The Daily On-line e-zine for 275 Oldham Athletic Supporters Worldwide
Today's Edition for
25th September 2000
The Daily On-line e-zine for 275 Oldham Athletic Supporters Worldwide
Today's Edition for
25th September 2000
ATHLETIC’S hopes of a Worthington Cup comeback at Sheffield Wednesday this week have been hit by an injury to Carlo Corazzin. The Boundary Park side are 3-1 down in the second-round tie and will need all the firepower at their disposal for Wednesday’s second leg.
But Corazzin has a hamstring strain and is unlikely to be risked by manager Andy Ritchie. The Canadian striker was taken off in the second half as Athletic earned a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Ritchie explained: “Carlo’s hamstring isn’t quite right and we thought he needed a bit of rest.
“We don’t want to pick up any more injuries, particularly at this stage of the season, so we might leave him out of the Wednesday match.”
Athletic’s selection problems are easing slightly as Neil Adams returned at the weekend and Mark Hotte is now free from suspension.
But
John Sheridan, Paul Rickers and Shaun Garnett face at least another week
on the sidelines, while Matthew Tipton has a badly-bruised pelvis after
crashing into a gate during last week’s first leg.
Allott
goal lifts Latics and gives striker boost ATHLETIC
have now equalled their worst run of results for four years, but they did
restore another chunk of pride with a hard-working draw at Dean Court.
Mark
Allott’s first goal in 10 games set them on their way and, if it revives
the striker’s fading form, could also prove the turning point they have
been seeking.
Maybe
it was the sea air which invigorated Allott and his industrious, if uninspired,
team-mates.
After
a Saturday morning stroll along the prom, Athletic began in vibrant form
and, for only the second time in the league all season, bagged the vital
opening goal.
The
visitors then lost their cutting edge and Bournemouth, who had the lion’s
share of chances, were full value for their equaliser.
It
extended Athletic’s winless sequence to eight, the longest since Graeme
Sharp’s side suffered for 10 matches at the start of 1996/ 97 — and were
relegated to division two.
The
current manager, Andy Ritchie, has engaged in some fevered transfer activity
in the last fortnight. And it was a new-look team which ran out under Bournemouth’s
cloudless skies.
Andrew
Holt moved to centre-back to accommodate Paul Smith on the left and another
new face, Mark Watson, was on the bench.
Paul
Jones, meanwhile, was axed altogether for the first time joining the club
almost a year ago.
Despite
his patent lack of match fitness, Smith looked a useful recruit in an area
where Athletic have been short of cover.
He
has a good left foot, but showed a willingness to cut inside on to his
right. Smith also took over most set-pieces to good effect and, at a burly
six foot, is hard to brush off the ball.
As
Ritchie has already expressed an interest in making the loan deal permanent,
this promising debut must have heightened his hope that Burnley’s price
will be right.
And
another player who could yet be joining full-time is Chris Lightfoot, the
Crewe defender also spending a month at Boundary Park.
Athletic
have looked more assured since Lightfoot’s arrival, possibly because he
has the poise which helps them to keep possession and relieve pressure.
The
30-year-old always tries to use the ball constructively, as well as bringing
experience to a backline deprived of Shaun Garnett.
It
would be interesting to see the two of them together — one made of steel,
the other with a touch of silk.
During
Lightfoot’s initial spell, however, the chances of that will depend on
Garnett’s recovery from a broken hand.
If
Lightfoot stays and Watson is offered a contract, Athletic will have a
surplus of players who either prefer to operate at centre-back or are perfectly
at home there.
Consider
the likes of Hotte, Prenderville, Futcher and McNiven and it’s obvious
that nine into three doesn’t go.
Smith
was the first to threaten for either side when he scythed through some
half-hearted Bournemouth tackles, only to be denied an early shot by the
last covering defender.
But
the 24-year-old went on to play a role in Athletic’s opener, which was
sweetly taken by Allott after 11 minutes.
The
visitors had already looked dangerous going forward when Smith’s short
pass found Allott, with his back to goal and a defender right behind him,
25 yards out.
The
striker’s turn bought a vital extra yard and he charged into the area before
drilling a low shot inside the near post from 12 yards.
Too
often this season, Athletic have failed to convert their domination into
goals. When they righted that wrong here, one might have expected renewed
confidence to course through the side.
Instead,
it was Bournemouth who raised their game to bring ’keeper Gary Kelly into
the fray with a block from Stephen Purches.
Neil
Young’s piledriver flew over before, in the 33rd minute, the hosts missed
a gilt-edged opportunity to level.
Athletic
were rooted in defence as Carl Fletcher beat their offside trap and ran
straight through at Kelly. The shot, however, was so dreadful that Fletcher
was almost too embarrassed to drag himself up off the turf.
A
Bournemouth goal looked imminent, especially when Richard Hughes put another
presentable chance too close to Kelly.
But
Athletic clung on till the break — probably in fear of what would happen
if they didn’t as referee David Elleray had already given two verbal warnings
to head coach Bill Urmson, who was at his, shall we say, passionate best.
Bournemouth
also began the second half brightly, only for some more nightmare finishing
to thwart them.
James
Hayter had all the time in the world after charging down Scott McNiven’s
clearance on the hour mark, but he blazed his shot wastefully over the
bar.
Two
minutes later, Athletic were finally pegged back by a goal from Bournemouth’s
outstanding striker, Steve Fletcher.
Neat
play down the right saw Young deliver a cross for the big target-man, who
escaped his marker at the far post to head past Kelly from close range.
Athletic
quickly reorganised as Craig Dudley replaced Carlo Corazzin and the tiring
Smith was withdrawn, taking Mark Innes to wing-back and Barry Prenderville
into midfield.
Dudley
almost made an instant impact, but a last-ditch block denied him after
he completed the hard work with a darting run into the danger zone.
Once
again, the side with a goal behind them took their foot off the gas when
they should have been looking to accelerate.
Athletic
battled back into it — though not without the odd minor scare — and Dudley
continued to pose questions with his pace.
Prenderville,
who did an excellent job in an unfamiliar position, sent a looping header
just over, while Lee Duxbury’s effort flashed past a post.
But
the closest call was at Athletic’s end on the stroke of 90 minutes when
Hughes found space in front of goal and put a straightforward chance hopelessly
wide.
Views
from Dean Court
On-loan
Smith drops hint at full-time move PAUL
SMITH was happy with his debut display after helping Athletic pick up only
their second point in five away games.
And
the on-loan Burnley midfielder, who slotted in at left wing-back, could
be tempted to make a full-time move to Boundary Park.
Smith
(24) had been tracked by Andy Ritchie for several weeks and was impressed
with his new club’s brand of football.
He
said: “I thought we played some pretty good stuff. We passed it around
quite well and were a bit unlucky not to take all three points.
“I
really enjoyed playing in front of a big crowd again and getting some first-team
football.
“I
was a bit shattered in the second half, but a few more games will help
me to get up to full fitness.
“I
seem to be out of favour with the Burnley manager (Stan Ternent), so we’ll
see what happens at the end of the month. At the moment, I’m happy to come
and help Oldham.
“And
being left-footed seems to help in English football because there aren’t
all that many of us.
“I
know I’m not the best defender in the world, but I’m happy to play at wing-back
because I love going forward.”
Ritchie
was pleased with his new acquisition, believing that Smith will get better
as his fitness improves.
The
manager added: “He was blowing a bit towards the hour mark, but I thought
he did well.
“He
put some great corners and free-kicks in, but we had no-one on the end
of them.”
While
the spirit is still good in Athletic’s camp, Ritchie admitted they have
to start climbing the table.
He
said: “It isn’t bothering the lads or getting them down, but a win is what
we need.
“We
defended better against Bournemouth than we have for a while, so we must
knuckle down and build on that.
“One
lapse in concentration cost us, which seems to be the way at the moment.
We cut out the mistakes for 99 per cent of the game, then the other one
per cent led to a goal.
“Once
we went in front, we didn’t push on as I thought we might. It was one of
the few games we have started brightly, but we lost it a bit afterwards.
“But
we dug in, did well in midfield and battled hard. I thought Chris Lightfoot
marshalled things well at the back and, overall, I’m satisfied with a point.”
Sporting
Life Saturday Review
Jorge Leitao's
fifth goal of the season kept Walsall on top of the table with a 1-0 win
at Wrexham while nearest rivals Cambridge United went down 3-0 at home
to Bristol Rovers.
Simon Bryant,
Micky Evans and Scott Jones gave the Pirates their third away win of the
season.
Wigan moved into
second spot with a 2-1 win over Northampton, Simon Haworth and Andy Liddell
sandwiching Ian Hendon's penalty for the Cobblers.
Bury had Matthew
Carragher's own goal to thank for a 1-0 win over Port Vale, still without
an away win, while Reading made it 19 goals in five home matches with a
5-1 thrashing of Swansea.
Martin Butler
notched a hat-trick and Jamie Cureton and Lee Hodges also got on the scoresheet
alongside Steve Watkin for the Swans.
Managerless Millwall
went nap against hapless Oxford with a 5-0 win, United's sixth defeat of
the season. There was a hat-trick for Neil Harris and two for Sam Parkin,
on loan from Chelsea and making his debut.
Bristol City
are without a win in eight games after Tony Lock put Colchester in front
at Ashton Gate only for Tony Thorpe to make it 1-1 in a dull match.
The game was
not without its painful humour. Alan White was stretchered off with an
ankle injury and as the four stretcher-bearers got to the touchline they
dropped him and he needed further treatment before limping back into action.
Luton are seven
without success after going down 3-2 at home to Swindon. Mark Stein gave
the Hatters then lead but Town hit back through David Duke and Martin Williams.
Then, after Liam George levelled, Williams netted the winner in the 67th
minute.
Oldham, also
without a win in seven games, went in front through Mark Allott at Bournemouth
but had to be content with a 1-1 draw when Steve Fletcher equalised in
the 62nd minute.
Stoke were glad
of a home point after Rotherham led through David Artell's 26th-minute
goal until Peter Thorne made it 1-1 in the 81st minute.
Brentford came
from behind to grab a 2-2 draw at Notts County, still without a win at
Meadow Lane, while Jamie Bates and Jermaine McSporran scored the goals
in Wycombe's 2-0 home win over Peterborough.
After hearing last week that Canada did not intend to call Carlo Corazzin up for their world cup qualifying game against Panama in Canada on the 9th October club officials were shocked to hear over the weekend that the Canadian Soccer Association had had a change of heart and now because of injuries to other players requested that Carlo be released from the 5th October until the 10th October.
Latics Chief Executive Alan Hardy said "When I spoke with the Canadian Soccer Association last week they were very appreciative of the co-operation we had provided them with in relation to Carlo's previous call-ups and in view of that agreed to our request not to demand his services for the game against Panama. However it transpires that a number of their players have reported with serious injuries which leaves them short of numbers and they have had to have a re-think which appears to have resulted in their previous decision being rescinded. However I hope to speak with the Canadian Team Manager later today (Monday) to establish the extent of their injury problems and to see if there is any way around the current problem").
Latics' other
Canadian international, central defender Mark Watson, has not been called
up as he is serving a one match suspension for a sending-off in their last
world cup qualifying game against Trinidad & Tobago.
Bournemouth Daily Echo
IF MATCH referee and Harrow schoolmaster David Elleray was to write a report on Cherries after their encounter with Oldham, the phrase "could do better," would probably not be too far away from his pen tip. With the teams running out to 'Firestarter' by The Prodigy, what had all the makings of an explosive encounter turned in to nothing more than a damp squib as Cherries wasted chance after chance to take maximum points from their Lancastrian opponents.On the back of good results against Swindon and Walsall, the Dean Court faithful could have expected Cherries to take the game to Oldham and treat them to an afternoon of fantasy football.AFC Bournemouth 1 - Oldham Athletic 1
However, from the first five minutes, it was clear this was not going to be the case.
With swirling wind making ball judgement difficult, the Latics' front pair of Canadian international Carlo Corazzin and Mark Allott quickly took advantage of Bournemouth's inexperience at the back and with Mark Innes, Lee Duxbury and Paul Smith linking up well through midfield, Cherries were forced to endure a torrid opening 10 minutes.
A good run through the centre by Smith called for loan defender David Woozley to make an important tackle in the penalty area while Innes saw his dangerous cross headed away for a corner.
Oldham's breakthrough came on 11 minutes, when Jason Tindall failed to cut out a ball down the left-wing, leaving Allott, who had not scored since the opening day of the season, to break clear and calmly slot the ball under the advancing Gareth Stewart.
An immediate tactical switch by Sean O'Driscoll saw Cherries revert to a flat back three in an attempt to give the home side a greater attacking edge.
This move nearly paid off five minutes later when Steven Purches saw his right foot shot saved by Latics' keeper Gary Kelly after being set free on the left by Richard Hughes.
With Cherries gradually imposing themselves on the game, Neil Young began to find extra space on the right. A knock-down by Steve Fletcher allowed Young to let rip from the edge of the box, but the sponsors man-of-the-match saw his volley go high and wide of the Oldham goal.
Then, in the space of five minutes, Carl Fletcher and James Hayter both conspired to miss from one-on-one situations with ex-Republic of Ireland international Kelly.
With only Kelly to beat Fletcher fired his shot wide of the right-hand post after being put through by the industrious Young while Hayter miscontrolled a Carl Fletcher pass which gave the Oldham keeper a chance to parry the youngster's effort from eight yards out.
Hughes and Steve Fletcher also squandered half chances just before the break while Stewart had to save from Danny Boshell after a Smith free-kick.
Bournemouth started the second-half much the same way as they finished the first, however, the careful, precise build-up play that has typified Cherries performances in recent weeks was impossible because of the blustery wind.
With crosses failing to reach the danger area and hopeful long balls being dealt with comfortably by the Oldham defence, Cherries became increasingly frustrated and their team spirit was tested to the hilt.
Even when chances were created, players failed to find the net and what should have been a comfortable victory the home side turned in to a desperate battle for a point.
Hayter, starting his third successive game in place of Chukki Eribenne, was the main culprit, missing two efforts that looked easier to score. Firstly, Kelly denied the 21-year-old from three yards after a flick on from Steve Fletcher while seven minutes later, Hayter picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area, only to blast his shot over the bar with just the Oldham stopper to beat.
However, with half an hour remaining, Cherries got the reward for their sustained pressure when inspirational skipper Steve Fletcher nodded in an equaliser.
A lovely one-two between Hayter and Young set the Cherries wing-back free down the right and his perfectly flighted cross to the back post was met by Fletcher, who headed the ball in to the ground and over the keeper to bring the scores level.
The Cherries captain had not been getting much change from big Oldham centre-half Chris Lightfoot all afternoon, but Super Fletch's fourth goal of the campaign was sweet revenge and left Cherries in a good position to take all three points.
Eribenne, Wade Elliott and Garreth O'Connor all came off the bench to for the final push however the anticipated onslaught of the Oldham Athletic goal never really materialised. Craig Dudley, on as a substitute for Corazzin, should have scored for the Latics after getting the better of Stevland Angus but he saw his shot from 12 yards forced away by a combination of Stewart and Angus while Lee Duxbury's header from a corner flew just wide.
In the dying minutes, substitutes Eribenne, O'Connor and Elliott combined beautifully down the right but Richard Hughes, with the perfect opportunity to snatch the win for Bournemouth, directed his header wide of the post from Elliott's pinpoint cross.