ATHLETIC will aim to set the record straight tomorrow when they make the tough trip to promotion hopefuls Stoke City. The Boundary Park side hope to complete back-to-back away wins — and Andy Ritchie may have uncovered the secret of success. Before the match at Bristol Rovers, the manager said Athletic had a point to prove after suffering rough justice in past encounters with The Pirates. Athletic went on to win 2-0. And, by way of motivation, Ritchie claims they have another point to prove at the Britannia Stadium. Last season, Stoke had the upper hand when the two sides clashed in both league and knock-out action. But Ritchie said: "We didn't get what we deserved in those games. We played quite well, but we didn't get the rewards. "It's a similar scenario to the Bristol Rovers game. We hope we can make it count again and it will be a hard challenge to come back with the right result."

Athletic have a doubt over Andrew Holt, who suffered a dead leg yesterday in a private friendly against Bolton. The defender should recover to take his place on the bench, but Ben Futcher has been added to the squad as cover. Shaun Garnett is back from a one-match ban and is set to replace Paul Jones in the starting line-up.

ATHLETIC (from): Kelly, Rickers, McNiven, Garnett, Innes, Adams, Duxbury, Carss, Eyres, Corazzin, Allott, Dudley, Holt, Jones, Boshell, Salt, Futcher, Miskelly. Seventh-placed Stoke are defending an eight-match unbeaten run at home.

STOKE (from): Muggleton, Petty, Mohan, Gunnarsson, Dorigo, Gudjonsson, Kavanagh, O'Connor, Thordarson, Thorne, Dadason, Hansson, Thomas, Risom, Clarke, Lightbourne, Kristiansson.

Athletic drew 2-2 with Bolton yesterday in a game designed to give the reserves some much-needed match practice. But of greater significance was the return of John Sheridan after three months out with a knee injury. The veteran midfielder played for 55 minutes but was well off the pace and looks to need several more games before a senior comeback. He still managed to score, with Futcher claiming Athletic's other goal.

Ritchie's selection dilemma

Andy Ritchie must choose between Craig Dudley and Mark Allott as Carlo Corazzin's striking partner for the game at Stoke on Saturday. Dudley had to settle for a place on the bench in the last game after returning from a one-match ban, but he looked dangerous when he eventually replaced Allott and Ritchie won't reveal his choice until shortly before kick-off.
The Latics are boosted by the return of defensive strongman Shaun Garnett, who has completed his one-match ban and he will take over from Paul Jones. Stoke are in seventh place and Ritchie said: "They are having a good season and we know it is going to be difficult. "But we have done well against them in recent seasons without getting the deserved results, so we can take heart from that." He added: "We have lost just one of our last five games but have dropped into the bottom four - it is vital we keep picking up points and start to move in the other direction." Ritchie will stick to the 4-4-2 formation that has been so successful in that run and the Latics will probably line up like this: Kelly, Rickers, Garnett, McNiven, Innes, Adams, Duxbury, Carss, Eyres, Corazzin, Dudley or Allott. Subs: Miskelly, Jones, Salt, Boshell, Tipton.

Official Latics Web Site

NEXT ROUND

Latics have arranged the AXA FA Youth Cup 2nd round game against Port Vale for Thursday 16th November. The game will take place at Boundary Park with a 7.45pm kick off and admission prices will be £3 for adults and £2 for concessions. The winners will be away to the winners of the Brighton v Brentford tie.

YOUTH CUP VICTORY

Latics Youth progressed to the second round of the AXA FA Youth Cup last night with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Crook Town. The Boundary Park youngsters played some lovely football and created a bagful of chances, but a combination of good goalkeeping and poor finishing prevented Latics from reaching double figures. However, it wasn't until the 30th minute of the game that Latics took the lead when Scott Vernon prodded the ball past the 'keeper from 10 yards. It was only what Latics' dominance deserved and it was a surprise when they went in at the half-time interval with just one goal to their credit. It took Latics another 15 minutes into the second half before they went two goals clear - Joe Doran heading in a right wing cross. Latics seemed to lose their way a little and it was a big surprise when Crook pulled a goal back on 75 minutes through Paul Freary. There was a bigger surprise in store for Latics when Crook drew level on 80 minutes, Steven Roberts firing in from 12 yards.

This only inspired Latics to pick up the pace and within a minute they were back in front when Danny Hall's spectacular 25 yard shot beat the 'keeper at the top left hand corner. With two minutes of normal time remaining substitute Adam Griffin made it 4-2 to Latics, and in injury time Mark Donnelly made the score more respectable with Latics' fifth. Latics are now at home to Port Vale Youth in the second round of the competition, and the date has yet to be fixed for this game.

Stoke v Oldham preview

Stoke City boss Gudjon Thordarson looks set to continue with the striking partnership of Peter Thorne and Rikki Dadason for the match with Oldham. Thordarson paired the two together for the first time in the win at the Racecourse Ground against Wrexham, and proclaimed them as a deadly double act in the Potters race for promotion. Nicky Mohan should be fit for Stoke, despite receiving stitches in a head wound sustained at the Racecourse. Stoke goalkeeper Gavin Ward is set to see a specialist over his nagging back problem.

Oldham boss Andy Ritchie makes just one change to his squad for the daunting trip to the Britannia Stadium. Defender Shaun Garnett has completed a suspension and is added to a full-strength travelling party. Ritchie said: "Stoke are flying high at the moment and they have got a lot of new players. "But we have played quite well against them in recent years and just not got what we deserved."

Stoke Sentinel

D-day for Mikael

Mikael Hansson was undergoing a make-or-break training session today in a late bid to make Stoke's line-up against Oldham at the Britannia Stadium. The flying Swede, pictured, is on the verge of returning to the side just two-and-a-half weeks after dislocating his shoulder and fearing a much longer lay off. "He has kept himself reasonably fit and now we want to see if he is strong enough to do the job,'' said manager Gudjon Thordarson. "He will be involved in training today and hopefully can prove himself fit for tomorrow." Stoke took delivery of the 12th Icelander to join the club today when under-21 goalkeeper Hjorvar Haflidason flew into the country last night. He was originally due to arrive next week on trial, but booked an earlier flight to register in time to sit on the bench tomorrow if compatriot Birkir Kristinsson fails to shrug off the ankle injury sustained in the reserves this week.

Stoke are seeking to extend an eight-match unbeaten run on home soil against an Oldham side which recently claimed just three points from a possible 30 before recovering to bag 10 from the last 15. Thordarson added: "It's down to our own state of mind tomorrow. "We are strong enough and certainly go out there for just one thing - the win. There will be expectation on the players' shoulders and they must prove they can handle it. "Oldham will come here to fight for their lives and so we have to battle and fight before we can play football. "We have to be patient and can't expect to bomb two or three goals in the first 10 minutes. But we don't want to be living on the edge either." Thordarson also called on greater common sense from his players to clean up a poor disciplinary record which has seen them pick up 11 yellow and one red cards in the last four outings. "The players have to be a bit more cautious and clever. They must know how to handle certain situations and certainly not dive in when they don't have to."
Frode Kippe's loan period ends this weekend and Stoke will seek the possibility of extending the spell into a second month providing he has shaken off the knee injury which has so far restricted him to just two appearances.

Fans' favourite out to boost goal tally

Imagine Andy Ritchie's embarrassment when he publicly slagged off Craig Dudley's lack of stamina - and later discovered he was asthmatic. Neither the manager nor his 21-year-old striker had any idea until recent tests diagnosed a problem which had eluded all previous examinations. Now he can take the appropriate medication and hopefully improve that obvious stamina problem hampering the fans' favourite. But while there may have been a question mark over his staying power, there has never been any doubt over his pace and Ritchie may well turn to that tomorrow by recalling him to the starting line-up at the Britannia. Dudley has enjoyed a turbulent few weeks having scored his first goal of the season in the 1-0 win over Swindon on October 14, been sent off in the same game, scored twice in the next match and then lost his place through suspension.

Oldham began the season amid high hopes of a play-off push following last term's admirable recovery, but their current campaign has lurched from one extreme to another so far to leave them languishing towards the wrong end of the table. Their pre-season optimism was fuelled by a storming start which saw them defeat Port Vale 4-1 on the opening day, almost snatch a draw at early pacesetters Walsall and defeat Huddersfield in the Worthington cup. But the loss of former Irish international midfielder John Sheridan with a knee injury helps explain the subsequent nose-dive which saw them muster a mere three points from a possible 30. A series of heavy defeats culminated in a 3-0 loss at Rotherham where, by all accounts, it should have been 10-0. Fans even turned momentarily on manager Andy Ritchie - close to heresy considering his past heroics at Boundary Park - before tempers cooled following a recent recovery which has seen them collect 10 points from the last 15. That recovery has been largely attributed to the free signings of midfielder Tony Carrs from Carlisle and veteran winger David Eyres from Preston.

The pair have been hailed Oldham's best two players since arriving at the start of that recent five-match sequence and Eyres, aged 36 going on 26, has reportedly added some fresh fire and enthusiasm to the Oldham cause. Goals remain a problem, however, with Dudley's three goals leaving him joint top-scorer alongside skipper Lee Duxbury and strikers Mark Allott and Carlo Corazzin.
Corazzin, the Canadian international striker signed on a Bosman from Northampton in the summer, has now gone nine games without a goal and could be paired with Dudley if the latter is recalled in place of Allott. The Latics failed to score against City in 356 minutes of football last season in two League games, one Autoglass Trophy which lasted 120 minutes and one which, thanks to a floodlight failure, only lasted 56. Oldham are thought to be setting off a little earlier than usual tomorrow, having delayed the kick off by 45 minutes last December after being caught in an M6 traffic jam on their way to the Britannia.
One-to-watch: Craig Dudley - dangerous livewire whether he starts or arrives in time to attack tiring defenders.