holdsworth forced his way over. Kieron Walpole converted.

Jordan Blagg then charged straight over the top of a Thornhill tackler to romp over for another try goaled by Walpole.

The next Oulton try was created and scored by scrum-half Harvey Whitley and was again improved by Walpole.

Thornhill's best moment in the first half came when Chris Mitchell appeared to have gone over for a try out wide. However, the referee waved this score away for a forward pass.

The Trojans had a setback when they lost Jake Wilson with an ankle injury and just before half-time a short pass out to the wing put Adrian Holdsworth over for his second try to make it 22-0 at the interval.

Thornhiill's travelling supporters were finally given something to shout about when early in the second half as Bailey Lee burrowed over for a try from close range. Joel Gibson converted.

But then four tries from Oulton without reply turned the screw further, putting the result beyond doubt.

Scrambled defence kept Oulton at bay for a period, but eventually Matt Todd went over for a try converted by Walpole.

Thornhill's defence was then blown wide open down the middle and Danny Mackintosh went over with Walpole goaling.

More serious pressure on the try line led to Keiran Hartley going over for a try improved by Walpole.

Walpole then became a try scorer when the ball was worked along the attacking line for him to cross in the corner.

Thornhill did have their moments in the second half. On one occasion, with play on the last tackle, Mitchell put a kick into the in-goal area that saw the ball bounce around dangerously. Lee picked his moment to pounce and ground the ball to score a try. Mitchell converted.

Oulton had the last word right on full-time as Harvey Whiteley raced over for an unconverted try.

Trojans: Sam Ratcliffe; Chris Mitchell, Jordan Ward, Ryan Mitchell, Travis Lumb; Bailey Lee, Joel Gibson; Oli Brown, Jordan Lowther, Liam Harley, Ryan Hardcastle, Jake Hickling, Jake Wilson. Subs: Jarren Egan, Josh Riley, Ewan McDonald, Zak Chatterton.

Man of the Match: Sam Ratcliffe.