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We did it! We won a game! We scored more than one goal! We didn’t concede a sloppy goal from a set piece! Onwards and upwards, lads.
Mellon has repeatedly said he wants us to start on the front foot and get at the opposition, and we looked much more like doing that at Woking. We look positive and aggressive and got our reward 12 minutes in. Hammond started the move from midfield, playing it out to Kitching. The build up play by him and Fondop (who had a great game), was lovely to watch, and Lundstram credited Kitching after the game for crossing the ball right on to his head for him to score his first goal for us. Marvellous.
The defence looked as solid as they did in the first couple of games of the season, with Monthe once again being absolutely immense. WHAT a signing he’s turning out to be. Ogle also impressed at centre half, and yet again his party trick proved to be crucial at the other end of the pitch.
Four minutes into the second half, Ogle’s ‘thunder cunt’ of a throw (thanks for that Nic Green) caused havoc in the Woking penalty area, and we were shown why you pay the big bucks for strikers with a killer instinct. Akinola made a hash of trying to head the ball out for a corner, and Norwood, in perfect position in the 6 yard box, put us 2-0 up with a clinical finish. Five grand a week? Worth every penny. Yes it was his goal. Shut up.
If you wanted to be critical, you could say that maybe Kendall should have been closed down better, but no one was expecting him to shoot from there, and sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say it was a fantastic strike from 30 yards that gave Hudson no chance. Last season, we’d be thinking “here we go, heads are gonna drop, we’re gonna chuck this lead away”. This season, however….
Pretty much straight from the kick off, Monthe (that man again) played a Hollywood pass that caught two Woking defenders napping, Fondop did brilliantly to hold the ball up and beat them both, and finished even more clinically than Norwood from just inside the box to immediately restore our two goal lead. Hallelujah!
His work for the day done, God’s number 9 came off for Joe Garner, Satan’s Striker, who wasted no time throwing himself into doing Joe Garner things, winning free kicks, generally pissing Woking right off. It was glorious to see, and it was glorious to be celebrating bringing three points home.
Should we be getting carried away over a 3-1 win at a Southern Leisure Centre? Yes, we absolutely should. I’ve made my thoughts on this clear before. Supporting Latics is, for the most part, an endless panorama of shite. Celebrate the wins when you can. We’ve had to endure losing 3-0 at Woking; if we can’t get carried away after winning convincingly there, then what’s the fucking point?
It was a whole weekend of win, with Holly Espie’s women’s team notching up their first competitive win, beating West Didsbury and Chorlton reserves 3-1 in the Greater Manchester League, with two goals from Thai Morley and one from U18 academy player Holly Forder-Brown. Get in, girls. Good luck against AFC Boltonians on Sunday.
It was announced on Thursday that we’ll be taking part in the newly created National League Cup, which will (ahem) “provide additional opportunities for young players in the under 17-21 age groups to gain valuable experience of playing against First Team opposition” and “presents another exciting chapter in our [the National League’s] partnership with the Premier League”. Fuck this competition, fuck B teams, fuck the football authorities and their myopic view that lower league and non-league teams only exist to provide cannon fodder for the Premier League’s fringe players while arguing that they can’t possibly play replays in the FA Cup because they’re too busy. Fuck right off.
You might agree, you might think the competition is a good idea. Either way, OASF have launched a survey ahead of meeting with Darren Royle on Monday evening so they can feed back supporters’ reaction to the news. Have your say before 5pm on Monday.
Two home games on the bounce against southwest teams this week. Way back in 2008, when we played Yeovil in League One, I ended up walking to the ground with Yeovil player Lee Peltier’s mum, after I overheard her asking for directions to the ground at Werneth station. Lovely woman. Her son repaid me for escorting her by scoring an own goal and we won 3-0. Be kind, kids. You never know how the universe will reward you. Mike Fondop’s dad is coming to the game today, so let’s get behind the team and make his trip worthwhile (and can we PLEASE sing the ‘God’s number 9’ song and not the other one). With God and karma on our side, how can we lose? KTMFF.
Written by Arlene Finnigan. Photos © Oldham Athletic/Thomas Lee Stacey.