7th October 1999
7th October 1999 ANDY RITCHIE will order his players to go all out for victory when rock-bottom Athletic tackle Luton on Saturday. Every point could be crucial in the season's final reckoning and Ritchie today pledged that Boundary Park would witness an Athletic side aimed squarely at the bullseye. He said: "It was a must-win game against Notts County last week, and this one is just the same. I don't want a draw, I want all three points. And, if we achieve that, we can then start to climb up the table. We have to start putting away our chances and cutting out the stupid mistakes. We always seem to get punished for them while other people don't.
"It will be a hard game because Luton are a young side and they are going well. But they lost away from home last week and we'll be aiming to make it two in a row for them." Athletic had no fewer than 19 shots at goal last weekend, yet the opposing goalkeeper made only a handful of demanding saves. Their one telling strike came from a set-piece and that means they have managed only three goals from open play in 16 hours of trying. Athletic are also springing costly leaks at the back, though they do seem to get away with fewer mistakes than most other teams. As Luton have scored only twice in five away games —and will also be without leading scorer Liam George —Saturday could be the ideal time to put that right.
In the absence of Steve Whitehall and Shaun Garnett, Ritchie could retain the 16-man squad he used last week. He doesn't have many other options available to him, so it may well be a case of shuffling the same pack and hoping he plays a more successful hand.
A disappointed Lawrence told the Herald & Post last night: “I think the ruling is unfair if you are a little club with a small squad. We will be losing two key players. “I think the existing ruling is right for First Division sides but I believe you should be able to postpone a game with one international call-up in the Third Division and, in the Second, postponing because of two call-ups would be reasonable. There’s no chance of that happening.” Doherty and George are recognised as two of their country’s brightest young talents. Donegal-born Doherty made international history when he appeared in his third European under-18 Cham-pionship over the summer. And, in 1998, George became a national hero overnight when he scored the winning spot- kick in a penalty shoot-out against Germany to help the Irish lift the European Under 18 Championship cup. Doherty’s absence is likely to give Efetobore Sodje a rare opportunity to prove his worth. George’s withdrawal could cause more problems with Andrew Fotiadis and Phil Gray still injured.
Boundary Bullet-zine has just passed 100 subscribers. I thought it would be interesting to breakdown wheteabouts those 100 Latics fans live
Oldham and area 19
Lancs/Cheshire 12
Yorkshire/East 3
Midlands 9
East Anglia 4
London/South 16
Isle of Man 1
Channel Islands 1
Northern Ireland 1
Sweden 2
Norway 1
Cyprus 1
Thailand 1
Bahrain 1
Hong Kong 1
USA 1
Canada 4
Australia 8
Unknown
14