It’s hard not to feel disappointed about the result today. County dominated the game from start to finish, but one moment of lax defending cost us a vital 2 points. Still, as with most games, there were many positives; good tackling, great link up play amongst the striker’s and many chances created. Before this Easter period I would definitely had settled for four points out of six, and the extension of our unbeaten run to 8 games. We are still 3 points from the drop zone, and our superior goal difference over the bottom four is helpful to. In a nutshell, it was an enthralling game and a great advert for SCFC to the extra fans that came today, swelling the crowd to a bumper attendance of around 8600. Even more people than against the big time Charlie’s Wendy!

I had only just settled in my seat when County went 1 nil down, approximately in the 2^nd minute. Ashley Williams gave away a daft free kick just past the half way line in our half, the sort of free kick that was pointless and unneeded; their player was going no where fast and Williams had his arms all over him. To be fair to Oldham the free kick in was excellent, the ball cut right through the defence and was the perfect height to confuse keepers and defenders alike. Ant Williams should have came and claimed it, the defence should have had the striker covered and cleared it. Unfortunately for us, nobody knew what they were doing and Haining prodded the ball past the helpless Williams to take an unexpected lead. I was shell-shocked.

County’s reply wasn’t immediate; it took about 10 minutes for us to test a keeper that proved to be our nemesis and barrier for the 3 points. The ball was received by Wilbraham in their crowded box, and he held it up excellently before spotting the run by Jackman into the box. He laid the ball to him perfectly, leaving the back four as helpless spectators as little Danny found himself 1 on 1 with the keeper. He struck it well, but to close to Pogliacomi’s legs. He made the save and set his standard for the rest of the tense afternoon.

The next real chance fell into the lap of our talismanic midfielder Lambert. He chased down Pogliacomi and the keeper embarrassingly whacked the ball straight at Lambert (his kicking was pretty poor all afternoon). The ref, even though he was 60 yards away and looking at the back of Lambert, blew for handball and robbed us of a great chance. I was in a good place to make a decision, and it was ball to hand. Oh well, we were getting ourselves back in the game.

Again Alby found himself in the box surrounded by Oldham players. The situation looked pretty pointless, yet he managed to fool them all and get himself in a position to shoot, albeit a little wide. He didn’t strike it that clean though, and the keeper caught it easily. Alby was having a good half, on two other occasions he headed the ball just over the crossbar and also just wide. However, a goal was coming….

It seems to be an age since we last scored off a corner; a combination of poor delivery, bad striking and a lack of any real height has always thwarted us. Today was the day to right this though, and Clare bagged his second goal for the club. The ball was played to the near post by Lambert, flicked on by Alby and then hammered in by Clare from quite close range. For a CH he took it extremely well, and gave me great belief that we would go on to dominate and win the game. Dominate we did, win we did not.

Daly was very sharp all afternoon, and had 2 excellent chances to get himself on the score sheet in this half alone. The first chance was created by a sublime piece of skill from Goodwin, a player not really known for his passing ability. About 10 yards outside the box he spotted Daly’s run and completely took out the defender by chipping the ball into Daly’s path. Because he was taken slightly wide he opted to hit it first time on the half volley. He struck it cleanly and forced another save out of Poglimgasdfg…..their keeper, and a corner for the home team. His second chance came off a corner; again he forced the Oldham shot stopper to parry the ball wide, this time with a strong header.

Oldham didn’t really contribute much to the half attacking wise, but this made us all the more vulnerable on the break. A couple of times Hardiker was beaten on the wing, but the final ball into the box was lacking quality. The only other opportunity, apart from their goal, I can recall where they were in a good position to shoot, was wiped out by an excellent tackle from Lambert. By the end of this half County were on a high, and I was quite surprised we weren’t winning. “Bring on the second” I mused, Oldham seemed to be hanging on to the draw already.

Based on Brian Talbot’s half time substitutions he wasn’t happy with a point. Sheridan, a player renowned for his playmaking skills, was brought on and seemed to be the nucleus for their few chances in this half. However it was again County’s half, and 4-1 would have portrayed the game a lot better than 1-1.

Jackman was creating a nuisance of himself on the left wing right until he got taken off. At one point he pulled off an audacious piece of skill to take himself away from a defender. My dad said it was a ‘Croyf’ turn, whatever that means! He received a standing ovation when he was subbed. I think it was he that delivered an excellent cross along the floor that Daly was an inch off converting into a goal. Like the first half, Daly was prominent in this one.

His best chance of the half was a header. The ball was lofted in, and he got a great deal of power from his mullet-ed head and directed the ball towards the top corner. As he seemed to do for the whole game, Pogliacomi made perhaps one of the best saves from a header I have seen at EP this season, and maybe the couple of seasons before that. He got a vital touch on the ball with his glove, and took it on to the crossbar. The luck we seemed to be getting in the last few games was fast disappearing.

By far the best chance to win the game fell to Wilbraham. A daisy cutter off a pass cut out the whole of the defence, and Alby popped up at the far post to side foot it with power. How the keeper saved it with his legs I will never know. By this point I was starting to chant obscenities at him in my head. It didn’t work. I knew after this opportunity had gone that we would not win today.

By this point Welsh had been brought on, and if a goal was going to come he looked the most likely player to have a part in it. And have a part he almost did. The move started after Ant Williams punched the ball from a cross. Welsh received the ball deep in his own half with no option but to run; we had committed all our players but Daly to the corner. So he put his head down and ran. And ran. And ran. He must have taken on 4 players in perhaps the maziest run I have ever seen at EP, before giving the ball to Daly in the box. He carried on running into the box and gladly received the ball off Daly to find himself one on one with the keeper. His first touch was just a tad heavy; that coupled with the keeper running out put him off, and the ball ran off the pitch agonisingly wide. He held is head in his hands; he had been inches off scoring perhaps one of the goals of the century. And no people, that is not an overstatement.

It would be ignorant to suggest that Oldham did not have chances this half. They had a couple, and always looked very dangerous on the break. Their best came around because of Ant Williams fumble. A free kick was rightly awarded on the edge of our penalty area because of a stupid push from Cartwright. ?Sheridan? hit the resulting free kick low and hard, but straight at Williams. He completely misjudged it and fumbled it. Fortunately for us the Oldham rebound shot flew wide. A massive let off; to go 2-1 down would have been unfair and heartbreaking for both the fans and the players.

They also had a chance to win it right at the death, but completely miscued and skied it. Mind you if I was them I would be happy with the point!!

Ant Williams – 6 – Not his best game today I am afraid!! Was at fault for the goal, and he seemed nervous all afternoon. Plus he made a horrible fumble.

Adams – 6.5 – I’ve also seen him play better. He got turned quite a few times, and didn’t win as many headers as usual.

Clare – 7.5 – He was great today!! Calm all the time, was always there for the important tackles and scored a vital goal.

Ash Williams – 7 – He can be very solid and rarely gets on the wrong side of a player. He definitely knows when to kick it out of play, but his heading could be greatly improved.

Goodwin – 7.5 – I liked his grit and determination today, and also his passing was better than usual eg the ball for Dalys volley in the first half. He looked like he took a knock before he was substituted though.

Lambert - 6.5 – Came in and out of the game in spurts, sometimes right in the thick of things and other times completely absent. He has started to get into the defending side of the game more; there was one opportunity where he made an excellent tackle in our area. His heading has improved too.

Danny Jackman – 7.5 - Ahhhhh, bless! He created chances today and also made some excellent crunching tackles. Keep it up Danny!!

Cartwright – 7.42 – Like Jackman, just slightly not as good!:P

Daly and Alby – 7.5 Joint MOM – They were like a unit today, creating chances for each other, and almost taking them to. I find it hard to give them any higher when they don’t score though, after all that’s what they are here for.

Today was like a bad memory of some of our results earlier in the season. We dominated all game but didn’t get our just desserts. The passing was for the most part snappy and accurate, we created plenty of chances, we didn’t panic and hoof the ball all the time, and let us not forget we got another point towards safety and are still out of the relegation zone. There was passion, commitment and also a good dose of flair. We have the ability to beat QPR, but it will be mightily tough. Here’s hoping though!! As the games go by I am becoming increasingly more confident that we will retain our Division 2 status this season. Thanks for reading, enjoy your week!