7th February 2000   

Tipton gets three games
Lions reports

ATHLETIC’S striker problems have plunged into crisis following Matthew Tipton’s red card at Millwall on Saturday. The 19-year-old was sent off for violent conduct and looks sure to pay a heavy price by being banned for three matches. With Mark Allott, Craig Dudley and Paul Beavers all struggling for fitness, manager Andy Ritchie was today resuming his bid to sign a centre-forward on loan. He has the same top target as last week — revealed only as a young player with a first division club — and is now much more confident of landing his man. Ritchie said: “I’m still not naming him because I don’t want anyone else to move in before we do. But things happened over the weekend that make me optimistic he will be available. We need to bring in a forward and we will go for that player first, because he was obviously the one we wanted last week. “There are one or two other options as well so, whoever it turns out to be, I’m hopeful of signing someone in the next few days.” The verdict on Tipton, whose flash of temper blew his chance to cement a regular place, will arrive this week. Athletic anticipate a three-game suspension but know already that defender Scott McNiven will be out for one match after picking up his fifth booking of the season. 

It was a volatile contest at Millwall, with the hosts also having a man sent off for retaliation. One of the few consolations for Athletic, who were beaten by a disputed penalty in stoppage time, was that Richard Graham played 90 minutes without any reaction to his back complaint. Graham stepped in because John Sheridan was missing with a neck injury picked up in Athletic’s previous fixture. The stiffness is expected to ease in time for Sheridan to face Gillingham at Boundary Park on Saturday. 

TWO red cards, six bookings, 8,000 fans baying for blood and an injury-time penalty — it was an eventful afternoon at the New Den. But the match ended in heartbreak for Athletic when Millwall substitute Paul Shaw converted a spot-kick they were convinced was a travesty of justice. It was almost predictable that referee Tony Bates should have the final say after being the centre of attention thanks to his double sending off in the first half. The departures of Millwall’s Neil Harris and Athletic’s Matthew Tipton — both shown red for lashing out at opponents — prevented a promising match from reaching full bloom. Not only that, but the whole atmosphere took a turn for the worse. For the middle third of the game, there was confrontation where there could have been a cracking encounter between two in-form teams. Good intentions were usurped by niggles and nudges, while in came a hard-eyed determination to concede not a single inch of ground, sometimes regardless of how that aim was achieved. The referee proved himself a disciplinarian and many people, both players and supporters alike, accused him of being over-zealous. He was certainly guilty of blowing up when it wasn’t necessary and, yes, he did set a precedent for resorting to cards instead of issuing harsh warnings. Yet this powder-keg situation was tough to handle and Mr Bates — apart from on one occasion — at least met the requirement of being consistent in his strictness. Unfortunately, that major lapse was crucial enough to give Athletic every reason for feeling hard done to.

When Tipton became the first Athletic man to be sent off in the league this season, Millwall’s Robbie Ryan should also have walked for an identical offence. Mr Bates, with only 35 minutes on his watch and having already dismissed Harris, simply bottled out of reducing the hosts to nine men. With the last-gasp penalty proving another matter for hot debate — and Athletic protested on no fewer than four counts — the Stoke official was far from popular in the visitors’ dressing room. As for the football, well once it became 10-a-side it wasn’t exactly vintage. But both sides tried to pass the ball properly and Athletic, in search of a sixth clean sheet in seven games, could not be faulted for their total commitment to the cause. Defending started from the front, where Steve Whitehall ran himself into the ground in a fine display of unselfish hard labour. Lee Duxbury fought for everything in midfield, while Shaun Garnett and the outstanding Gary Kelly were rock steady in defence. There was contrasting team news from the two camps, with Millwall by far the happier when five first-team regulars returned to their line-up. Athletic were already without top scorer Mark Allott and suffered another painful blow when John Sheridan was ruled out by injury. Sheridan’s absence saw Richard Graham, who was well below his best, slot into midfield for his first start since November.

It also allowed a first call-up for teenager Danny Boshell, meaning Athletic’s five substitutes had a grand total of 21 league starts between them — 19 of those to Mark Innes. There was no sign of the fireworks to come when fourth-placed Millwall began the game with a flourish. Only an abundance of unstinting work, plus two fine saves by Kelly, allowed Athletic to weather the storm before the game erupted into controversy and resentment with the first sending off of the day. After 28 minutes, Mark Hotte pulled back Harris as the striker tried to burst clear down the left. Harris then aimed a vengeful kick at the defender’s shins and compounded his offence by trying to drag him up off the ground by his shirt.

Hotte’s already angry team-mates moved in with pushes and shoves and an ugly barging match followed with at least seven or eight players getting involved. The upshot was a booking for Hotte’s original foul and an instant dismissal for Harris’s reaction. From Athletic’s point of view, it removed a major threat as Harris had been the game’s key figure up to that point. Seven minutes later, however, Tipton frittered away the advantage with a senseless outburst of his own. The 19-year-old grabbed Ryan’s shirt as the pair ran for a loose ball, provoking the Millwall man to swing his fist in retaliation. But, having already committed an unnecessary foul, Tipton proceeded to lose his head by thrashing out at the full-back. There could be only one outcome for the Athletic youngster. Ryan, however, would have joined him in disgrace if Mr Bates had again enforced the letter of the law — something he surely would have done if it hadn’t been so early a stage of the game. Both sides realised they would have to find a way of compensating for the loss of a striker and Millwall made the best opening of the match just before the break,  Tim Cahill blazing over with only Kelly to beat. Half-time was a chance to regroup and cool some white-hot tempers but, just a minute after the restart, Scott McNiven became the latest name in the referee’s book when he chopped down Paul Ifill right on the edge of the box. Although Ifill wasn’t heading towards goal, McNiven was the last defender. In the prevailing climate, he may have been lucky that Mr Bates didn’t make another reach for the dreaded red card.

Richard Sadlier was shown yellow moments later for an off-the-ball lunge at McNiven and there looked a real danger that the encounter would spiral out of control. Thankfully, good sense took over as both sides concentrated on winning a football match. Kelly saved from Ifill and Lucas Neill, McNiven produced a blinding tackle to deny Shaw a clear run at goal and, at the other end, Paul Rickers and Andrew Holt went close for Athletic. But, a minute into injury time, drama was heaped upon drama when Shaw emerged from a mass of bodies and went down under McNiven’s challenge eight yards from goal. Athletic, who thought they should have had a free-kick in the build-up, also claimed that Garnett was fouled in the area, that a Millwall hand had been used and that Shaw may have been offside. After a long hesitation, Mr Bates ignored their protests and pointed to the spot. Shaw duly sent Kelly the wrong way to keep Millwall on course for promotion and shatter Athletic’s brave resistance.

CONTROVERSIAL referee Tony Bates received both a pat on the back and a boot up the backside from Athletic manager Andy Ritchie. Ritchie believed Millwall’s winning penalty should never have been given but agreed with the dismissals of Neil Harris and Matthew Tipton. “It wasn’t a penalty,” Ritchie insisted. “We had a bad free-kick given against us a few seconds before, there was another foul in the box and my lads are adamant that the Millwall player (Paul Ifill) controlled the ball with his hand. “The lads are more disappointed with that decision than with anything else and it’s fair to say we are pretty cheesed off. “I thought we were on for a draw, so it’s cruel to go down to a penalty which wasn’t a penalty. “I thought the two red cards were fair. If you throw a punch, aim a kick or anything like that, you have to go. “Matthew Tipton is disgusted with himself — rightly so — and I’ve told him he’s a silly lad. “At that point we were on top with a full compliment of players and we could have gone on to win the game. “But their lad (Robbie Ryan) tried to hit Matthew at the same time and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. He should definitely have been sent off. “You feel a bit sorry for players when incidents like that happen because it’s a highly-charged game and you do silly things. “You have to make sure your head rules you, so if Matthew learns something it won’t be all bad. “Having said all that, I’d rather talk about the football. “The game was spoilt by the referee, but both sides showed some good passing in difficult circumstances. “Steve Whitehall was superb for us and, when it’s 10 against 10, there is always space to make chances. “Gary Kelly made a couple of great saves, but we certainly deserved to take something from the game.”

Speaking immediately after the match, Millwall joint-manager Keith Stevens also thought the referee had been the central figure. He said: “I won’t criticise him too much because I don’t want to get into trouble. “Let’s just say it wasn’t his best day at the office. Hopefully he will come in for a drink and I can ask him to explain some of his decisions. “Referees can win or lose you games. It’s a very hard job and he did give us a penalty right at the end. “If it had ended 0-0 there wasn’t much more we could have done. “Oldham would have been happy to go up the motorway with a point and they worked their socks off all afternoon.”

THERE will be at least two years of disruption before the replacement Clayton playing fields are ready for use ­ if the Sports Park 2000 scheme goes ahead. Developers Hiretarget will be given two years to complete the new Clayton fields at Boundary Park, once the new sports stadium is finished. And Clayton trustees will hear on Wednesday that that should mean the total time from passing the fields over to developers, to overall completion of the new fields, could be 30 months. At least four playing pitches should be available at all times when the existing charity land between Broadway and Chadderton Way is swapped for land around Boundary Park football pitch for the new sports stadium. But the new Clayton fields could be ready faster if contractors are allowed to work while only three pitches are available. There will be a covenant on the Sports Park 2000 land, restricting it to use for a sports stadium and associated facilities, which could include conference, banqueting, restaurant and bar facilities, a health and fitness centre, an hotel, and exhibition and museum areas. 

The proposals go to a full meeting of Oldham Council on Wednesday, when councillors, as the trustees of Clayton, will be asked to approve the terms of the land swop to Hiretarget, the council’s joint-venture company, which will develop the site. A joint officers’ report stresses: “The main issue is that the proposed new playing fields will be of much improved quality to the existing fields.” And there will be more land for the Clayton Trust, which now has 20.77 acres, the report says. With a buffer zone around the new B & Q store off Chadderton Way, the new Clayton fields will cover 24 acres, without a buffer 22.9 acres. Under the plans for the fields, the Boundary Park pitch will be retained, with some terracing on two sides — the Seton stand, nicknamed the Chaddy Road end, and the George Hill stand on Sheepfoot Lane — for high-profile amateur games. There will be seven pitches, two all-weather cricket pitches and new changing accommodation, with 14 changing rooms and two referees’ rooms. Dense mounding and tree-planting will protect local residents’ privacy and encourage wild life, and there will be footpaths through the site. Parts will also have fencing or ball-stop fencing on the perimeters. 

Oldham Athletic and Oldham Rugby Club will be allowed to use the Boundary Park stadium until the new one is ready. The agreement does not include the lacrosse pitch on the other side of Chadderton Way, which stays part of the Clayton Trust. And the whole scheme still depends on approval of the land swop by the Charity Commission, which has been considering the idea since October. 

Ref makes Millwall's Harris see red