Match Reports

15/08/2007 - Oldham Athletic 4 Mansfield Town 1

ENCOURAGING is not a word commonly associated with a 4-1 defeat. But it could certainly be applied to Mansfield’s performance in their Carling Cup exit at Boundary Park.

John Sheridan’s Oldham side were, as expected, comfortable winners, and progressed to the second round where they will now hope to draw one of the Premiership big boys.
But the game was not decided until the final ten minutes and for much of the tie, Mansfield provided their League One hosts with a stiff test.
After the promising draw at Brentford on Saturday, what the travelling Mansfield fans wanted to see was their side follow it up with another positive display.
And they certainly got that - even if the scoreline was not to their liking.
It was not a surprise to see Oldham control possession for long parts and play the ball around in a style not dissimilar to their manager in his heyday. But Billy Dearden’s men battled determinedly and made it harder work for the Latics than they might have envisaged.
Oldham held the upper hand in two key respects - and that made all the difference.
Their  finishing and approach play  were far superior to your average League Two side. Then there  was the individual brilliance of  Craig Davies, who stood out as the best player on the pitch by a mile.
He had a hand in almost everything good that the hosts did and it is easy to see why he has three full caps for Wales - and why Sheridan was so keen to bring him in this summer from Italian side Verona.
Things might have been different had the Stags capitalised on a bright start, but once Oldham went in front after 20 minutes, it was always going to be tough.  Mansfield never gave it up made the home side fight all the way when it would have been easy for them to go under.
The Stags made three changes from the side that drew 1-1 at Brentford  with Alex John-Baptiste (back), Matt Hamshaw (toe) and Jason White (knee) all rested because of slight niggles.
They were replaced respectively at right-back, right-midfield and in goal by Johnny Mullins, Nathan Arnold and Carl Muggleton.
Early Mansfield opportunities fell to Arnold, who mis-kicked at the vital moment, McAliskey, who fired over the top after some neat footwork and Arnold again, who stung the hands of Mark Crossley after a mistake from Neal Eardley.
But it was Oldham who went in front from their first real shot on goal and, like on Saturday, it was from a set-piece. Michael Ricketts attacked Andy Liddell’s right-wing cross and though his effort was blocked, Neil Kilkenny, following up, smashed home from 12 yards.
Just after the midway point of the half,  Lee Bell might have equalised when he fired just wide of the right-hand post.
But,  in the 27th minute, the Latics doubled their advantage when JP Kalala fired in after Muggleton was unable to hold a hard,  low cross  by Davies.
Just before the break, ex-England international Ricketts almost made it 3-0 when he headed a deep cross from Stuart Giddings narrowly wide.
After the restart, Muggleton made a decent save to block a powerful Ricketts header. But just as the game seemed to be drifting to an inevitable conclusion, the Stags scored in the 72nd minute.
Oldham failed to deal with a right-wing  corner and as skipper Jake Buxton fired the ball back into the danger area, Mullins diverted the ball home with a firm header.
Suddenly, Mansfield looked capable of taking the game into extra-time and when substitute Rory Boulding got to the right byline in the 82nd minute, an accurate cross might have yielded a leveller.
As it was, Oldham cut out the delivery, broke quickly through Davies and scored a  third, thanks to Deane Smalley’s tap in.
Davies then scored the goal his evening’s work had deserved and that meant a competitive game looked like a thrashing.
But Stags fans who were not  in Greater Manchester should not be deceived. Mansfield were not disgraced in defeat and it should be remembered Oldham are hoping to mount a League One promotion challenge this season.
A Carling Cup run may be out of the question for another year, If  Mansfield can play to the level they have in their first two games of 2007-08 they are well capable of beating Lincoln on Saturday.
And if that transpires, then the memory of this defeat will soon be forgotten.