Mo money, Moors problems

Ah well. All good things must come to an end. It really, REALLY should have been 5 wins in a row though.

We were as, if not more, dominant in the first half against Solihull as we’d been in any of the previous 5 games, and could – and should – have been in the lead at the break. We squandered a plethora of chances – Garner should have done better from inside the box early on, Fondop headed just wide. Would Norwood (absent from the squad with a calf injury, apparently) have done any better? On the evidence of recent games, I doubt it.

(why does every pitch side photo of him look like it should be soundtracked by Lovely Head by Goldfrapp?)

Off the pitch, we’ve all been justifiably critical of the catering at the ground recently, so kudos to the club for marking National Teachers Day in the most appropriate way possible. Yes, giving away free tickets was a nice gesture, but stocking the bars with gin and vodka was the really thoughtful, classy touch.

Defensively, though, it was probably our worst performance of the season so far, Aldershot included. We were too open down their left wing, and it was too easy for them to score from what might have been their first decent chance of the game early on in the second half. Fondop made a good run on the break not long afterwards, but had too much time to think about his shot when one-on-one with the keeper, who made a good save.

The equaliser came from unexpected goal machine Mark Kitching, who headed in Gardner’s well-delivered corner at the far post. From the run we’d been on, and the way we’d dominated much of the game up to then, you’d have expected the momentum to be with us, but alas, it wasn’t to be.

Solihull’s second goal was utterly infuriating – one of their players had the space and confidence to backheel it outside the box, no-one stopped James Gale’s run into the box, and Hudson probably should have done better with his shot. I was still expecting us to get something out of the game, but we gave Solihull acres of space in midfield and Oakley put them 3-1 up in injury time. From the Rocky we couldn’t see if it was offside, I’m told it looked like it was, but we can’t blame the lino for our crap defending.

At this point I would really, REALLY have liked to have fucked off to the pub, but they couldn’t even let us do that in peace, could they. In the 96th minute, Monthe played one of his trademark Hollywood balls forward, and Fondop (y’know, Mr 50p Head Who Can Never Find A Team-mate) headed on for Josh Lundstram, who finished it neatly to keep the game alive. Bastard. Maybe if the referee had played the correct amount of stoppage time we might have found a winner, but, given how the previous 97 minutes had gone, maybe not.

Mellon’s frustration was evident in the post match interview, with him bemoaning our failure to take our chances and our “crazy, crazy defending”. He was rightly critical of the referee: “Some of his decisions were bizarre”. He wasn’t wrong – me and Andy were daft enough to comment on how well he'd done in the first half, but in the second half he just lost it. What the hell was taking the towel off the ball boy all about? Mellon didn’t make any excuses, and once again praised us, the grovelling arse-licker: “the fans were fantastic today, they were terrific”. Only joking, Micky. You’re very welcome. He also praised debutant Kane Drummond’s energy and enthusiasm, and he did look impressive when he came on. No, I’ve no idea why that foul was given against him, either.

A frustrating end to what had been a great run, and MOTM should have gone to the announcer for playing In The End by Linkin Park at full time. We’re in a far better position than we were this time last year, and StevieDunk pointed out on Twitter that it’s the first time since 1981-82 that we’ve scored in all of the first 13 games of the season, which is a quite remarkable statistic. Here’s hoping that it was last Saturday that was the blip, and not the previous winning run. And let’s hope we don’t make a habit of conceding 3 at home. Two losses in 13 isn't terrible. Let's kick on.

On Wednesday, the ongoing Alex Reid saga came to some sort of conclusion with the announcement that he’s going to Wealdstone on loan until January. Which means he’ll be there at Christmas, LOL. Whatever your thoughts on Mellon not picking him, it wasn’t in anyone’s interests for him to be here and not playing. You would hope there’s a clause saying he can’t play against us in December. I can see the fucking TikTok now.

This Sunday at 2pm, Latics Women play their first home league game of the season against Hyde United. It's been a frustrating couple of weeks for Holly Espie's team with matches getting cancelled, and it'd be great to see people come down to Chapel Road to cheer the girls on. Binning off the women's team was one of the worst things the previous regime did, and we should all get behind the newly reformed team and give them the support they deserve.

 The magic of the FA Cup comes to Boundary Park today. No, don't sneer, pretty much all of our best times this millennium have come in this competition. Yes, Halifax at home is no Fulham away, but if we do manage to go on a bit of a run, don't you want to be able to say you were there at the start? Get yourself down here and get behind your team. Into these Happy Valley Yorkshire bastards, lads. KTMFF.

Written by Arlene Finnigan. Photos © Oldham Athletic, except the one quite clearly taken by me of my own drink, obviously.