Behind the Goal Line 2025:A Ball Boy’s Mum’s View of Life with Oldham Athletic

​ Cold Tuesday Night Magic at the Ice Station Zebra Tuesday night in the Ice Station Zebra for the Oldham game against Bristol Rovers. Is this the night that Quigley will show us what he’s capable of? We start the game with the team that actually finished the game on Saturday, which had a bit of fight to them – though going off the first half, it wasn’t hard. 35 Seconds! Well, 35 seconds in and a long ball from Hudson up to Fondop, who brings it down for Drummond just outside the box. And he smashes it into the back of the net! 1-0 and it’s not even a minute in! Wow. So he might miss from 3 yards out, but give him space outside the box and he’s found the back of the net. So, so pleased for him. He works so hard for it and has taken a lot of stick from us fans – all in the nature it’s intended. But it lifted the fans in the ground. Well, not the 380 travelling fans! Is this going to be the fastest goal in League 2 this season? 🎶 Drummond on fire, your defence is terrified! 🎶 rings out...

Back at Boundary Park today against Fleetwood Town. Pete Wild in the Oldham fan bar – going to be an interesting day. No Norwood on the team sheet, doesn’t look like he travelled with them. 🤔 We cannot continue this losing streak. We need a performance today. Cold but dry at Boundary Park – let’s get the place bouncing if only to keep us warm. Slow Start and Garner’s Injury Slow start to the game from Oldham. A couple of testers for Hudson at his near side, but nothing much to worry about. Almost 40 minutes in and we’re down to 10 men defending a corner as Joe Garner has gone off and up the tunnel with what reports are saying is a broken nose. And it’s a quick strip-off of his layers for Fondop – picture a 7-year-old stomping out of his trackie bottoms and you get the picture! Hope Joe is OK and can play again on Tuesday, as we missed him. Behind Again Fleetwood are breaking forward and Payne clips their forward just outside the box. Free kick given. Hudson lines up his wall with one ...

Early Kick Off, Same Old Story Oldham at Swindon away today – 12:31 kick off. The early starts don’t normally suit us, but let’s see. Two of the new signings are in the starting 11, with a start for Fondop. Let’s see what we can do. Can’t get there today, so watching on TV – and can hear the Oldham fans loud and clear! 👏 The Weather Gods Have a Laugh Sunshine and torrential rain, all in the same game at the same time. Going to be a wet one for sure. First Half Struggles They’re dominating the first half with possession, but we’re holding them off. Twenty-three minutes in and a goal for a debutant – but unfortunately it’s for Swindon, not us. Felt very much against the run of play, but they cut through us on the right between Caprice and Daniels. Feels like we’re missing Will Sutton in defence. Unsure why he was let go. We just can’t seem to get it through midfield, and I’m not sure about the 5-4-1 system. We go in at half time 1-0 down. Second Half Changes Second half starts with no c...

​ Reality Check: Oldham 0-3  Cambridge have the best defensive record in the league, on a run of 13 games unbeaten, and came down from League 1 this season – so this was always going to be a tough one. But we had our two new signings, Taylor and Jalo. Could they get a true Boundary Park welcome? Early Frustrations I think we got to about 6 minutes before the Oldham faithful started the chant against the ref. A stop-start game. Their game plan seemed to be just to stop us playing. Really frustrating first half. Lost Joe Garner 35 minutes in, holding his shoulder. I hope it’s nothing serious. But on comes Quigley – let’s see what he can do. Poorest Half in Ages Half time and it’s 0-0. Poorest half I’ve seen in a long time. Second Half Collapse Second half and Tom Pett doesn’t come back out – it’s Luke Hannant on instead. Let’s see what this half holds. Drummond brought down in the box – nothing given. Then they break, and Monthe collects the ball on the right but doesn’t clear it. He...

​ A Cruel Ending to the Unbeaten Run So down to Barnet the team travelled for a 12:30 kick off. These earlier kick offs normally don’t suit us – here’s hoping today’s not the case. Couldn’t get down there, so watching on the TV. Six games unbeaten – can this continue? Flying Start Off to a flying start with all the action coming from Oldham! Joe Garner passed the ball out, and a sweetly hit strike from our captain Tom Pett – we’re 1-0 up after 10 minutes! Come on! We were dominating the play with a few chances to make it 2 or 3 nil, but just couldn’t get it in the goal. Momentum Shifts Then a free kick to them, and they’ve equalised with a scrappy goal. 1-1. Felt a little against the run of play. Then another free kick to them, just inside our half. That’s kicked into the box and handled by Pett – so a penalty is awarded. No complaints from the Oldham team. 2-1 at half time. How are we going in behind? Even funnier, at half time you could hear off the mic some Barnet fans saying “how h...

​ Catching Up on the Festive Period I’ve missed a few game reviews! I’ve been to Walsall on the 29th December – OMG what a game! We arrived cold, wet, and in the dark, but it was more than made up for. The songs never stopped, and Joe Garner’s goal was brilliant. Even a clash of heads and a bandage didn’t stop him! New Year’s Day against Chesterfield saw Drummond get his year off to a great start with a goal! A 1-1 draw, but we’ll take that. But here’s yesterday’s report on the game against Cheltenham Town. Remembering Dale Harris Before I get into the match report, I want to reflect on the sad news about the passing of Dale Harris. A face and name I knew from his involvement in the club, but didn’t know him personally. It was lovely to see the club personnel line the pitch to pay their respects, and an amazing 1-minute applause 👏🏻 from the crowd. Condolences go to his wife, three children, and all who knew him. First Half Battle Scrappy start to the game, and I have no idea what the...