Oldham Athletic maintain winning feeling under Thompson
Kidderminster Harriers 1
Oldham Athletic 2
When Steve Thompson was put in interim charge of Oldham Athletic he vowed to help steady the ship.
He has done more than that.
He has put himself in with a chance of captaining it full-time.
For not only are Latics now pointing in the right direction, but they are sailing up the table, at turbo speed.
A maximum return from his first three games as caretaker, with eight goals scored and only one conceded, has propelled the club from 22nd in the table to 10th in the space of the week.
And what’s more, Latics aren’t now just winning, but finding ways to win when games are perhaps going against them.
At home to York City and Oxford City, they controlled proceedings. There were a couple of moments for the opposition, but once Oldham got their noses in front there was only going to be one winner. Against York it was 2-0, while the 4-0 scoreline against Oxford on Saturday could easily have been that at half-time, such was their dominance.
At Kidderminster, with Thompson taking the team on the road for the first time, it was a different story.
The National League newcomers are finding life tough following a late surge for promotion last season.
They are scrapping away at the bottom, but far from being beleaguered by their lowly league position, if Tuesday night is anything to go by they are putting up a fight.
It felt like a game that Latics would have lost a fortnight ago. But they were able to withstand the physicality, the pumped balls into the box, and from the kitchen sink via Mark Kitching they were able to take their chances when they came.
Both teams were forced into early changes through injury, with Latics losing influential midfielder Dan Gardner in the 15th minute.
Mark Shelton filled the void, and five minutes later Devarn Green galvanised them further with the opening goal, just as he had done against Oxford on Saturday.
It was another superb striker from the winger, who is growing in pace and confidence with every game under Thompson.
Receiving the ball from Brennan Dickenson at the end of a build-up he was involved in closer to the halfway line, he shifted the ball onto his right foot to make a yard of space for himself to strike the ball sweetly beyond Christian Dibble from distance.
But Harriers refused to roll over and instead retaliated, requiring the back four and Mat Hudson to be switched on in particular from set pieces and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain’s huge throw-ins.
Latics got to the break with their lead in tact, and might have added to it from any one of four successive corners just before half-time.
But it was no real surprise when Kidderminster got back on level terms.
There had been early chances for Dickenson and Joe Nuttall, who brought a smart save from Dibble – son of former Manchester City stopper Andy. But they came under another spell of pressure from the hosts, and it eventually told when Bailey Hobson finished off a well-worked move.
It was the first goal Latics had conceded in Thompson’s tenure, and it provided a test of their character. They responded well.
Dibble produced a superb save from Dickenson before a double substitution of Kurt Willoughby and Alex Reid provided fresh legs, and fresh ideas, in attack.
Kidderminster continued to give the defence a few scares, but repelling their advances provided the platform for Oldham to push on and grab the winner.
Another clinical cross from Kitching was firmly headed by Dickenson, Dibble saved but could only parry, and Reid hooked the rebound home.
The striker has coined the phrase ‘Ws in the chat’ at Boundary Park, and he has played a significant role in securing three on the spin for Thompson.
Latics: Hudson 8; Sutton 7, Hobson 8, Hogan 8, Kitching 8; Green 8, Gardner 6 (Sheron 15 – 7), Sheron 7, Dickenson 8; Norwood 6 (Willoughby 68 – 8), Nuttall 6 (Reid 68 – 8).
Subs not used: Norman, Hope.
Referee: David Richardson
