Three Points on the Road: Harrogate 0-1 Oldham

Away Day Adventures in North Yorkshire

Harrogate away this weekend, and boy did I know I’d arrived in Harrogate.

Stopped at a tea room for a bite to eat before the match. Now, tell me you’re in a tea room in Harrogate without telling me: the person in front of me ordered “a decaf tea with soya milk and a vegan flapjack.”

My order? Cup of tea and a bacon butty, please!

1,050 Strong

1,050 Oldham fans packed out the away end at the Wetherby Road stadium. Incredible support. Though I have to mention – 3 ladies toilets for the away fans. THREE. That’s all I’ll say about that.

Remembrance

Before kick off, both captains laid poppy wreaths to mark Remembrance Day. The Last Post rang out across a silenced ground, followed by a minute’s silence where not a peep was heard. Exquisite atmosphere. These moments matter.

Positive Start

No changes to the team from the FA Cup win, so we were expecting a strong start. And that’s what we got.

We kicked off positively, on the front foot, looking comfortable on the ball. There was a little scare in the first 5 minutes when their striker scuffed the ball wide, but nothing Hudson couldn’t handle.

Then it was Robson’s in-swinging corner that caused Harrogate real trouble. And who was there to get his first goal of the season? Manny Monthe with an absolute scissor kick! Giving us the lead in the 23rd minute. Get in!

Riding the Tackles

Things were clicking. The boys were riding tackles left, right, and centre – not that the ref saw most of them!

Harrogate tried a cheeky shot from the halfway line when they spotted Hudson high up the pitch, but it was nowhere near on target. Out for a goal kick.

Just before half time, Joe Garner headed the ball home. 2-0 up! But no – the linesman gave it offside. Not sure I or the other 1,049 Oldham fans agreed with that decision, but we went in at half time 1-0 up.

Second Half Fire

We came out for the second half firing on all cylinders. Great passages of play, linking up well across the pitch.

Hudson pulled off an amazing fingertip save onto the crossbar to keep his clean sheet intact. Absolutely brilliant goalkeeping when we needed it most.

62 minutes in and Micky made a substitution – his son Michael came off for Fondop. Michael was clearly annoyed. He so wants to play and score every minute he’s on that pitch. It’s great to see that hunger.

Injury Blow

Shortly after, a crushing tackle saw Oli Hammond subbed off for Payne. It looked like a dislocated elbow, shoulder, or something with his collarbone. Whatever it was, it looked painful. Wishing him a speedy recovery – we can’t afford to lose more players to injury.

Down to Ten… Again

Not long after this, Woods put in a tackle – just like they’d been doing all game – but got booked. He took his frustration out on the ref with a few choice words, and that yellow became a second yellow. Red card. Woods was off.

80 minutes played and we needed to restructure as 10 men. Which we did brilliantly, seeing out a scrappy finish with composure and grit.

Three Points!

Three points on the road. Up to 14th in the table. Come on boys, this is great stuff!

Back-to-back wins and we’re starting to climb. If we can keep this momentum going and stay away from injuries and suspensions, we’ve got a real chance of pushing up that table.

Movember Mentions

As a side note, loved seeing the different quality of moustaches on show for day 8 of Movember. Looking good boys, and for a great cause!

100-mile round trip. Three points. Worth every mile.

Come on you Blues! 💙

🔵⚪️ #OAFC