23rd August 2000   

Reports from Oldham and Huddersfield

ATHLETIC will play their natural attacking game when they go to Huddersfield to defend a 1-0 lead in the Worthington Cup first round. Manager Andy Ritchie made his pledge to be bold after last night’s impressive victory over first-division opponents. Ritchie said: “We aren’t a team who can go there and just try to sit and defend. We still aren’t good enough to do that. “We won’t change our game for anyone, no matter what the situation. If you do that, you give the other team the whip-hand right from the word go.” Ritchie was pleased with the first-leg performance, which was crowned by Carlo Corazzin’s goal and another promising display by 19-year-old Danny Boshell. But he felt Athletic should have made more of their chances against a Huddersfield team missing several players through injury. “I would be happier if we had scored another two goals,” Ritchie explained. 

“We played well, but we’re only halfway there and they could have one or two players back for the second leg, which will make our task even harder. “Carlo did well again. His form hasn’t dropped yet and he has been consistently good. “It isn’t just him, though. The back three were excellent last night and Neil Adams has had a very good start to the season. Danny Boshell also looked good after his initial nerves. He can look a bit lightweight, but we are working on that.“We were a bit disjointed in midfield at Walsall on Saturday, so we decided to give Danny a chance to see how things worked out. He is still learning the game and he is sure to get better with age.” Athletic have no new injury worries for Saturday’s home league match against Peterborough. However, Will Haining — a very promising 17-year-old defender — has undergone a double hernia operation. The second leg of the Worthington Cup tie is at the McAlpine Stadium on Tuesday, September 5.

AT Athletic’s current rate of progress, the problems they have suffered at home for the last two years will soon be a dim and distant memory. Having demolished Port Vale on the opening day of the season, Andy Ritchie’s buoyant side returned to Boundary Park with another polished and confident display. They were more convincing than the scoreline suggests, dominating Huddersfield for most of the night in the Worthington Cup first round. As this is a two-legged tie, however, their passage is far from secure. Huddersfield will surely pose a bigger threat back at the McAlpine Stadium and, by the end of the saga in two weeks’ time, the first division outfit might be thankful for last night’s valiant performance from goalkeeper Nico Vaesen. Vaesen defied Athletic almost single-handedly as they cut his defence to shreds after Carlo Corazzin grabbed the winner in the 24th minute. The hosts had four great chances to plump up their cushion for the return leg, while injury-hit Huddersfield — who were lambasted afterwards by boss Steve Bruce — hardly troubled Gary Kelly. The match was a useful yardstick to judge how far Athletic have come. And the news was good for Ritchie and his coaches. Man-of-the-match Corazzin has made an enormous difference, but this was a collective effort which showed Athletic are clearly improving as an overall unit.

Another bonus was the recall of Danny Boshell, who replaced Mark Innes in a well-balanced midfield. Boshell did particularly well once he found some space — created for him by the industry of Lee Duxbury and Paul Rickers — and was able to show off his wide range of passing. The teenager spread the ball intelligently, helped to create the decisive goal and did enough to suggest he will beat Innes in the race to replace John Sheridan. Boshell’s performance, in fact, was an accurate reflection of Athletic as a whole. They took a while to make their presence felt and, in those early stages, Huddersfield looked to have an extra touch of class. But Athletic had the fighting spirit to counteract that threat, getting in among them to win more than their fair share of the ball. Neil Adams was a major beneficiary and, once again, the wing-back was the key supply line. Of the seven goals registered in three games so far, Adams has scored two and had a major say in four more. And his accurate crosses seem to have the ideal target in Corazzin, the Canadian international who continues to impress in Ritchie’s front line.

For a man of 5ft 10ins, Corazzin is excellent in the air and consistently causes problems for defenders much taller than himself. Huddersfield’s Chris Lucketti, at 6ft 1in, found him too hot to handle. That was a telling factor in Athletic’s victory — and it was perfectly illustrated by Corazzin’s all-important strike. The first action of the night came after only 40 seconds when Paul Jones collected Athletic’s first booking of the season for a scything tackle on winger Ben Thornley. After Thornley picked himself up, he darted through the home defence to create a chance which was blasted over by Chris Hay. The Terriers had the best of a scrappy opening, thanks in part to Athletic’s poor distribution from the back. Delroy Facey miscued a volley at the near post before Hay, stretching away through the inside-right channel, fired over with a decent opening. Up to that point, Athletic were unable to make any impact. But they drew first blood with the sweetest move of the game. Boshell began the attack when he picked out Adams with a perceptive ball to the right. Adams curled in the ideal cross to Corazzin, who again defied his height disadvantage with a tremendous leap and well-directed header into the bottom corner from 10 yards. Half-chances followed for either side as Athletic began to get their game together at both ends of the pitch.

The rise in tempo almost brought a goal in the 40th minute as Duxbury helped on another Corazzin knock-down and Mark Allott’s well-struck effort was blocked by Vaesen. Athletic also had vociferous penalty appeals waved away as Adams went down under a Kenny Irons tackle just as he was poised to break free. With space opening up in midfield, it was now a fast-paced, free-flowing contest. And the hosts had an obvious edge. They almost doubled the lead when Adams and Corazzin combined once again. This time. however, the striker’s powerful header was brilliantly clawed off the line by Vaesen. Another penalty shout was ignored by George Cain after Allott looked to be felled by Irons. But the referee ensured he was just as lenient at the other end when Jones dragged back Facey. Athletic should have gone two up after 58 minutes, only for Andrew Holt’s close-range blast to be kept out by Vaesen and the rebound — again smashed by Holt from six yards — to be blocked. Placement, rather than power, might have helped the wing-back’s cause. Although Vaesen deserves plenty of credit, there is a danger Athletic will regret failing to increase their lead when the opportunity was there.

They had a major escape when Jones diverted a cross towards his own ’keeper and was hugely relieved to see Kelly produce a superb flying save to prevent an own goal. Shaun Garnett also preserved the advantage, heading off the line when the busy Irons curled a 20-yard free-kick around the defensive wall. But Athletic had the best chance of the closing stages when Rickers chased Corazzin’s through-ball and evaded Vaesen, only to be headed off by the last defender, Tom Heary. That rescue act may prove vital in the long run. With Athletic deservedly keeping a first clean sheet of the season, it also set up a fascinating clash on the other side of The Pennines.