4th December 2000  

Wigan game KO changed!!!

ATHLETIC have been rocked by a double injury blow, with Lee Duxbury and Paul Jones ruled out until Christmas and beyond. Both men were casualties of the game against Oxford on Saturday, taking the gloss off Athletic’s narrow 3-2 win. Duxbury lasted only 22 minutes before a hamstring strain deprived the club of its midfield driving force and joint-top scorer. The skipper should be back before the New Year, but he will spend around three weeks on the sidelines. Jones, meanwhile, went to hospital on Saturday night, shortly after scoring the second-half winner. He was first thought to have concussion, but the problem is much more serious - a fractured cheekbone. Though the deefender can continue non-contact training, he will be missing from action for around six weeks. Athletic are fortunate that John Sheridan, an obvious replacement in midfield, and two defenders in Barry Prenderville and Mark Hotte are almost back to full fitness. But this is a hectic time of the season, with 11 matches coming up - more if there are cup replays - over the next two months. 

Manager Andy Ritchie said: “Losing two players is a big blow, especially with the games coming thick and fast. It’s unlucky for Paul because he did quite well when he came back into the side. And Lee Duxbury had been excellent over the last month. He is an integral part of the team and his industry and attitude will be missed.” Sheridan is set to play in the reserves on Wednesday and, if all goes to plan, he will be in contention for the FA Cup tie at Peterborough next weekend. Prenderville could return before then as Athletic are at home to Wigan tomorrow night in the first round of the LDV Vans Trophy. 

TALK about making life hard for yourselves. In a bizarre match against division two’s whipping boys, Athletic only edged to victory by being slightly less hapless than rock-bottom Oxford. This was a must-win game for Andy Ritchie’s side, but suicidal defending gave the impression they were determined to lose it. Great stuff for the crowd it may have been. And, yes, Athletic did show character to take the lead three times. Some of their output, however, was worthy of Laurel and Hardy. Many more days like this and their improved run of results, which now reads two defeats in eight league games, will be put in serious jeopardy. Athletic got off to a dream start through Carlo Corazzin, while David Eyres also hit the net to register his first goal for the club. It was somehow appropriate, though, that the third should be scored by a man with suspected concussion. And if Paul Jones wasn’t sure what was happening when he claimed the winner, he wasn’t the only one left bemused by Saturday’s events. There was a change to Athletic’s team, with Jones playing at right-back and Paul Rickers moving into midfield at Mark Allott’s expense.

It was a surprise move by manager Ritchie. Allott may have been subdued and out of position for a couple of games but, defensively, Athletic had been going well. Here, they played as though the reshuffle upset them, being stretched all too easily and making more individual errors than had been the case. Both the visitors’ goals bordered on the comical. And the fact that Gary Kelly didn’t have many saves to make was due more to Oxford’s weaknesses than his own side’s stability. In mitigation, Athletic’s influential captain, Lee Duxbury, was absent for three-quarters of the match. Duxbury provides vital cover from midfield and, while Tony Carss was his usual combative self, their game had to change when Danny Boshell — much more creator than destroyer — joined the fray. It was different up front, where Athletic were always dangerous, albeit against a side with little hope of survival.

Oxford have now leaked 45 goals in 20 games and are on their way to an inglorious century. Unless they improve dramatically, they will surely reach that landmark before the end of the season. Had it not been for another bout of wayward finishing, Athletic wouldn’t have had the struggle they did to hold on to all three points. Corazzin and Craig Dudley linked up better than they have all season, with the junior partner running amok and deserving a goal for his terrific willingness to work. It took just 47 seconds for Athletic to go in front, as Oxford were caught napping from Kelly’s long free-kick. It was flicked on by Shaun Garnett, and then Dudley, before Corazzin snaked out a right boot and volleyed his first league goal for almost three months. Oxford were chaotic and, although Derek Lilley dragged a decent chance past the far post, Corazzin could have claimed his second after some trickery from Eyres. Yet, in the 15th minute, a dreadful error by Garnett presented the basement boys with a simple route back into the game.

The defender miscontrolled a pass in the area and as Northern Ireland striker Phil Gray nipped in, he was flattened by Garnett’s clumsy challenge. Gray picked himself up and despatched the inevitable penalty by sending Kelly the wrong way. Both teams were forced into changes as Lilley and Duxbury limped off. But Athletic weren’t helping themselves by defending with the least shape and discipline they had shown for some time. When they did get forward, Carss headed too close to the ’keeper, while Dudley couldn’t connect cleanly with a free shot. Athletic’s best move of the game — involving Dudley on three occasions — prised open Oxford after 38 minutes, only for Mark Innes to volley just wide. Dudley then wasted another half-chance as The U’s began to look vulnerable again, especially against the combination play of Corazzin and Dudley. Five minutes after the break, Richard Knight made a smart save to thwart Dudley. But Oxford’s reprieve was brief. Within seconds, their defence did a disappearing act, leaving Dudley in yards of space on the edge of the box. His unselfish pass found Eyres, who controlled 12 yards out before cracking a left-foot shot past the hopelessly exposed Knight.

As in the first half, Athletic’s goal roused Oxford and produced a shaky spell from Ritchie’s men. Kelly made a low save from Paul Powell, while, from the resulting corner, Jon Richardson’s header was expertly cleared off the line by Innes. In the 66th minute, however, Athletic’s hero turned villain to hand Oxford their second pre-Christmas gift. Manny Omoyimni turned Scott McNiven on the left and managed to squeeze in his cross. Innes had an easy job to hack it clear, but sliced the ball embarrassingly and crashed it into the roof of his own net. As if the match wasn’t crazy enough already, Athletic went back in front within a minute. And more dopey defending was to blame as Eyres swung a corner to the far post, where Jones — who was groggy from a bang on the head — prodded in from a yard after Oxford carelessly allowed the ball to reach him. Eyres came close from long range as Athletic’s tally of chances reached Himalayan peaks. But their adventurous approach invited trouble. And they were finally indebted to Kelly, who made a fine injury-time save to complete an eventful, entertaining and, at times, downright daft 90 minutes.

ATHLETIC: Kelly, Jones (Holt 69), Garnett, McNiven, Innes, Rickers, Duxbury (Boshell 22), Carss, Eyres, Corazzin, Dudley (Tipton 88). Subs (not used): Miskelly, Allott.

OXFORD: Knight, Robertson (Hatswell 74), Richardson, Linighan, Brown, Fear (Powell 53), Andrews, Murphy, Beauchamp, Gray, Lilley (Omoyimni 15). Subs (not used): Glass, Jarman.

MANAGERS’ VIEWS

ANDY RITCHIE, who celebrated his 40th birthday last week, marked the occasion with a welcome win. But, after the action-packed game against Oxford, Athletic’s manager laughed: “I feel more like 50!” Ritchie was relieved to get through the relegation six-pointer and admitted his side were below their best. He said: “We’ve been through all the emotions because we had a great start and were in control, but we started making mistakes. “It was a definite penalty for Oxford’s first goal but, after we went back in front, we took our foot off the gas. “We keep doing silly things and giving teams a chance. Thankfully, we managed to pull something out of the bag and I’m satisfied with the result. “We played some good football, but we were sloppy in other areas. “We didn’t clear things properly, which is what you should always do so you can regroup.

“The lads were talking about it after the game and I told them exactly what they should do — hoof it into row Z. “I never thought we were going to lose, but it was good to get three goals because we haven’t been sticking our chances away. “Having said that, Carlo Corazzin could have had another one and Craig Dudley should probably have had two. “Carlo looked sharp and he moved the ball quicker than he has been doing. “And Craig was excellent, just unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet. “He can be frustrating at times, especially when he gets caught offside. And he does need to concentrate on his finishing. “But you can see that he is growing in confidence. The run in the side has helped him with that, so hopefully he’ll start getting a few more goals.”

Ritchie decided to recall Paul Jones at right-back and switch Paul Rickers to midfield, a decision which broke up his in-form defence. Explaining the move, he said: “We thought Paul would give us a bit more stability because he knows that position much better than Mark Allott. “It was a bit unfair on Mark because he isn’t really a right winger, but Paul is intelligent in knowing when to tuck in and when to go wide. “We thought Paul Jones would be okay at right-back and that proved the case because he had a steady game. “The lads were shouting to take him off when he got a head injury, but if we’d done it any earlier he wouldn’t have scored — I’ll claim that one as good tactics!”

New Oxford manager David Kemp wasn’t quite as jovial as Ritchie, blasting his players for their attitude. He said: “We aren’t tough enough to keep things even and I’m not interested in them making excuses — that’s why they are losers. “There are too many people who are easily beaten. I didn’t get the club in this mess, but I’m here to put it right. And it might be time for a clear-out.”

Official Oldham Athletic Web Site

The Boxing Day League clash with Wigan Athletic will now kick off at 1 pm following talks with the police. Oldham's police Chief Superintendent Eric Hewitt met club officials after Saturday's game with Oxford Utd and requested the earlier kick off. More news on this later.
 

Two of the Reserve Team home games postponed earlier in the season have been re-arranged, they are:

Latics v Preston North End Res. - Wednesday 3rd January - KO 7 pm
Latics v Port Vale Res. - Wednesday 17th January - kA 7 pm

Both games will be played at Stalybridge Celtic's ground.

Latics have now fixed up the Third Round FA Youth Cup game with Brighton. It will be played at the ground of Bognor Regis Town on Monday 18th December with a 7.30 pm kick off.

Latics picked up two injuries they could well have done without on Saturday. The skipper Lee Duxbury sustained a ham string injury which will keep him out of action for about 2/3 weeks and defender Paul Jones received a knock on the head which left him dazed throughout the game, eventually being substituted with about 20 minutes to go. He was however able to be in the right place at the right time in the 67th minutes when he knocked home a right wing corner at the far post to give Latics a deserved 3-2 victory against Oxford. Jones as due to visit hospital on Sunday for X-rays to determine if there was a fracture of the cheek bone.

Oxford Mail

Angry boss David Kemp labelled his beleaguered Oxford United players as 'losers' after their latest kamikaze-style defeat - and threatened a clear-out. Kemp read the riot act after United's 3-2 defeat to fellow Division 2 strugglers Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park on Saturday. United's manager was fuming after his basement side had scored two goals, but once again came away with nothing to show for it. It's a defeat which plunges United even deeper into the mire. They are now seven points adrift at the foot of the table and a massive 12 points from safety. After twice seeing his side come from behind, only to concede a decisive third goal, Kemp said: "We are not hard or tough enough mentally to keep the thing even. "It is obviously a sickness that the club has got and has had. Many of the players have been here too long. The players I have brought here have all done well and steadied the thing up, but too many of the players at the club are beaten too easily and consequently we have had another defeat."

United made a disastrous start, falling behind in the first minute to Carlo Corazzin's strike. Kemp said: "It was a soft goal. We have handed them it on a plate. We are capable of scoring two goals, but it is not enough to win the game." And there were complaints from United's players that there had been a foul before Paul Jones, who was suffering from concussion, scrambled home Oldham's winner – just after the U's had equalised for a second time. But Kemp wasn't making any excuses. "You can't go round saying it's too rough," he said. "In this game, you have got to be harder. It was 2-2 and we are surprised that someone might give a player a nudge. I am not interested in excuses. We have got to be harder than that. "That is why we are losers – by moaning about things like that, we are looking for an excuse."

At times, United looked not so much a team, more a collection of misfits. And Kemp added: "Maybe it is time for a clear-out. I am happy with the players I have brought in. They have improved the club, but we need to bring more in if possible. The club is in a mess. I didn't put it in that mess. I am trying to get it out and give it some medicine if I can."