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    27th February 2002 
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 Rivals match reports JKLatics.com (oldhamathletic.rivals.com) Smartie Swats Bees as Blues Cruise Home Latics grabbed the points against a disappointing Brentford outfit tonight at Boundary Park as Alan Smart finally fulfilled his potential with a match winning performance and Latics enjoyed the luxury of two penalties, one missed and one scored. Like buses. You wait for hours, then... Latics grabbed the points tonight in an exciting encounter at Boundary Park which featured two Latics penalties, some debatable decisions, a man of the match performance by the previously under achieving Alan Smart and a linesman who quite clearly is related to Mick Wadsworth in some way. Can we have him every week?Gary Kelly returned in goal for Latics to replace the departed Paul Rachubka and he had - er a mixed game. David Reeves was dropped and Alan Smart partnered Carlo Corazzin up front. Cristian Colusso stated for Latics and as well as winning a penalty, was instrumental in the build up to Latics second goal. The visitors started off the brighter of the two teams and in the first 5 minutes, they had the ball forward more than Latics did. Latics dealt with it all routinely however with the majestic Julien Baudet in control at the back. Latics gradually grabbed the upper hand though and on 4 minutes, fired a superb through ball to Alan Smart who had the first of half a dozen half chances in the first half, a couple of which he perhaps should have converted. Never mind, he made up for it with a couple of superb goals in the second half and a death defying dive to win the second of Latics two penalties. Does that count as an assist I wonder? Anyway, his shot was blocked and flew out wide to Cristian Colusso who fired a stinger of a shot which was deflected. Bet that hurt!. Two minutes later it was Smart again who received a great ball over the defence from Chris Armstrong but his blockbuster whistled an inch wide and hit the stanchion. It was all Latics now and Brentford could do nothing to get the ball forward. Christian Colusso made a run down the right on 8 minutes and spotting the keeper off his line he fired in a dipper. Bees keeper Paul Smith back pedalled well but the ball looked suspiciously over the line when he claimed it. Colusso was again in the thick of it 2 minutes later when he fired in another stinger which Smith held well before Brentford had their first serious attempt on 13 minutes when Lloyd Owusu managed to spring the offside trap but he put his shot wide with only Kelly to beat. The game settled down a bit now with both sides taking stock. Julien Baudet's shot on the turn following a free kick sailed 10 feet over the bar and chances were few and far between for a while. Then what we thought might be the turning point on 18 minutes as a Michael Clegg cross was headed down by Alan Smart into the path of Cristian Colusso. As Colusso teed up his shot with only Smith to beat, he was brought down and the linesman signalled a penalty. Step up Carlo - erstwhile Northampton Town penalty expert - who clouted it too close to the diving Smith who luckily chose the right way. No goal - groans all round.&nbbsp;Next action was a Gary Kelly howler, the first of a few on the night, when instead of clearing the ball forwards, he chose to knock it to his left to Julien Baudet, when Michael Clegg was on his right completely alone. Baudet had a man on him who attempted to steal the ball, only to end up ending Baudet's evening when he was stretchered off following the challenge. Scott McNiven deputised and two minutes later, Kelly was at it again as he hared off his line without shouting to Stuart Balmer who nodded the ball to where Kelly should have been. The ball bounced off the two feet way Kelly and it sat up dangerously for Owusu before the superb Chris Armstrong spotted the danger and lashed it clear. To be fair to Gary, he's short of matches at this level recently and he'll get better. It could have cost us the game though. Next minute the Bees grabbed the lead as the ball was cleared following a Brentford attack. Lloyd Owusu was trotting back when the cleared ball was returned to the Brentford box and Ben Burgess ran through as Latics waited for a flag which never came and hammered the ball past Gary Kelly to make it 0-1. Owusu wasn't interfering with play so the goal was good. Another example of play to the whistle, I think. We couldn't believe we were down a goal - missed penalty, Brentford had hardly had a kick and were leading and at that point, it seemed that disaster loomed. Latics came back strong though, playing some neat passing stuff and Alan Smart had another half chance as he was played in by David Eyres but the Scotsman shot at the keeper. As half time approached, Carlo Corazzin could have put Latics level as he touched on a low hard cross from Eyrsie on the volley but the effort spun wide then Michael Clegg could have opened his account as a ball from corner was played back to him but his bullet of a shot was well held by Smith in the Bees goal. 44 minutes and Smartie was in the thick of it again as Matt Appleby lobbed the ball over the V visitors' defence with Smart unmarked but Smartie chose not to contest the ball as the keeper came out. Looked winnable to me from the Lookers but Smartie though otherwise. A few missed chances then but the guy was getting into some dangerous positions and was receiving some great service from the midfield and wings and it looked only a mater of time before he put one away. Make that two but we had to wait until after the break for that. What he did do in first half injury time is win a second penalty for Latics as the ball was played in from Cristian Colusso and Smart went down under a Brentford challenge. Foul? Well the linesman, bless him, had no hesitation. His flag was across his chest in a flash and the ref. had pointed to the spot. Dive? Latics player? Never! David Eyres was taking no chances, This one was his and the ball could have caught fire from the friction as his shot from the spot almost ripped the net to make it 1-1. Half time. Phew.... Second half and Latics were on the case from the start. A ball from Paul Murray picked out David Eyres on the left and the Latics winger fired in a blockbuster which flashed inches wide, then four minutes later, Carlo should have scored when a great run by Michael Clegg resulted in a superb cross to pick out Carlo on the back post, but unmarked and with the goal to fire at, he chose to head it back across the goal when all he had to do was to knock it home. Maybe the penalty miss had affected his confidence and he was frightened of missing, but a chance went begging. One minute later, the Bees had the ball in the net but it was disallowed - no idea what for, it looked OK from where we were sitting, but hey, who's complaining, then three minutes later, Lloyd Owusu beat the offside trap again, but the improving Gary Kelly was out quick this time to belt it clear and avoid the one on one. 17 minutes into the half and Latics went ahead through Alan Smart who had been threatening to score all night. Cristian Colusso did some great work getting in where it huts and winning the ball which he fed to Carlo Corazzin on the edge of the box. Carlo's ball was perfect, as was Smartie's run as he cleared the Bees defence and lashed it home from 6 yards it, with the help of a deflection from the underside of the crossbar, Geoff Hurst World Cup 66 style. This time though, it was definitely in. Great stuff and well deserved. 2-1 to Latics. Latics didn't sit back though, they pressed on and created a number of half chances in he next few minutes before Smart struck again on 69 minutes to make it 3-1 as David Eyres slotted a perfect ball forward for Smartie to run onto. Smith was out fast, but not fast enough as the Latics striker reached the ball a split second before him and lifted it up. Smith got a hand to it and went down but the ball spun behind him and Smart controlled it and rolled it into the net from a narrow angle. I've seen 'em given and I've seen 'em flagged. It was a 50-50 ball and Smart won it fair and square but sometimes they're disallowed. Our lovely linesman kept his flag down and the goal stood. 3-1 Latics. Now, it wouldn't be Latics if they didn't make the fans squirm a bit and so they did. Brentford came back chasing it and Latics were on the back foot for a while. The defence coped with it routinely in the main. Gradually Latics gained control and on 75 minutes, they could have extended their lead when the on fire Alan Smart won the ball and shot off down the left wing.  Tracked by only one defender, Smart left the rest of the defence for dead, as did Paul Murray who was matching the pace down the middle, with no defender in sight, screaming at Smart for the pass. When the pass came, it wasn't of the highest quality and Murray had to check back to collect it giving Brentford time to get so cover installed and Murray was forced to play it square. Decent chance that just needed a slide rule ball. Good effort by both players though. Then, on 87 minutes, came the next Brentford goal and a soft one it was. Ben Burgess ran clear down the right and cut inside. Kelly stepped forward, Michael Clegg hared across the goal to cover the back post but Burgess spotted a chink in the armour and stroked it calmly between the two of them to give the visitors some hope and the Latics fans an uncomfortable six minutes (where did 3 minutes stoppage time come from?). That 6 minutes included a couple of Brentford corners as the Latics faithful chewed their nails but the defence held firm and finally the ref. blew and the points were in the bag. 3-2 good performance, good match - now for Colchester.

Beesotted.com (brentford.rivals.net) Bees Go Down In Five Goal Thriller At Oldham Brentford can feel hard done by to have come away from Oldham pointless. The Bees did enough to earn a point in a close contest where Ben Burgess gave the visitors the lead only to fall behind, then lose. Brentford once again saw a one goal away lead turn in to defeat as The Bee's miserable away run continued at Boundary Park. Although only one penalty was converted, two very dodgy decisions conspired to rob the visitors of at least a point. Despite a poor second half performance, Brentford should feel a little hard done by to have lost this match. There was also a strange situation where over 100 Cardiff City fans had decided to join Brentford in the away end as their game at Huddersfield was called off. Oldham started the game the brightest and if it wasn't for a great Paul Smith penalty save early on, the young goalie saving low to his right, The Latics would have taken the lead. It was a harsh decision in the first place, so the save was justified. Brentford responded well to the let off and started to come into the game more. The Bees took the lead when Ben Burgess ran on to a long Ivar Ingimarsson clearance from defence, Burgess chested the ball down superbly before smashing the ball home from just inside the penalty area with a defender closing in on him. It was a great finish, but once again it was a lead we couldn't hold on to. Oldham's equalised on the stroke of half time when the linesman spotted another 'foul' inside our area, this time imagining that Steve Sidwell hacked his man to the ground. The Oldham player clearly backed into Sidwell before falling to the floor and Brentford paid a heavy price for some imaginative vision by the man in black. Brentford didn't play at all well in the second period and looked a team completely out of balance. Coppell's justified decision to drop Gavin Mahon before the game had to be altered when Michael Dobson pulled up in the warm-up, so in the end we found ourselves in a situation where Mahon was playing right-back, Gibbo was on the left wing and Steve Hunt was on the right side of midfield. Despite reduced options, I think Coppell got the team wrong. Although Oldham were in control, Lloyd Owusu had a golden opportunity to get a second for Brentford when a Latics defender made a suicidal back-pass. Owusu was lurking in between the Oldham defender and their goalie and intercepted the pass, but instead of realising he had all the time in the world to steady himself and score, Lloyd turned and shot first time, the ball going harmlessly wide for a goal kick. Oldham's second came following a mix up between Ijah and Ivar Ingimarsson, the two Bees defenders seem to get in a muddle and as two Oldham defenders closed in, they won possession, the ball was passed inside to Smart who finished well off of the underside of the bar from about 16 yards out. Martin Rowlands came on for Paul Gibbs as Coppell tried to provide some more ammo for the front two, but shortly after the switch, Oldham scored their third. A long ball forward saw Paul smith race out and go down to gather the ball, but unfortunately he didn't catch it cleanly and the Oldham forward nicked it and scored. Smith claimed that the ball was taken out of his hands, but to be fair, it looked an Ok challenge to me. Brentford's second was a case of too little too late in the second half, but it was a great goal none the less. Rowlands whipped in a deep cross and Ben Burgess came in behind his marker and slammed the ball home from just inside the penalty area. All in all Brentford should have got a draw out of this match and the defeat mean that The Bees fall a couple of places as results elsewhere didn't exactly go to plan. But this match was won and lost in midfield and I'm afraid to say, the red's weren't completely at the races in this department. Without singling people out Paul Evans won't be happy with the performances of those that played alongside him and Coppell needs to work on his options before Saturday's trip to the west country. If Brentford are going to be unable to win away from home, it's the play-offs at best for Brentford. Oldham on a Tuesday night is never an easy place to come, and when the linesman gives the home team such an advantage things become even tougher, but there was no excuse for such a poor second half display. To be honest, Oldham played better than Brentford and their fans will feel that they deserved to win overall, but this was another one of those games that Brentford had a lead in, then let the game escape them. 

Don't forget the BBz/Rivals Message Board at http://boards.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=939&p=16&forumid=5973BBz Web Site archive is at http://www.oocities.org/laticsgary.geo
 Official Oldham Athletic Web Site (www.oldhamathletic.co.uk)Content from the Oldham Athletic Web Site is used with permission of Oldham Athletic Football Club  
NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

Latics confirm that a substantial bid has been made for Bournemouth's highly rated 24 year old defender Eddie Howe. The club are expecting to hear this morning whether the bid has been accepted. Latics' Chief Executive Alan Hardy spoke exclusively to the website, "I am expecting a call this morning to confirm that our offer has been accepted and that we have been given permission to speak to the player. I will give more news to the website just as soon as it is available". Howe was pulled out of Bournemouth's team at the last minute last night. 
HOWE LATEST

Bournemouth have confirmed their acceptance of Latics' offer for central defender Eddie Howe. The club is now waiting to speak with the player and his agent which hopefully will take place later today.

RACHUBKA LATEST

Unfortunately the call was to inform the club that Paul is unsure about the move to Latics and therefore feels that if there is any uncertainty on his part then it is best for Latics that he stays at Manchester Utd for the present time. His agent told Latics Chief Executive Alan Hardy that Paul considers himself better than the Second Division and if the Latics did not get promotion this year he could become submerged amongst Second and Third Division players. Paul has also spoken with Tony Coton, the goalkeeping coach at United, who feels he should be looking at a First Division club to move to. Latics Chief Executive Alan Hardy said "obviously we are disappointed that Paul has made a decision not to join us. The transfer fee had been agreed with Manchester Utd, and I am sure that if we had had the opportunity of sitting down round a table with Paul and his agent then satisfactory terms could have been agreed, after all we have had no problems with terms for Paul Murray from Premiership club Southampton and Paul's former team mate Michael Clegg who has vastly more experience of First Team football than Paul". RESERVES IN ACTION - WEATHER PERMITTING

One player continues his come-back and two return after long lay-offs. Latics Reserves face West Brom tonight in a game that will take place at Halesowen. Tonight will see Tony Carss continuing his come-back but two other players are returning after long injury lay-offs. Wayne Gill, and early season signing from Tranmere Rovers has only made three appearances in Latics colours as he suffered an ankle injury in the home defeat against Reading on the 23rd October. He later came back in a Reserve game against Tranmere Rovers injuring his other ankle ligaments and has been forced to sit out the last three months. Defender Paul Jones is also in tonight's squad. Jones has not made an appearance for Latics this season after having two operations for shin splints. His last appearance for the First Team was as a substitute coming on against Stoke City on the 11th November 2000. In his previous game a week earlier, he scored Latics equalising goal against Swansea City at Boundary Park. It has been a long wait for Paul to return back to action and everyone at Boundary Park hopes he is finally over his injury nightmare. Dean Holden will have to sit out tonight's game as he serves a one-match suspension in Reserve Team football following the two yellow cards he picked up against Burnley Reserves on the 13th February. Also included in tonight's squad are trialists Marcell Nugent, a right-back from QPR, and Graham Gartland, central defender from Barnsley. The full squad is: Whittle - Nugent - Griffin - Garland - Beharall - Rickers - Smith - Carss - Eyre - Vernon - Hardy - DDoran - Gill - Haining - Boshell - JonesBrentford Match report 
An exciting evening and another cold Oldham night as the Latics kick off. Mick Wadsworth has announced a team devoid of David Reeves and Scott McNiven. Instead they sit on the bench, whilst Colusso assumes an attacking midfield position and new boy Michael Clegg makes his first start. Gary Kelly also features in the starting line-up and today celebrating the personal milestone of his 500th League appearance. Latics bid for promotion received a massive boost as they beat Brentford on Tuesday night, and in impressive style. It was Latics pressure from the first whistle as Allan Smart forced Brentford ‘keeper Paul Smith to pull off a reflex save as he was provided with a useful through ball from midfield. Six minutes later and it was Smart again with a similar move into the box. This time Davis Eyres put him through and Smart made a clean strike only to fire just wide. Pressure continued as only a couple of minutes later Appleby dealt a chip, which had Smith scurrying back to his line. Then Colusso continued the pressure with a shot on goal which the busy ‘keeper again forced a block.  Latics were dominating proceedings with Julien Baudet firing just over and on 18 minutes Cristain Colusso was sent tumbling to the ground within the area. Carlo Corazzin confidently stepped up to take the penalty kick only to see it brilliantly saved by Brentford ‘keeper Paul Smith. Athletic were forced into a reshuffle on the 24th minute when Julien Baudet was stretchered off, the Frenchman being replaced by Scott McNiven. The first goal of the game came in the 30th minute completely against the run of play when Ben Burgess calmly slotted home with the Latics defence appealing for offside. An in-swinging David Eyres corner was met by a Brentford head and forced into touch on 34 minutes. This period of sustained Latics pressure was quickly followed by another corner, this time met by the head by oncoming ‘keeper Smith who punched the ball into safety. The equaliser finally came on the stroke of half time when Allan Smart was sent crashing to the ground. This time leading goal-scorer David Eyres stepped up to take the penalty kick which was sent crashing past the despairing ‘keeper Paul Smith. The first opportunity of the second period arrived when David Eyres fired just over the bar from close range on 2 minutes. Brentford had the ball in the net on the 51st minute through Lloyd Owusu only for the referee to rule it out for a foul on Gary Kelly. Athletic’s domination was rewarded in the 62nd minute, when Allan Smart volleyed home after excellent work by the superb Cristian Colusso. Latics were now buzzing and the third goal came from super hitman Smart to register his second of the game on 70th minutes. A good through ball had the ‘keeper beaten and left Smart with little work to do to make it 3-1. Goal scoring hero Allan Smart was then allowed a well-earned breather, David Reeves now coming in as replacement for the front line. It was a desperate last few minutes for Athletic as Brentford’s Ben Burgess fired home his second goal of the night and it seemed like the longest three minutes of the season as Athletic played out time for what could prove a vital three points in the quest for promotion. A conclusive victory and a valuable three points. Man of the match Matty Appleby, an influential leader and valuable provider. 
'It's good kicking towards the Chaddy End...'

The Website caught up with sponsors' Man of the Match Allan Smart after the Brentford clash, here is what he had to say... Two good goals and Man of the Match tonight Allan, your thoughts on this?
Yes, delighted. I needed to settle in and I needed to get my goals at home as well. Just starting to repay the Manager who showed a bit of faith in me. I needed to win the fans a bit as well to be honest with you because they were starting to get a bit ratty but good night. Good night at the office for us.
Had a few chances first half. Good playing up front with Carlo, he did well I thought. We worked hard and I thought we caused them a lot of problems. As you said, you came into the club under a bit of a shadow, although you've soon put that to rights. Are you settling in Oldham all right?
Well off the park it's not been the best for me but obviously with the incident that happened at Christmas. But you know, we've just had the little baby and we're still not in the house yet so there's a lot of things off the park that I'm carrying at the moment. Once I get in and get settled into my house which is hopefully next month, it'll help us settle because there is six of us living in the house at the moment- her Mum and Dad have been looking after us and they have been brilliant. So it will be nice to get ourselves settled. Valuable three points for the Latics tonight. Do you see us in the Division above next year?
Yeah. I think that if you asked everybody in the dressing room we'd be gutted if we didn't put a good push in. The Manager has brought some players in and he's brought a lot of good quality. It takes a little while to bed that in but once they settle... But I think tonight, you can see that against a team that are above us in the Division we can hold our own and if we don't get into the play-offs, I tell you, we should hang our heads because it'd not unachievable for us I don't think. A lot of movement in the Club with players coming in and moving on. What are your thoughts on the new signings?
Well the Manager's come in and he's doing a job and obviously the Chairman has given him tremendous backing and although I can only speak for myself, the Chairman was brilliant for myself. So positive, so upbeat- really enthusiastic. You know he didn't have to sell the club, the Chairman was so upbeat and I know the Manager and the Manager likes to play and get teams attacking at other teams. With regard to Michael Clegg, I think he is a great signing for us. I know that someone was saying that big Paul (Rachubka) the Goalkeeper, they were looking at him as well and they are hopeful of something happening there. When you're doing well it just seems to be the way to keep adding to it, to keep improving and to take the Club onto that next level. You know, if we go into the next Division and he says 'Right, none of you's are good enough' you know, you've got to try and hang in and keep the performances up. Big game for us tonight. Great result. Colchester next week, your thought on that?
Yes, it's a big game as well. Every one of them now. If we get out of the blocks and get at teams like we did first half... it's down to us. It's good kicking towards that end you know, with the crowd and the impetus- and that definitely helped. When we have a bit of impetus and a bit of steam then it's good. I thought Carlo was a different class tonight, I thought Eyresy was a different class, Cristain was quality. You know, I don't think that there was a weak player tonight. Good point earned at Peterborough, though it could have been a bit better?
Yes, I think if you go away from home and you get a lead then it's disappointing to lose a lead but that could be a massive point for us. Performances go out of the window sometimes away from home and the conditions were absolutely horrendous. I mean, we are a team that can play. You go into quagmire and it's a leveller, I don't care what anyone says. From a personal point of view, I was just happy to score. I was asked to play on the right hand side of midfield and I enjoyed it. You know, it was nice to play in a different role. Second half we were shocking but in all fairness, we were shocking first half and I think the conditions played a part there, it was a horrendous pitch. I mean, the pitch is magnificent here considering the rain the this place gets, the pitch is so firm and so hard and brilliant to play on.

 TEAMtalk (www.teamtalk.co.uk) Howe fee not yet settled 
Latics are still negotiating with Bournemouth over their bid for Eddie Howe, although The Cherries defender has travelled to discuss terms. Bournemouth made an official announcement this morning in which managing director Andrew Dawson confirmed Oldham's bid had been approved and that Howe was now free to travel up to Boundary Park and complete the deal. However, the south coast club have since retracted that statement and chairman Tony Swaisland now says the initial bid, believed to be in the region of £400,000, was in fact rejected, although the two clubs are continuing in their efforts to agree a mutually acceptable sum. Despite the problems over the fee, Bournemouth are still allowing Howe to meet Oldham officials today and discuss personal terms. The first offer was lodged yesterday and Howe was then pulled out of The Cherries' squad to face Brighton last night, supposedly due to illness. The 24-year-old defender, who has made over 230 senior appearances for the Second Division strugglers, almost joined Lancashire rivals Wigan in an £800,000 player-exchange deal earlier this year but the move broke down. Mick Wadsworth is keen to strengthen his defence and Howe has had international experience with England Under-21s. 
Rachubka rejects Latics switch 
Paul Rachubka has turned down a £300,000 move to Latics from Manchester United because he believes he is too good to play in the Second Division. The news has come as a massive blow to Mick Wadsworth, who was hoping to wrap up the deal in time for the 20-year-old shot-stopper to play in Saturday's home game against Colchester. However, Rachubka's agent phoned Latics chief executive Alan Hardy this morning and told him that the young goalkeeper had decided to stay at Old Trafford for the time being in the hope that a First Division club shows interest in him. Latics lost just four of the 16 league games in which Rachubka played between his debut at home to Wycombe in late November and last weekend's game at Peterborough, which was his final appearance. Veteran keeper Gary Kelly now looks set to continue in goal at the weekend after playing in last night's match against Brentford. However, he is still carrying a slight knee injury and there was no back-up on the bench as David Miskelly (shoulder) and Tom Whittle (ankle) are long-term absentees. That means Wadsworth will be making attempts to bring in a new goalkeeper in the next 48 hours.

Smart will score more - Dowie 
Coach Iain Dowie says "there are more goals" in hot-shot Allan Smart after the big Scot's brace helped The Latics beat Brentford last night. Smart is fast becoming the ace in The Latics' promotion pack as they dig deep in a last-gasp bid to make the play-offs. The striker's vital two-goal salvo in seven glorious minutes midway through the second half of a tensely-fought battle against The Bees at Boundary Park gave Mick Wadsworth's side their first win in four games. Smart, ignoring the pain of a broken nose, took his tally to three in two games and he could not have hit form at a better time. Before the start, he admitted it was "about time I started scoring" following his £225,000 switch from Watford 13 games ago. And Dowie, himself an international striker, said: "He showed a wonderful finish and it will do his confidence no end of good. "Allan's had a barren spell but he showed how clever he can be with some very bright movement. He's going well at the moment and I'm sure there are more goals in him." The Latics had rivals Brentford under the cosh from the start and with the two sides topping the Second Division's scoring charts, the match was never going to be a goalless draw. Smart's quickfire double strike stunned the visitors to leave them without an away win in 12 games, and it lifted The Latics back into seventh place. After just two points from the previous nine, Dowie added: "It was a vital game to win and we have to keep taking three points off our big promotion rivals.
"We have Colchester at home on Saturday then go to Bury next Tuesday night and if we can get six points, then it's going to be very interesting. "Only a few games ago, we beat second-placed Brighton and it shows we can compete with the best in our division." The 3-2 win over Brentford means The Latics are still unbeaten at Boundary Park in the league under Wadsworth's stewardship, and their home record will be a big factor on whether they can snatch a play-off place.

Dudley to learn Iron future 
Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws is poised to decide the future of on-loan Oldham striker Craig Dudley as his month with The Iron comes to an end. Dudley has not made the desired impact at Glanford Park since he arrived from Latics and Laws has vowed to weigh up his options before deciding on whether to keep the former England Under-20 international for a second month. Laws said: "Craig has not made the impact we had hoped, so I will have to decide what to do about his future. I will have to sleep on it." If Dudley's stay is extended, Laws's options as far as bringing in another new striker would be limited as he also has Pat McGibbon on loan, so he knows it is a decision he will have to make carefully.

Boss not dwelling on defeat 
Steve Coppell put last night's 3-2 defeat to Oldham down to being "just one of those nights" but felt his side deserved something from the game. The Bees boss was far from happy with the match official who denied Lloyd Owusu a clear goal midway through the first half as Ben Burgess's brace failed to salvage a point at Boundary Park.
But Coppell refused to dwell on the defeat and instead chose to look ahead to the weekend clash with promotion rivals Bristol City. "I was happy enough with the way we played and felt we deserved a point, but sometimes it's difficult to when decisions go against you," said Coppell. "I am looking forward to the Bristol City game on Saturday now because that is the perfect theatre to put a result like this behind us."

Reserves' clash in doubt The (WBA) reserves' clash with Oldham at Halesowen Town tonight is in doubt following heavy overnight rain, with a pitch inspection to be held at 1pm. The Avon Insurance League Premier Division clash at The Grove is due to kick-off at 7pm.

 Official Brentford web site (www.brentfordfc.co.uk) OLDHAM ATHLETIC 3 BRENTFORD 2

A freak injury to Michael Dobson in the pre-match warm up must of left Brentford manager Steve Coppell thinking that fate had yet again dealt him a bad hand as Brentford sunk to another away defeat. Coppell's carefully laid plans were left scuppered as Dobson fell to the floor in agony half an hour before kick off. This necessitated a hasty reshuffle with Paul Gibbs promoted from the subs bench and Gavin Mahon slotting in at right-back, in what could prove to be his last game for The Bees. Oldham started brightly, Allan Smart getting in two good shots within the first five minutes. Owusu went close soon after, but Oldham were gifted the chance to open the scoring on seventeen minutes, Referee Rejer awarding a penalty for a foul on David Aryes. Bees winger Stephen Hunt protested too strongly and earn't himself a booking but he needn't have worried, Carlo Corrazin stepped up and struck the ball firmly but Paul Smith was equal to the task, the six foot three stopper diving low to his right to palm the ball way to safety. Oldham's defence had shown signs of frailty during the half, with Latics keeper Gary Kelly's poor kicking the main culprit. Ben Burgess capitilsed on this a minute before the half hour mark. He beat one defender before cooling slotting home from the edge of the penalty area to give Brentford the lead. However, Oldham squared things up a minute into first half injury time, Ivar Ingimarsson was harshly adjudged to have pushed Allan Smart in the penalty area and David Aryes, who celebrated his thirty-eighth birthday in style by scoring from the spot. Seven minutes after the break Lloyd Owusu had a goal disallowed for shoving Matthew Appleby and this proved costly as Oldham took the lead one minute after the hour mark. Ivar Ingimarsson and Ijah Anderson were involved in a tussle with a Latics attacker and the ball broke loose for Allan Smart to fire home. Sixty seconds later Lloyd Owusu was gifted a golden opportunity to equalise but with just Kelly to beat he shot wide. On sixty eight minutes, Brentford's dreams of their first away win since October were in tatters, Smart grabbing the ball from Smith's clutches to score Oldham's third. Martin Rowlands was then introduced to spice things up and with three minutes remaining his crossfield pass found Ben Burgess, who again finished with aplomb but it was too little too late for Brentford at a typically cold Boundary Park. Bees manager Steve Coppell reflects on Tuesday's 3-2 defeat at Oldham. What was your view on the performance? The performance I felt was okay, it seemed as if we were fated tonight not to get something from the game. We had the worst possible start with Michael Dobson being injured in the pre-match kickabout which meant we had to re-organise. We started brightly. Oldham at home are a strong force but right until a minute or so before half-time, I thought we competed very, very well. We got our noses in front, we gave a penalty away, which I didn't think was a penalty but I could understand why the referee did give it. It was in front of the bank of oldham fans but a minute before half-time, he gave another penalty which was a very, very poor decision. I think even Oldham fans in the ground will admit that. level at half-time is totally different from being one up. Second half again, from my point of view, the second goal was not a good goal defensively. The third goal was another strange decision. The goalkeeper had two hands on the ball but it was kicked out of his hands and in the end the goal stood and at 3-1 I thought that was us obviously finished, dead and buried, but great character from the players, (they) kept on fighting. We got another goal, Ben Burgess' clinical finish. We had opportunities to have equalled the game but it was not to be.

 Sporting Life Tuesday round up (www.sportinglife.com) ROYALS ROLL ON

Reading's Division Two title bandwagon rolled onwards at Adams Park as the Royals roared to a 2-0 victory in the local derby clash with Wycombe. Goals by Jamie Cureton (68) and Darius Henderson (88) sent the visiting fans home happy and dreaming of life in Division One next season.

Second-placed Brighton slipped six points behind Alan Pardew's men as they could only draw 1-1 at relegation-haunted Bournemouth. Albion had Paul Brooker to thank for hauling them back onto level terms in the 37th minute - just 60 seconds after Derek Holmes had giiven the home side the lead.

Oldham edged a five-goal thriller with fellow promotion-chasers Brentford to close on a place in the play-offs. Athletic's Carlo Corazzin fluffed an early penalty but David Eyres assumed spot-kick duties and made no mistake from 12 yards in the 45th-minute, cancelling out Ben Burgess' goal for the Bees on the half-hour. An Allan Smart double (62 and 69) gave the home side a two-goal cushion before Burgess added a late second (88), as Oldham won 3-2.

Bristol City leapfrogged Brentford as Tony Thorpe (15) hit the only goal of the game to earn the west country outfit three points against Peterborough which moved them up to third.

Fourth-placed Stoke went goal crazy to demolish lowly Bury 4-0. Chris Iwelumo bagged the opener for City on the stroke of half-time and added another 11 minutes after the break. Jurgen Vandeurzen and Stefan Thordarson (84) completed the rout.

Lowly Wrexham drew 1-1 with mid-table Tranmere. Lee Trundle gave the Welshmen the lead with 15 minutes remaining but Stuart Barlow squared the scores with eight minutes left. Kevin Gallen's 90th-minute strike salvaged a 1-1 draw for QPR against mid-table rivals Wigan, who had taken the lead through Jason de Vos (70).

Swindon beat Chesterfield 2-1 with Giuliano Grazioli (25) and Alan Reeves (64) scoring. The Spireites' Glynn Hurst (39) had tied the scores at 1-1.

Jamie Forrester was the Northampton hero with a 19th-minute effort that secured a 1-0 win against Port Vale.

Relegation-haunted Notts County drew 1-1 with Colchester at Meadow Lane. Alan White fired the visitors into a 36th-minute lead but Danny Allsopp struck back for the midlanders.

In the LDV Vans Trophy final dress-rehearsal between Cambridge and Blackpool, the Tangerines roared into a 2-0 lead with Richard Walker goals in the 35th and 45th minutes. John O'Kane (72) rounded off a 3-0 stroll. 
Team P Home Away Pts Goal
Diff
W D L F A W D L F A
Reading  36 12 2 4 30 14 10 4 4 24 15 72 25
Brighton  35 13 3 1 30 12 5 9 4 17 22 66 13
Bristol City  35 11 4 3 30 15 7 4 6 24 19 62 20
Stoke  36 11 4 3 35 11 6 6 6 19 22 61 21
Brentford  35 13 3 1 40 11 4 5 9 21 28 59 22
Huddersfield  34 10 4 3 27 16 6 6 5 22 19 58 14
Oldham  36 11 5 2 37 16 4 7 7 26 32 57 15
Cardiff  35 9 6 3 30 19 6 5 6 21 21 56 11
Tranmere  34 9 7 2 34 13 5 4 7 18 26 53 13
QPR  36 8 8 2 29 16 6 3 9 19 24 53 8
Wycombe  35 10 4 3 31 18 4 7 7 17 26 53 4
Port Vale  36 10 4 4 32 19 5 3 10 14 27 52 0
Swindon  36 8 5 5 20 18 4 6 8 18 28 47 -8
Wigan  36 5 6 7 25 19 6 7 5 25 23 46 8
Colchester  36 8 5 5 28 22 4 5 9 24 35 46 -5
Blackpool  35 5 8 4 24 24 6 4 8 24 30 45 -6
Chesterfield  34 7 2 8 29 27 3 8 6 15 21 40 -4
Peterborough  35 7 5 5 34 21 3 4 11 13 27 39 -1
Bury  36 5 7 6 21 23 4 2 12 13 36 36 -25
Northampton  35 6 3 9 18 27 4 2 11 21 33 35 -21
Bournemouth  35 7 3 7 25 23 1 7 10 17 32 34 -13
Wrexham  36 5 6 7 21 26 3 3 12 21 45 33 -29
Notts County  36 3 7 8 18 28 3 3 12 21 35 28 -24
Cambridge Utd  35 5 6 7 20 27 0 3 14 11 42 24 -38
 Fixtures for the next 7 Days  
Friday 1 March
Stoke v  Brighton 19.45
Saturday 2 March
Bournemouth v  Peterborough 15.00
Bristol City v  Brentford 15.00
Cambridge Utd v  Reading 15.00
Huddersfield v  Wigan 15.00
Northampton v  Cardiff 15.00
Notts County v  Tranmere 15.00
Oldham v  Colchester 15.00
QPR v  Blackpool 15.00
Swindon v  Port Vale 15.00
Wrexham v  Chesterfield 15.00
Wycombe v  Bury 15.00
Tuesday 5 March
Blackpool v  Northampton 19.45
Brentford v  Swindon 19.45
Brighton v  Wycombe 19.45
Bury v  Oldham 19.45
Cardiff v  QPR 19.45
Chesterfield v  Huddersfield 19.45
Colchester v  Stoke 19.45
Peterborough v  Notts County 19.45
Port Vale v  Wrexham 19.45
Reading v  Bournemouth 19.45
Tranmere v  Bristol City 19.45
Wigan v  Cambridge Utd 19.45
 

Contributions and letters should be sent to Gary Davies by e-mail at LaticsGary@ntlworld.comor at Boundary Bullet-zine,41 Verney Road,Royton,Oldham,United Kingdom.OL2 6AZ07786 928689Or in the Setons Chaddy end Row R Seats 67 & 68Boundary Bullet-zine Archive can be found at http://www.oocities.org/laticsgary.geo.Boundary Bullet-zine Message Board can be found at http://boards.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=939&p=16&forumid=5973The views expressed on this e-zine are not the views of Oldham Athletic F.C. nor necessarily the views of the Editor.This e-zine is a unofficial publication NOT sanctioned by Oldham Athletic Football Club.The editor will not publish any letters containing bad language.This e-zine is written using Microsoft Outlook Express and is best viewed with the HTML (rich) text option enabled.