After the hype of the pre-season successes it was down to business for the Latics but things didn't go as planned in the season opener at home to Sheffield United. The first half was fine with both sides evenly balanced but when the Blades took the lead nine minutes into the second half, it all went pear shaped.
Manager Paul Dickov said after the game, “The first goal came from a corner which was never one in a month of Sunday's and we didn't pick up our man. As soon as they scored we lost our team shape and discipline and three or four gave up which I won't have. We had the best chances of the game without playing particularly well, but shot ourselves in the foot. The most disappointing thing for me is that had we done the basic things right for 90 minutes, I am sure we would taken something from the game.”
Sheffield boss Danny Wilson added, “After seeing Oldham pre-season, I knew it would be a tough task. On paper we were favourites, though it is never as easy as that. You saw how tough they were and they caused us lots of problems. We defended brilliantly and also showed two pieces of quality for the goals.”
New signing Josh Parker and Kirk Millar were introduced as substitutes to try to spice up the team and Parker, in particular, was impressive and looked lively enough to warrant a starting place for the next game. Zander Diamond had a couple of chances to score but it just wasn't the Latics day although they did show some promise. Mr Dickov needs to find that elusive striker who can bang in a high number of goals or the season looks like being another struggle.