2,053

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Stuart Lake

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L L W L W D W L L L

 

Scarborough (H) 2.12.00

Despite a battling ninety minutes from the home side, League Two visitors Oldham Athletic move into the second round of this season's F.A. Cup after a six-goal thriller at Keys Park in front of a season's best crowd for the Pitmen of 2,053 

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Successive defeats for the Pitmen against Southport and Nuneaton Borough so far this month meant that they came into this afternoon's first-round tie in indifferent form, sitting in twentieth place in the Nationwide Conference ahead of today's break from league duty. Manager John Baldwin made one change to his side from the one that had started the 5-1 defeat at Manor Park last weekend as Jake Sedgemore was restored to the starting XI in place of Val Owen

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Former Premier League outfit Oldham were also struggling for form in the league, sitting down in nineteenth place in League Two currently with only five wins from their seventeen games so far. Manager Andy Ritchie made one change to his Latics side from the one that had won 1-0 at Stoke City last weekend as Mark Allott replaced the injured Neil Adams

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It was another miserable November afternoon in South Staffordshire, with rain a continual threat to proceedings throughout. The sizeable away following were in good voice and had something to cheer from their first attack of the afternoon as they took the lead against a nervy-looking Hednesford defence in the fourth minute. Stuart Lake brought down winger David Eyres down the Oldham left, earning the utility man an early yellow card for his efforts from referee Mr Armstrong. Eyres picked himself up and took the resultant free-kick, placing the ball onto the head of the incoming Lee Duxbury who lost Russell Bradley and headed firmly past Mark Gayle from close range for his fifth goal of the season

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The mercurial Eyres - a former Burnley, Blackpool and Preston North End winger with over 400 league appearances to his name - gave Ian Robinson a torrid time down the left flank for the visitors in the opening exchanges, turning the youngster inside and out in the seventh minute with some superb wing play as he made his way into the penalty area, only to be denied by Gayle as the stopper pushed Eyres' low driven shot away from goal at the near post

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The hosts slowly started to feel their way into the game after a tough first ten minutes of the game that had seen them chase shadows around the pitch. Set-pieces looked to be their best route back into the game, with former Latic Neil Pointon lifting a free-kick into the penalty area in the eleventh minute that veteran goalkeeper Alan Kelly pushed over his crossbar, under pressure from Neil Davis

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Two minutes later, Lake and Mark Cooper lined up a free-kick twenty-five yards from goal and worked a classic training ground move that saw Lake square the ball to Jake Sedgemore, whose first-time shot sailed harmlessly over the crossbar

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Oldham looked to catch their part-time opponents on the counter-attack on sixteen minutes as a corner kick from Cooper was cleared away by Mark Innes and into the path of Carlo Corazzin, who made up fifty yards with a charge down the left before looking to play Craig Dudley through on goal. The striker's touch was a little too strong, however, with the ball running away from him at the crucial moment that allowed Lake to cover and clear

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The hosts got themselves back on level terms once more as Pointon grabbed a memorable first-ever goal for the Pitmen against the club he served with distinction for three seasons in the nineties; Stewart Airdrie made a superb run down the right flank, ghosting past Shaun Garnett and crossing to the far post, where Bonsall was a matter of inches away from heading home as the ball skimmed off the top of his head. Pointon had made a late run into the penalty area and seized upon the loose ball, drilling a low shot beyond the reach of Kelly and into the net via a touch off the post. Pointon's celebration in front of the Heath Hayes terrace highlighted the importance of the strike to him and the club

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Garnett went close to immediately putting the visitors back in front on twenty-one minutes as an inswinging free-kick from Eyres was met by the head of the defender, who was slightly off-target with his effort as the ball dropped wide of the far post

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Good play from Paul Bagshaw on twenty-three minutes saw the young winger take the ball to the left byeline and stood up a cross to the far post that was headed wide by Davis, who was off balance and facing the wrong way

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Some competent defending from right-back Paul Rickers denied Bagshaw a clear shot at goal three minutes later as Cooper played the former Barnsley man into space down the left, cutting inside and driving in a shot at goal that Rickers did well to block

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On the half-hour mark, Rickers was beaten by the pace of Bonsall as the forward dribbled the ball around the full-back and into the penalty area, forcing a save out of Kelly as his low shot was pushed away by the experienced stopper at his near post

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On the opposite side of the pitch, it was Airdrie's turn to make a storming run down the flank two minutes later as he beat Eyres and Garnett for pace before sliding the ball into the path of Bagshaw once more. A heavy touch on the heavy turf allowed Kelly enough time to react, however, as Bagshaw's chance of glory was snatched away from him by a fine smothering stop from the goalkeeper at his feet

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Gayle made a good stop to deny Dudley on thirty-three minutes, tipping the ball away with a fine save at full stretch to turn the striker's shot away for a corner kick via a deflection off the boot of Lake

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Davis came within inches of giving the hosts the lead on thirty-five minutes as Airdrie's run and cross looked to pick the striker out as he made a run into the penalty area at the far post, only for the ball to be a little too heavy for the forward as he looked to turn it home from close range

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Good play from Oldham on thirty-eight minutes saw Mark Allott and Corazzin combine to set up Innes, whose shot from twenty yards out flew high over the crossbar without troubling Gayle

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The visitors finally made their class pay on forty-one minutes as they regained the lead through Dudley; Corazzin was involved once more as he played a neat one-two with the striker on the edge of the penalty area, with Dudley driving in a shot at goal that took a wicked deflection off the heel of Lake and looped over the head of Gayle and into the net

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Airdrie received the game's second booking of the afternoon on forty-three minutes as he kicked the ball away in frustration at being shown an offside flag and was shown a yellow card for dissent by Mr Armstrong

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In first-half added time, Pointon's long throw was flicked on by Russell Bradley and into the path of Robinson, who was crowded out by the covering Latics players before he could get a shot away and the danger was cleared

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The Pitmen will have felt slightly aggrieved at being behind at the break, having had the better of the chances throughout the first forty-five minutes against their professional opponents but had been hit by two moments of quality from Oldham in the first period

 

Any hopes of the hosts may have had of making their mark on the game in the second half were dashed, however, within the first minute of the second half as Oldham moved further in front. From the kick-off, Dudley took the ball down the left and sent over a cross that Lake blocked and played back to him. Dudley's second cross was more successful as he found the head of Corazzin, who had the simple task of guiding the ball past Gayle from close range to make it 3-1

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Robinson joined Lake and Airdrie in the referee's notebook on forty-nine minutes as veteran Eyres once again got the better of the youngster, who could only bring the winger down on the left-hand touchline, leading to a yellow card for Robinson

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The Pitmen struggled to muster up a response to falling further behind as for a spell it looked as though Oldham would run away with the game as they created some more good openings. On fifty-two minutes, Dudley's run into the penalty area was halted by Bradley, whose block tackle ran kindly to Allot on the edge of the box. His low shot skipped off the wet turf and ended up in the grateful arms of Gayle

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Baldwin had seen enough from his struggling side and made an attacking substitution on fifty-four minutes as Micky Norbury was brought on to add his physical presence to the attack in place of Bagshaw

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The Pitmen continued to tot up their yellow card count, with Bradley also having his name taken by Mr Armstrong on fifty-five minutes for a late and clumsy challenge on Dudley

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Norbury's inclusion was to prove something of a masterstroke as his physicality started to cause Oldham some problems at the back. On fifty-eight minutes, he held off the challenge of Garnett and played Airdrie into acres of space down the right. Airdrie's perfectly flighted cross to the far post was met by top scorer Davis, who once again proved his worth to the team with a venomous rising shot past Kelly into the roof of the net from three yards out. Game on once more

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A delightful cross from Eyres on sixty-two minutes was begging to be turned home as the ball flew across the face of the Hednesford goal, but neither Corazzin nor Dudley could apply the finish from six yards out

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Gayle was alert to another good chance for the visitors three minutes later as the best move of the match saw Dudley's cross flicked on by Canadian international Corazzin to Allott, whose unselfish first-time pass opened up the Hednesford defence to find Eyres in on goal. However, the veteran could not apply the finish to the move and Gayle made an easy save at his near post

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Midway through the second half, Allott made a run to the right-hand byeline and crossed for Corazzin at the far post, but the ball had a little too much on it for the striker and it drifted out of play at the far post

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The Pitmen made their second change of the afternoon on sixty-nine minutes as left-back Lee Colkin made his return to the side after suspension by replacing Bonsall

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Davis was denied a good chance to pull level once more by a late offside flag on seventy-two minutes as Sedgemore's superb curling ball was seized upon by the striker, who was adjudged to have moved a little too early in behind the Oldham defence

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A free-kick from Rickers on seventy-five minutes was headed goalwards by Duxbury as he rose above Lake to meet the cross, but he could not direct his header either side of Gayle and the Hednesford stopper made the save on his goal line

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Allott had grown into the game as a threat to the Pitmen throughout the second half and drilled a long-range effort at goal three minutes later, striking his curling effort just wide of the post

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With thirteen minutes of an entertaining cup tie remaining, the hosts made their final substitution of the afternoon as Owen came on in midfield in place of the tiring Cooper, who had been given the runaround in midfield by the Latics in the second period 

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Two minutes later, the Pitmen could have been level once more as Robinson picked out Norbury with a fine floated cross from the edge of the penalty area, only for the former Doncaster Rovers man to head narrowly wide of the far post

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There was a growing feeling within Keys Park that the Pitmen could indeed force a replay at Boundary Park on Tuesday night in the closing stages as they pressed the tiring Oldham defence in the last ten minutes. Airdrie won a free-kick just outside the box on eighty-two minutes after being floored by Garnett, allowing Lake to strike a shot through the Oldham wall but straight into the arms of Kelly

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The Pitmen's golden chance to equalise came on eighty-five minutes as that man Airdrie - still full of running at this late stage of the tie - beat substitute Andy Holt and sent over a cross to Colkin at the far post, whose diving header saw him divert the ball into the ground and up over the head of Kelly, but also inches over the crossbar

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With the hosts committing more and more players forwards, gaps were appearing at the back that Oldham looked to exploit. On eighty-seven minutes, a quick counter from the Latics saw Holt send Corazzin clear of the high Hednesford defensive line. With only Gayle to beat, Corazzin had a little too much time to decide what he wanted to do and overran the ball at the crucial moment, allowing the stopper to make the save at his feet

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With the Pitmen still on all-out attack in added time, Oldham finally put the tie to bed with a killer fourth goal to send them into round two; quickly working the ball down the left to Eyres, Oldham broke with three on three as Eyres took the ball to the edge of the penalty area before pulling the ball back to substitute Matt Tipton, whose well-placed shot was too good for the dive of Gayle at his near post. His celebrations with the Oldham fans went a little too far for Mr Armstrong's liking and the Welshman was booked for his over-the-top celebrations before the game restarted

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The Pitmen had put everything into their display and were clapped off by their supporters after a performance that had seen them go toe-to-toe with their League Two opponents all the way to the end of the game. On another day and with a larger slice of luck, Baldwin's men could probably have clinched themselves at least a replay, but, in their current inconsistent form, that may have been a little too much to ask. Oldham go forwards into round two to face either Mansfield Town on Peterborough United, whilst the Pitmen will now re-focus their efforts on survival in the Nationwide Conference as they return to league action next Saturday with a trip down to Greater London to face fellow strugglers Hayes, who sit two places and two points above them in the table

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Hednesford Town: Gayle, Bradley ▆, Pointon, Robinson ▆, Lake ▆, Cooper © (Owen 77), Bonsall (Colkin 69), Sedgemore, Davis, Bagshaw (Norbury 54), Airdrie ▆        Subs Unused: Haran, Goodwin

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Oldham Athletic: Kelly, Rickers, Innes (Holt 72), Duxbury (Salt 90), McNiven, Garnett, Carss, Allott, Eyres, Dudley (Tipton 80 ▆), Corazzin      Subs Unused: Miskelly, Jones

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