We arrived in Manchester just after midday and headed to the Sam Smiths pub near Manchester Victoria station. We sat outside in the roasting sun (temperate was 32 C in Manchester) supping (well downing) our pints and caught the 14.09 to Oldham.
We stopped off on route to the ground in Oldham and missed the first couple of minutes of the game. The ground looked quite full to me and I was surprised the crowd was only given as just over 6,500. I would guess the away section was about a third full so around a 1,000 Albion fans braved the soaring temperatures.
How the players managed such a good competitive game in these conditions was beyond me. The Albion bench had plenty of bottles of water, thrown on play every time the ball went out,Oldham players had to use our water!
We lined up
My two MOTM awards would have gone to Hinshelwood and Oatway. Oatway never gave up and once again was our biting edge. The first goal after 20 minutes or so was from a blatant hand ball.
Henderson and Knight both wanted the penalty, Henderson won and coolly knocked the ball home to put us one up. Leon Knight was fairly quiet first half but then he got his head to a low Carpenter crossed ball and it was 2-0.
Just before half time I thought we had another good penalty shout turned down.
The second half saw us soak up a little bit of pressure but then Knight got his head to another Watson cross deflected on by Cullip and despite the goalkeeper/defender being on the line the ball was already in before it was hooked away. 3-0 and we were coasting.
McPhee came on and made sure that the Oldham defence knew he was about. He harried, hassled and chased back, which was great to see. Disappointingly we allowed Oldham an easy goal towards the end, but the players were all feeling the heat.
At the final whistle the players all came over (minus shirts all removed instantly) and we applauded them off the pitch.
It was then the long walk back to the station, a quick stop in Sam Smiths pub, then on to Manchester Piccadilly.
The train was a nightmare. Most lads on the trains removed shirts, others suffered and soon had sweat soaked tops as the heat on the train was almost insufferable. We were all given complaint forms and free water, but it made for an extremely uncomfortable 3 hour trek back to London, I'm just glad we had won.
It was good to see Drew and his noisy little one (decked out in his black away kit). Young Charlie was fast asleep by the final whistle. Has anyone ever been to a hotter match in this country?
Bristol Rovers tomorrow, I expect to see a few changes as the heat must have taken its toll. I would like to see McPhee given a chance, plus Harding and a few others.
Rating
Roberts - 6 (a couple of scares coming out of the box!)
Jones - 7 best game for a long time
Watson - 7 back to his old self
Cullip - 8 Captains performance
Hinshelwood - 8 great display in a back 5. Shame he let his man go for the Oldham goal
Mayo - 8 didn't put a foot wrong
Rodgers - 7 solid disply
Carpenter - 7 as above
Oatway - 8 ran and ran and ran, never gave up
Knight - 8 paid to score, that's what he did
Henderson - 7 good control for a big bloke and looked well up for it
McPhee - 8 made sure the Oldham players knew he was on
Hart - 7 didn't have a great involvement in the game
Mark R
We stopped off on route to the ground in Oldham and missed the first couple of minutes of the game. The ground looked quite full to me and I was surprised the crowd was only given as just over 6,500. I would guess the away section was about a third full so around a 1,000 Albion fans braved the soaring temperatures.
How the players managed such a good competitive game in these conditions was beyond me. The Albion bench had plenty of bottles of water, thrown on play every time the ball went out,Oldham players had to use our water!
We lined up
Roberts
Cullip Hinshelwood Mayo
Watson Jones (wing backs)
Rogers (Hart) Carpenter Oatway
Knight (McPhee)Henderson
Cullip Hinshelwood Mayo
Watson Jones (wing backs)
Rogers (Hart) Carpenter Oatway
Knight (McPhee)Henderson
My two MOTM awards would have gone to Hinshelwood and Oatway. Oatway never gave up and once again was our biting edge. The first goal after 20 minutes or so was from a blatant hand ball.
Henderson and Knight both wanted the penalty, Henderson won and coolly knocked the ball home to put us one up. Leon Knight was fairly quiet first half but then he got his head to a low Carpenter crossed ball and it was 2-0.
Just before half time I thought we had another good penalty shout turned down.
The second half saw us soak up a little bit of pressure but then Knight got his head to another Watson cross deflected on by Cullip and despite the goalkeeper/defender being on the line the ball was already in before it was hooked away. 3-0 and we were coasting.
McPhee came on and made sure that the Oldham defence knew he was about. He harried, hassled and chased back, which was great to see. Disappointingly we allowed Oldham an easy goal towards the end, but the players were all feeling the heat.
At the final whistle the players all came over (minus shirts all removed instantly) and we applauded them off the pitch.
It was then the long walk back to the station, a quick stop in Sam Smiths pub, then on to Manchester Piccadilly.
The train was a nightmare. Most lads on the trains removed shirts, others suffered and soon had sweat soaked tops as the heat on the train was almost insufferable. We were all given complaint forms and free water, but it made for an extremely uncomfortable 3 hour trek back to London, I'm just glad we had won.
It was good to see Drew and his noisy little one (decked out in his black away kit). Young Charlie was fast asleep by the final whistle. Has anyone ever been to a hotter match in this country?
Bristol Rovers tomorrow, I expect to see a few changes as the heat must have taken its toll. I would like to see McPhee given a chance, plus Harding and a few others.
Rating
Roberts - 6 (a couple of scares coming out of the box!)
Jones - 7 best game for a long time
Watson - 7 back to his old self
Cullip - 8 Captains performance
Hinshelwood - 8 great display in a back 5. Shame he let his man go for the Oldham goal
Mayo - 8 didn't put a foot wrong
Rodgers - 7 solid disply
Carpenter - 7 as above
Oatway - 8 ran and ran and ran, never gave up
Knight - 8 paid to score, that's what he did
Henderson - 7 good control for a big bloke and looked well up for it
McPhee - 8 made sure the Oldham players knew he was on
Hart - 7 didn't have a great involvement in the game
Mark R