Oldham Athletic 3 - 2 Coventry City

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

Sky Blues stretch winless streak to 14 matches



Oldham nudged out of the relegation zone, ten points clear of rock-bottom Coventry City, after a desperate dogfight which turned on a howler by Reice Charles-Cook.

The Sky Blues goalkeeper, who kept his spot ahead of Lee Burge after Tuesday’s Checkatrade Trophy tie, gifted Oldham their second goal when he dropped a routine cross to leave Peter Clarke with an unprotected net.

City, who had looked the likelier winners at that stage, were still reeling when the home side snatched their third four minutes later.

And although Kwame Thomas, back in action for the first time in six months, raised comeback hopes with a fine header the Sky Blues couldn’t quite manage to salvage a point.

A game which looked a 0-0 banker on recent form dished up two goals inside the first ten minutes.

The first was in keeping with the nature of the occasion as Flynn wriggled through down the right and fired in a cross which Foley, facing the wrong way and stretching, could only turn it into his own net.

City’s instant equaliser, in contrast, was a handsome affair although Oldham boss John Sheridan was doubtless distraught at the time and space afforded to Tudgay to collect Reilly’s pass and blast into Ripley’s top corner from just outside the box.

City’s need for no-nonsense defence overstepped the mark on several occasions – they conceded ten free-kicks to Oldham’s one in the first half and Nathan Clarke was fortunate not to collect a booking for the late and very high lunge that ended Aaron Amadi-Holloway’s participation after 18 minutes.

At time, indeed, it seemed like a variation of the Atherstone ball game as both sides scrapped and scrambled for possession. But the Sky Blues produced most of what fluency was going and were denied by millimetres on the half-hour as Haynes and Reid work the ball down the left and Reilly took a reverse pass from Tudgay to curl his shot against the bar with Ripley rooted to the spot.

Minutes later Tudgay couldn’t quite get a clear touch to Reilly’s low cross and just before the interval Reid volleyed yards over the bar after a neat Tudgay-Thomas-Reilly triangle in the right corner had created the space.

They carried that momentum into the second half, Thomas brilliantly collecting Reid’s pass to stab in a shot which ricocheted off Ripley’s foot and bounced to safety off the near post.

Sheridan’s double substitution on the hour perked up Oldham’s attacking share, Haynes diving in to deflect Green’s shot over bar before Charles-Cook got a hand to Taylor’s low shot.

The keeper suffered a self-inflicted disaster in the 6th minute, however, spilling Wilson’s up-and-under cross and appealing in vain for a push as Clarke stooped to head into the empty net.

Four minutes later it looked game set and match as McLaughlin cared his way through the middle and steered a calm shot into the bottom corner.

But two City subs then combined to revive the visitors’ hopes, Jodi Jones pumping in a left-wing cross and Kwame Thomas muscling his way in at the far post to head down past Ripley.

City spent the rest of the game, including five minutes of overtime, pressing for an equaliser but it was Oldham who came closest to scoring with a couple of counter-attack.