Opening day defeat

THE hope and expectation which herald the start of a new season were pouring from every nook and cranny of Boundary Park on Saturday. For Athletic, it was the chance to render last season's long relegation battle nothing but a nasty and irrelevant memory. For Preston, the opening match could be the launchpad for a season in which promotion will be seen as the sole criterion of success. A big crowd, a warm day, a Lancashire derby everything was in place.

But, in the end, it was the same old story, Athletic dominated play and passed with style but simply couldn't put the ball in the net. There is no doubt they can take encouragement from this performance against one of the best sides in the division. Defensively; they were sound. Though they were sometimes dragged out of position by match-winner Jon Macken, the back four worked as a unit to compensate for the loss of suspended centre-half Stuart Thom.

Until Preston gained control in the final quarter, the midfield also competed well, with skipper Lee Duxbury unsurprisingly at the forefront of the physical battle. General play was as good as anything Preston could offer and the 4-4-2 formation again gave Athletic better balance. Yet the killer instinct - that vital ingredient which separates the effective sides from the pretty ones remains elusive. The work rate of Mark Allott and Junior Agogo could hardly be faulted.

What the club's strikers must now show is an insatiable appetite for goals, and only by taking a more ruthless approach are they likely to do that. One of the mitigating circumstances for last season's lack of end product was poor service in the final third of the field. As Neil Adams showed on his Athletic comeback, that shouldn't apply this time. The prodigal son made a big difference on the right-hand side of midfield, firing in quality crosses and successfully taking charge at most set-pieces.

In his first spell at Boundary Park, many thought Adams didn't see enough of the ball. That won't be a problem now as, for the first hour, he was the key player whenever Inroads were made. The presence of Adams also brought a subtle change to Athletic's attacking structure. Allott dropped off the defence even more than before, giving Adams and fellow wide man Mark Innes the chance to push beyond him and form a three-man raiding party with Agogo. That they failed to break down Preston's resistance was down to the organisation of centre-halves Michael Jackson and John Murdock plus the midfield cover of visiting skipper Sean Gregan, the kind of no-nonsense growler who would clatter his own grandmother if she got within shooting range.

It was Preston who looked the brighter during the nervy opening exchanges. Athletic could have fallen behind after only seven minutes when Gregan robbed a subdued John Sheridan and found Macken, whose 10-yard volley was well saved by Gary Kelly. The warning raised Athletic from their lethargy and they soon created their best opening of the match. McNiven found space on the right and, from his well-flighted cross, Agogo rose superbly to plant a powerful header against the outside of a post. That was to prove the nearest miss but, through a combination of invention and endeavour, the hosts continued to have the upper hand.

Allott and Shaun Garnett were off target with difficult headers, while neat passing triangles allowed Adams to deliver crosses with menacing frequency. The longer that delivery went unrewarded, the greater was the danger of Preston snatching the crucial first goal. And they did just that In the 65th minute, courtesy of the ever-dangerous Macken. The former Manchester United striker emerged with possession after a game of midfield ping-pong. He found Kurt Nogan on the edge of the area and, when the favour was returned with Macken being played on side by Sheridan, he rounded Kelly before slotting home from six yards.

Andrew Holt's header forced the only serious save for Preston keeper David Lucas but, after switching to a five-man defence, the visitors pulled up the shutters. When Allott blazed over in the dying minutes, Athletic's fate was sealed. They had been smart and they had been smooth. But, where it mattered most, they simply hadn't been streetwise.

Beavers pitched in

PAUL BEAVERS will be pitched straight into the first team picture tomorrow night after completing his long-awaited move from Sunder-land. Beavers - Athletic's number-one target since his loan spell helped them avoid relegation - ended a summer of uncertainty by signing a two-year contract at Boundary Park. His availability on a free transfer surprised Athletic, who had expected Sunderland to release the striker on a long-term loan at best.He signed too late for inclusion in Saturday's opening-day defeat against Preston, but will feature at Stockport in the first round of the Worthington Cup. The capture of Beavers, who has scored regularly in reserve team football adds extra physical presence to Athletic's squad. He had been squeezed out at the Stadium of Light, where the likes of Ireland's Niall Quinn and recent England cap Kevin Phillips head a long queue of attacking talent. But his arrival does not signal the end of Junior Agogo's Athletic career.

Manager Andy Ritchie, who believes the teenager has enormous potential, was today contacting Sheffield Wednesday about extending the loan spell into a second month. Agogo is out of tomorrow's game at Edgeley Park as Wednesday don't want him cup tied. Beavers, however, will probably have to settle for a place on the bench, with Matthew Tipton preferred in the starting line-up. Ritchie explained that the new boy was short of fitness after being restricted to less than an hour of action in Sunderland's pre-season build-up."He needs sharpening up by playing a few games," the manager added. "He will get that in the reserves and, in the meantime, we will probably look to use him as a substitute." Athletic came through Saturday's game without picking up any new injuries and now switch their attentions to the side they beat in the Isle of Man Festival final. Stuart Thom will be back from suspension for the first-leg tie, making it increasingly unlikely that Athletic will pursue their interest in Gerry Harrison. The defender another Sunderland fringe player -did his pre-season training at Boundary Park and Athletic had considered taking him on loan to cover for Thorn's absence.

Macken on mark but Moyes admits:

We got the breaks

OLDHAM       0

PRESTON     1

PRESTON will have to do much better than this if they are to reach the play-offs, or even better, for a second successive season. They continually struggled against an Oldham outfit which just rnanaged to head off the threat of relegation on the final day of the last campaign.

For a side tipped as one of the promotion favourites Preston showed little evidence that they have what it takes. Oldham, on the other hand, rarely looked a side that will again have to struggle for survival Even Preston manager David Moyes admitted: "The performance wasn't good but result was great" He added: " We managed to keep a clean sheet and I win take that luck every week. " I couldn't wait to get the players in the dressing room at half time to change things round a little and l will certainly be looking for a big improvement as the season goes on.

The home side had Preston under the cosh for long periods of the game. But, following the pattern of last season,they just couldn't come up with a cutting edge in front of goal. Preston held out under mounting pressure and against the run of play managed to snatch the winner in the 65th minute thanks o a defensive blunder.

A poor ball was collected by Curt Nogan who immediately raced into the box before picking out Jon Macken. His strike partner lost no time whipping the ball past a hopelessly stranded keeper Gary Kelly. Oldham fought back but there was no one capable of hitting the target boss Andy Ritchie said:" I am disappointed but not downhearted. We had 80% of the game but we just can't score.

Oldham: Kelly, McNiven, Garnett, Holt, Rickers, Sheridan, Duxbury, Adams, Innes, Allott, Agogo. Subs: Salt, Miskelly, Tipton.

Preston: Lucas, Alexander, Jackson, Gregan, Ludden. Appleton, Rankine, Eyres, Murdock, Macken, Nogan. Subs: Moilanen, Wright, McKenna.

referee: M Jones (Chester).

Jonathan Macken lifted wobbly Preston on to the first rung of the ladder to Division One.

Yet, North End could need a lesson in composure from the young striker if last season’s chronic attack of vertigo isn’t to be a recurring problem in the long months ahead.

Macken’s calmly executed winner got another hoped-for title challenge off the ground – the club’s first opening day win away from home in 16 years.

But there were times when they looked anything but promotion candidates against an Oldham side which only escaped relegation by the skin of its teeth in May and is tipped to struggle again this time.

“I don’t think we played brilliantly – but the three points are all that matter,” said Macken later. “It is always hard on the first day of the season.”

How right in Preston’s recent history, where 13 years without a win on the first Saturday were only ended last term – and even then manager David Moyes was less than happy with a scrappy 3-0 win over York.

Once again, the boss refused to be blinded by victory, admitting: “I was a bit disappointed with the performance overall.”

Yet, there were good reasons for that, with no fewer than seven players unavailable, and red-hot striker Steve Basham only able to play a bit-part through lack of match fitness.

Oldham were on home turf and clearly eager to show their fans that a superb pre-season, which involved winning the Isle of Man International Tournament and also beating Sheffield United and drawing with Blackburn, had not been a case of flattering to deceive.

They also had frontman Junior Agogo on loan from Sheffield Wednesday who was so keen to make an impression he turned down a chance to play an international for Ghana to face North End.

Consequently, it was always going to be a tougher fixture than it looked on paper, especially with Preston’s tradition for opening day collywobbles.

Yet, Moyes’ boys started the livelier, at least for the first 10 minutes, with Kurt Nogan’s looping header testing Gary Kelly, Sean Gregan’s 30-yard rocket flashing past a post, and Macken’s volley on the turn bringing a reflex save from the keeper.

But the slippery Agogo sounded a warning to a sleepy North End defence in Oldham’s first real attack when he found space 10 yards out to nod a right wing cross from Scott McNiven against the outside of the far upright.

From that point on Latics dominated the first half and Preston were happy to visit their dressing room still on level terms.

After the break – and presumably a roasting from the boss – the North End players took more of a grip and Oldham did not mount a worthwhile attack for a full half-hour.

Mark Rankine turned on a through ball from Michael Appleton and was denied a shot at goal by a timely tackle from the mighty figure of Shaun Garnett.

Macken and Nogan got in each other’s way at the back stick when Colin Murdock headed on a Graham Alexander corner. And Eyres was only inches away from getting on the end of a Macken cross to the near post.

The winning goal came in the 65th minute and it was no more than Preston’s pressure had deserved.

Appleton fed a pass through to MACKEN who surged forward towards the Oldham box. He tried to set up Eyres, but the ball rebounded off a defender’s leg. Then he skipped across the face of the area to play a one-two with Nogan, take the return and coolly round Kelly before slotting it in from an angle.

Rankine, who picked up Preston’s first yellow card of the new season for a tackle on Mark Innes, might have put the result beyond doubt five minutes later, but he headed over the top.

At the other end, Lucas got across to pluck an Andrew Holt header out of mid-air as it arrowed towards his top left-hand corner. Mark Allott shot straight at the North End keeper from a good position on the edge of the box. And Agogo pulled an effort wide of an upright.

Moyes sent on new signing Rob Edwards at left-back for the injured Dominic Ludden and then replaced Nogan with Basham.

With seven minutes to go Allott missed an easy chance from just 10 yards out, Michael Jackson put in a timely tackle to rob Matthew Tipton, and Allott again saw an effort saved low down by Lucas.

Rankine pulled a shot across the face of goal after being teed up by Basham and, in stoppage time, Macken got through only to be denied a second goal when McNiven slid in to nick the ball off his toes.

Nevertheless, three points were safely banked, the side kept a clean sheet away from home, and 4,000 Preston fans went away happy with the first instalment of 1999/2000.

For the players and the boss to be disappointed with that shows just how far North End have come in the past 12 months.