Kidderminster Harriers 1-2 Latics
Steve Thompson made it three wins from three as interim manager, with a 2-1 victory on the road against Kidderminster.
Latics were dealt a blow after just 15 minutes, as Dan Gardner came off with a slight hamstring injury, and Mark Shelton replaced him.
Kidderminster had some chances in the opening moments of the game, but none came to fruition, and it was arguably against the run of play that Laitcs took the lead through Devarn Green after 20 minutes.
Taking the lead into the second-half, Latics were put under a lot of pressure by the hosts, and they soon got their reward.
Gerry McDonagh broke down the left, slipped the ball in for Hobson, who tapped home from inside the box.
Oldham had to pick themselves up, and they did, Reid made the most of Dibble spilling Dickenson’s header, sending nearly 500 Latics fans wild.
Gardner had to make way for Shelton due to injury after just 15 minutes, a disappointing moment for Dan after his great performances in recent games.
Despite the early goal for Athletic, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the opening moments of the game were a carbon copy of York and Oxford City.
Kidderminster played the ball about a bit, were aggressive, and made a good account of themselves.
Despite that, Latics got their goal. Green, in what can only be described as a purple patch, thumped home a beautiful effort from outside the box.
The hosts had a rather unusual and orthodox way of attacking corners, and they had plenty of them throughout the game.
Their players would all gather together in a group, usually near the far post, before dispersing and making a variety of runs as the corner was swung in.
None of them led to a goal, but it caused a brief moment of panic for the Oldham defence, thankfully goalscorer Green was on hand to block a shot from a few yards out.
Just before the break, there was a scramble in the box following Dickenson’s corner, it bounced around the box before Nuttall got the final shot away, but it was deflected behind.
Harriers gaffer, Russell Penn, clearly said something at half-time, as his side came out in the second period with attack ferocity.
McDonagh, Morgan-Smith and Oxlade-Chamberlain all had attempts on goal go wide or denied, and it was clear that they were building momentum.
And that momentum got them an equaliser, McDonagh picked out Hobson inside the area, who had the easy task of tapping home.
That would have been disappointing for Steve Thompson and his men, especially after Devarn’s spectacular strike, but they still had half an hour to get another goal.
Mark Kitching produced another one of his excellent crosses, this time picking out a fellow wide-man with an excellent left foot, Brennan Dickenson.
Dickenson had advanced towards the far post, and had picked out a pocket of space, his shot seemed destined to go in, but Christian Dibble produced a superb save, to keep the score level.
With 20 minutes to go, Thommo made his two tactical changes of the night, Willoughby and Reid came on for Nuttall and Norwood.
Former Latic, Amari Morgan-Smith headed over from inside the box, but it would be Latics who’d be heading home with all three points, thanks to impact sub, Alex Reid.
Dickenson made contact with Kitching’s cross, diverting a bullet header towards goal which was spilled by Dibble, before Reid reacted with instinct, poking home from a few yards out.
The Hammer had the chance to double our lead in stoppage time, he pulled the trigger from 30 yards out, but he failed to hit the target.
Oldham: Hudson, Kitching, Hogan, Hobson, Nuttall (Willoughby, 68’), Sheron, Green, Gardner (Shelton, 15’’), Sutton, Dickenson, Norwood (Reid 68’).
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