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

​ Newport County 3-2 Oldham Athletic There are away days. Then there are AWAY days. Newport County — a modest 400 miles round trip — firmly falls into the latter category. Did I check the distance before buying the tickets? Reader, I did not. Did I regret it? Ask me again after the final whistle. The day started with Odie’s game finishing at 10:45, which meant a mad dash down the M6, onto the M5, over the bridge and into Wales with minutes to spare. No time for a sit down. No time for a brew. Just full Latics commitment. And the fancy dress on show made every mile worth it. Special mention to the BunkerBin men who were an instant crowd favourite. Latics fans — never change. The away stand at Newport is open air, which thankfully wasn’t an issue as the sun was blazing. The stewards were… enthusiastic. Very enthusiastic. So enthusiastic that my 12-year-old couldn’t visit the snack stand or the loo without adult supervision. I nearly called their bluff and escorted him into the men’s toil...

Back at Boundary Park in the sunshine for a replay of the very first game of the season — MK Dons, who we drew 0-0 with back in August. Fewer roundabouts to navigate today though, so we’re already winning on that front 😄 The Opposition This isn’t just any MK Dons side mind — these are second in the league. So whatever happened in that first game, this was always going to be a proper test. Scrappy First Half And a test it was. Scrappy, stop-start, with MK Dons’ goalkeeper doing his absolute level best to time waste every single goal kick into next week. Infuriating stuff. We had decent possession but just couldn’t do anything with it. And then they broke — first real goal attempt and it’s past Hudson and into the net. 0-1. Boundary Park went quiet for a bit. Half time. Not what we wanted. Let’s see what Micky can do. Second Half — Same Story, Different Half More possession in the second half but the passes just weren’t finding the boys in blue. At one point Woods unleashed an overhead ...