Oldham defeat Keighley Cougars to secure League One title

Oldham secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship with a victory over title rivals Keighley Cougars.

In recent weeks Oldham had opened up a gap on rivals Keighley after defeating the Cougars in convincing fashion four weeks ago at home.

They won 44-6 that day but it was today’s 20-12 victory on the road at Cougar Park that has secured the League One title and with it, promotion back to the Championship.

Oldham suffered relegation from the Championship in 2021 and after three seasons in the third tier, they will return to the second division for 2025 under head coach Sean Long.

Oldham return to the Championship after three-year absence

Speedster Mo Agoro scored the opening two tries before Hull KR loanee Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e scored the third to help them to a 14-0 lead after just 20 minutes.

From that point onwards, they didn’t seize the lead and went on to secure the victory and promotion with two games of the season remaining.

👏 Congratulations to @Roughyeds who are the 2024 @Betfred League One Champions! pic.twitter.com/lV1zLyFkyq

— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) August 18, 2024

Keighley Cougars will now go into the playoffs where the victors will play the team that places 12th in the Championship to try and gain an immediate return to the competition following their relegation last year.

It’s no surprise to see Oldham win the league after the incredible squad they put together under their new ownership which includes former player Mike Ford.

The Roughyeds appointed Sean Long as head coach and signed numerous Super League talents such as Elijah Taylor, Jordan Turner and Joe Wardle.

They also recently added Riley Dean to their ranks after signing the former Warrington Wolves man following his return from Australia.

As for Keighley Cougars, they sacked their head coach Matt Foster after a draw with Rochdale Hornets at the start of July as they criticised poor results and a failure to allow the club’s Sporting Director Jake Webster to make signings.

Since then, Keighley have lost twice to Oldham and have now missed out on automatic promotion.