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After four minutes Stephen Hindmarch played a ball down the left-hand channel for Shaun Vipond to run onto. Vipond opened up his body "a la Thierry Henry" as he attemped to side-foot a shot past Latics keeper Alan Blayney from 12 yards out, the United man dragged his effort inches wide of the near-post though with Northern Ireland international Blayney having already committed himself to a shot across goal. A quiet spell in play gave us a chance to take at the look at the Blues formation, with the starting eleven lining up pretty much as follows :
Gary Madine - Stephen Hindmarch - Andy Hardman
Shaun Vipond - Luke Joyce
Dan Kirkup
Gari Rowntree - James Krause - Kevin Gray - Paul Arnison
Adam Bradley
The match seemed to descend into a battle for possession for almost 20 minutes after the Vipond chance with Oldham content to hoof the ball from one end to the other. Only a corner or two apiece were of any interest until a mix-up between Adam Bradley and James Krause almost allowed Kallum Higginbotham a sniff of a chance for the Latics. Four minutes later and Oldham did come close when a ball over the too from Chris Baguley found Bradley a little indecisive in no-mans land, Paul Black wasted the opportunity though for the Latics as he showed a lack of composure when blazing over left-footed from 20 yards out.
After 29 minutes a corner in by Baguley was only part-cleared by the Blues, Michael Pearson then hooking in an awkward shot from the edge of the box which was fumbled around his far-post by Bradley, only for the referee to, somewhat bizarrely, award a goal-kick. Just after the half-hour mark Madine sent a long-range half-volley wide then on 33 minutes a Krause clearance seemed to be blocked by the hands of Deane Smalley, play went on though with Smalley crossing in low from the right-hand by-line for Higginbotham. It looked all-on an equaliser from just three yards out only for Bradley to make an outstanding reaction save, Higginbotham eventually pushing the rebound wide of the target after a bit of a goalmouth scramble.
Two minutes later Hindmarch sent Madine away down the right-hand channel with a clever pass, Madine slicing his 15-yard right-footed effort wide of the near-post. Just sixty seconds later and Madine was fouled 35 yards out in the left-hand channel by Pearson. Rowntree put the set-piece in and Kirkup, who again played quite well in the holding role in front of the back-four, met it only to head the ball straight into the grateful arms of Blayney.
With three minutes to go until the interval Andy Hardman and Madine linked up to feed the ball into the feet of Luke Joyce just outside the Latics 'D'. Joyce couldn't test Blayney though as he sliced his right-footed effort miles wide of the Oldham far-post. The last action of the first-half came in the 43rd minute when Vipond set Madine free 20 yards out. Cutting back onto his left-foot the Gateshead-born striker fired in a powerful left-footed drive which was arrowing into the far bottom corner only for Blayney to make a tremendous low one-handed save as he tipped the ball around his own post.
Gary Madine heads home the only goal of the game in the second minute
Another quiet spell in the match saw no real shot or half-chance come until the 55th minute when an Oldham corner was never really properly cleared out of the United half. Chris Lever tried to pick up on the loose ball but his left-footed half-volley from 22 yards out flew well over Bradley's crossbar. Two minutes later Hindmarch ran on from the half-way line with the ball and was perhaps a little bit greedy as, instead of playing in Arnison, he chose to plough on alone only to eventually hit a left-footed shot straight at Blayney from 20 yards out.
Latics second-string boss Lee Duxbury made his first change of the game just before the hour when he brought on Marcus Holness for Black. Four minutes later though and it was the Cumbrians attacking again when Vipond broke out from an Oldham attack and laid the ball to Hindmarch down the left-hand channel, Hindmarch cutting in onto his right foot 22 yards from goal before thumping a shot inches wide of Blayney's far-post. On 66 minutes a foul by Paul Edwards on Hardman saw Vipond swing in a free-kick from the right for Madine at the back-stick, the young forward was stretching though and his header looped up into the arms of Blayney.
With 69 minutes gone a visitors corner was played in by Baguley but Lever, running into the near-post area, was only able to head well wide from ten yards out. Shortly afterwards and United skipper Kevin Gray was taken off with Terry Stewart coming on in his place in a straight swap at centre-half. In the 72nd minute Joyce conceded a free-kick five yards out on the right-angle of the Blues box, Baguely stepped up to curl a right-footed effort around the far side of the wall but Bradley was across quickly to parry the ball behind for a corner.
Three minutes later a cross in from the right by Oldham's Smalley broke out and dropped straight onto the right foot of Ashley Kelly in the middle of the Carlisle 'D'. Kelly wasted what looked a good chance though as his dragged his right-footed volley past Bradley's left-hand post. After 81 minutes Vipond was again racing clear with the ball at his feet, this time his ball over the top saw Kirkup of all people galloping away down the right-hand channel. It would have been the goal of the season had it gone in but Kirkup's hammered right-foot half-volley on the boucing ball from distance flew way over and into the empty Warwick Road End.
A comedy moment by the assistant referee (boo!) on the Paddock side (double boo!) came two minutes later when both Madine and Joyce looked way offside in seperate incidents as the Blues played their way up the field. The only flag forthcoming though, to the amazement of the Latics defenders, was the soft-looking award of a free-kick for a foul on Joyce on the left, Rowntree's set-piece ball in eventually coming to nothing. While waiting for the free-kick to be taken Duxbury had made his second change of the game when he brought on Adam Edwards for Higginbotham, Duxbury also making his final substitution in the 85th minute with Jack Fitzgerald replacing the diminutive Ross Thaker.
It was all Oldham late on as the title-chasers looked for an equaliser and a missed header by Paul Arnison allowed Kelly to race in on goal down the left. Kelly hit a right-footed effort in from 15 yards out but it was weak and falling straight into the dive of Bradley, only for the United keeper to be more severely tested as the ball bobbled up off the surface and onto his shoulder, Bradley doing well to cling onto the shot with both hands in the end.
The visitors couldn't have gone much closer to finding a late leveller deep into injury time when a ball in from the right saw a ten-yard goalbound header from Pearson ping off the back of Kirkup and go out for a corner. Kelvin Lomax stuck the resultant flag-kick in with the unmarked Holness producing a blockbuster of a header from just eight yards out. It looked in all the way as it flew beyond the reach of Bradley only for Rowntree to make a fantastic clearance at the back-post as he somehow managed to head the ball over his own crossbar from almost underneath it. The next corner in was soon cleared by a hard-pressed United defence, that bringing the final whistle on a win for the Blues in a game that was entertaining in patches.
Blues trialist Gari Rowntree heads off the line deep into injury time
United line-up :
Adam Bradley, Paul Arnison, Gari Rowntree, Dan Kirkup, Kevin Gray (Terry Stewart 71), James Krause, Andy Hardman (Matthew Wood 81), Luke Joyce, Stephen Hindmarch, Shaun Vipond, Gary Madine.
Unused substitutes :
Grant Carson (GK), Matthew Brown and Matthew Blake.
Oldham line-up:
Alan Blayney, Kelvin Lomax, Paul Edwards, Chris Baguley, Michael Pearson, Chris Lever, Ross Thaker (Jack Fitzgerald 85), Ashley Kelly, Deane Smalley, Kallum Higginbotham (Adam Edwards 83), Paul Black (Marcus Holness 59).
Unused substitutes :
Ryan Smith (GK) and Danny Knight.
Referee - Mr D Webb
Attendance - 80.
Results in the division today :
Bury 1-2 Wrexham
Carlisle 1-0 Oldham
Preston 1-1 Manchester City
Rochdale 2-0 Blackpool
Tranmere 0-3 Chester
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