Following the 4-0 FA Cup stroll against non-league Chelmsford City on Saturday, Andy Ritchie's strugglers take on Wycombe Wanderers in another vital league match. It is the first of seven games in a month —five of them at home — and Ritchie knows the value of starting that run with a winning flourish. He said: "I think the number of games is a bit over the top, but they are here and we have to handle them. "Wycombe's form has dipped a bit so this could be the right time to catch them. It would certainly be nice to start the month with a win." Athletic's reward for their first-round cup victory was a home draw against Swansea, who are currently 12th in division three. The tie, which will be played two weeks on Saturday, pits Athletic against a team who beat second division Colchester in the first round. Ritchie said: "It's a very difficult game.

They are always a hard side and there's no doubt that their manager, John Hollins, will have them fired up. "It's nice to be at home, though, and we'll be looking to get through this one and maybe pull out one of the big fish in the third round." But they will have to do so without Phil Salt, who is about to become the seventh Athletic player this season to be ruled out for a long spell.

The young midfielder, who has already been absent for two months, is to have surgery on an unusual ankle injury. The tendons in Salt's ankle are rubbing against the bone, having been loosened by a kick in training. He is expected to be out for six weeks, but there could be better news of full-back Jordan Tait, who has seen a specialist and is hopeful that a hernia operation will not be necessary. Already this season, Tait, Shaun Garnett, Stuart Thom, Paul Beavers, Steve Whitehall and Richard Graham have missed several games through injury. For tomorrow night's game, Andrew Holt will have a fitness test on his dead leg. Holt missed the weekend cup match and is also a doubt to face Wycombe. Ritchie said: "Although he was not far off on Saturday, he could do with a bit more rest. There was no point risking him when we have so many games coming up together."

OLDHAM ATHLETIC 4, CHELMSFORD 0

THE gulf in class between these two FA Cup protagonists was neatly summed up by events long after the final whistle had been blown. With Boundary Park in virtual darkness, Chel-msford’s team emerged — one by one and beer bottles in hand — to pose for souvenir snapshots at the biggest ground most of them ever have, or ever will, visit as players. Almost two hours after their cup run had come to an end, they then climbed on to their coach and headed off for a night on the tiles in Manchester. For the Essex part-timers, this first-round tie was not about the result, disappointing though it eventually was. It was about 15 minutes of fame, a chance to rub shoulders with the big boys and — hankies at the ready — the genuine romance that still surrounds the FA Cup. Athletic, whose four-goal haul was their biggest for more than two years, did a professional job on an afternoon which was strewn with potential pitfalls. Without being patronising, it is fair to say that Chelmsford were quite content to enjoy their big day out and leave with dignity intact. The Dr Martens League minnows never looked remotely capable of springing a shock and were, in fact, lucky to escape with the drubbing they did. It was not that Athletic played particularly well, just that mediocrity was more than enough to see off opponents who spent the entire match on a mission to stifle and contain.

Athletic needed 28 minutes and a stroke of good fortune before breaking down a defensive barrier of 10, sometimes 11, Chelmsford players. Even then, they weren’t exactly in dazzling form. But Chelmsford’s limitations were totally exposed and it became a matter not of if, but of by how many. The non-leaguers were forced to set up camp around their own box, hoping to defy the odds by catching their illustrious hosts on the break. With only one man up front, there was precious little chance of that happening. And though the tie often became turgid, Athletic were able to use it as a confidence-boosting exercise before resuming their battle for second division survival. If anyone in particular will benefit, it could be Neil Adams. The old favourite has had a lean time since returning in the summer and would admit that he has been frustrated by his own lack of sparkle. Given the rare freedom to attack whenever he liked, Adams put in a stream of good crosses and even showed off a few of his party pieces. He will have enjoyed the chance to find some form, as will substitute Steve Whitehall, who scored his first goal of an injury-hit season. In midfield, John Sheridan was back in the old routine after missing the last two games while, to a big cheer, Ben Futcher was given his home debut when Richard Graham took a rest.

Athletic, who moved Mark Innes to wing-back when Andrew Holt was ruled out, needed a solid start to calm the inevitable nerves. They were over-eager at first, but it was quickly clear that Chelmsford — having to do without three of their strikers — were a side of limited attacking potential. Craig Dudley’s deflected prod and two long-range efforts by Paul Rickers were the nearest Athletic came to a goal as the visitors held on gamely. They were defending too deep, however, and Innes had little trouble making his way into the box to create Athletic’s opener. From Sheridan’s pass, the Scot moved to within shooting range and hit a curling drive against a defender. The ball cannoned on to Dudley and, cruelly for Chelmsford, bounced in off the crossbar from six yards. Athletic struck again two minutes later, this time from a short corner taken by Adams. Sheridan seized possession on the edge of the area, cut inside quickly and rolled back the years with a stunning shot beyond goalkeeper Paul Catley. The second goal killed the contest, ushering in a spell which amounted to shooting practice for Athletic. But their aim was too often wide of the mark and, rather than swamping their crestfallen rivals, they had to settle for a domination which showed little end product. In their defence, the second half began with a spectacular backdrop of torrential rain and gale-force winds. Fans ran for cover, while the players — protecting themselves with hunched shoulders and squinting eyes — suddenly resembled a collection of Notre Dame bell-ringers.

But, as the clouds lifted, so did Athletic’s tempo. With 71 minutes gone and the advantage looking much too narrow, Lee Duxbury controlled the ball in the corner of the 18-yard box and whipped a terrific curling shot just inside the far post for his third goal of the season. By then, Athletic had already freshened up their attack by bringing on Whitehall and Matthew Tipton. Both men had an impact and Tipton was unlucky not to score with both a far-post header and a raking drive which hit the foot of a post. Catley was performing with credit in the Chelmsford goal and his bravery ensured Athletic managed only one more telling strike. That came in the 83rd minute when Tipton crossed low from the left and Whitehall side-footed neatly into the corner from six yards.It gave the scoreline a more realistic look, but Athletic will know that their next cup challenge will be an awful lot tougher than this.

DESPITE seeing Athletic gain the biggest win of his managerial career, Andy Ritchie could still see plenty of room for improvement. The Boundary Park boss was happy with the result, but felt his side remained short of that elusive killer instinct. “We could and should have had more goals,” Ritchie said. “Their goalkeeper made four good saves and there were times when the ball flew across the box without us getting the final touch, which we have to start doing more often. “I’m disappointed that we weren’t ruthless enough. And the movement of the front two (Mark Allott and Craig Dudley) could certainly have been better. “This result should give us more confidence, but if we had been more alert we would have won more comfortably.” Ritchie accepted, however, that non-league Chelmsford had made life difficult by keeping so many bodies behind the ball. He added: “We had a hint that they would play that system because they had injuries. “They also used it in a league game against Ashford the other night as a trial run. “A tie like this is always a banana skin, the kind of game people are waiting for you to slip up in. “I’m pleased that we came through it OK and that it turned out to be the ideal opportunity to give Ben Futcher another run and to get Steve Whitehall and Matthew Tipton off the bench for a while.”

Chelmsford manager Gary Bellamy was characteristically frank about his team’s display. He said: “My lads now realise how tough the professional game is. “Some of them have got bruises where they’ve never had them before and they will be feeling it tomorrow. “To be honest, it was what I expected. Oldham are a very good Football League side and we would have been kidding ourselves if we thought it would be an easy game. “We didn’t do ourselves justice, but hopefully we would do better in the same position next year. “That was our sixth FA Cup tie of the season and I hope the players have been learning from every game. “Because we have been successful at our level and Oldham are struggling at their’s, some of the fans thought we could come here and compete. “We showed Oldham a bit too much respect and, in our league games, people do that with us. “It was a reversal of roles. But there is some consolation because the game was good for us financially and all the national attention has done a lot on the publicity front.”

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