Aftermath of Torquay defeat

Last updated : 26 April 2005 By Dave Moore

The Latics slipped again at home to Torquay who achieved their third consecutive win which moved them out of the drop zone and also sent shivers up the spines of the Oldham faithful who are not yet sure of safety. The Latics put in their worst performance under Ronnie Moore’s guidance and it was due to a tactical error by Moore. He dropped Stam who has been inspirational of late and recalled Branston. The move backfired big time as Branston had a nightmare game, as did most of his colleagues.

Torquay deserved their win and the score flattered the Latics as the Gulls could have had more. The only saving grace was that the defeat pushed Franchise FC into the drop zone. The Latics are now four points clear with two games to go so another two points will ensure survival even if the teams below them win all of their games.

After the game a disappointed Ronnie Moore said, “The changes in Saturday’s defence, Branston in for Stam, were made due to Akinfenwa 's physical size and ability possibly being too over powering for Stam. Akinfenwa did cause the defence a lot of problems. The back four were terrible and the midfield were soft centred, and if it wasn't for the efforts of Les Pogliacomi the team could have been 3-1 down at half time. When the team put the ball down and played football they created the chance that led to the goal. But for the most of the game they were over run and overpowered. They know what they need to do to in order to win their remaining games and that they have a nail biting time ahead of them in which they all must be brave.”

“Nothing has changed at the bottom apart from Torquay closing the gap, but there’s every chance we’ll go down if we carry on playing like that. We need to do an awful lot more in our last two games against Chesterfield and Bradford because we can’t rely on other teams losing. We won’t take another point all season unless the Torquay performance is put behind us quickly, that’s for sure. It was unacceptable, and it means we’re going to Chesterfield on Saturday for another nail-biter instead of being able to relax.”

“It’s astounding that a side who have done so well should produce a performance like that against mediocre opposition. Our ’keeper got some stick for costing us last week, but this time he saved us from a worse embarrassment. There are no more days off between now and the end of the season, and I like to think the players will get stuck in again once we’ve got hold of them and shaken them up. Saturday proved the need for some big, strong players at this club who can make sure we don’t lose when we aren’t playing well. Anyone we sign will need to be a strong character because we are far too quiet in the dressing room. I shouldn’t need to do all the talking in there. When I was at Rotherham, I didn’t even open my mouth until most of the team had said their piece.”