Start scoring - or you're down

From the archive, first published Monday 31st Jan 2000.

By Mark Edwards

Oldham Athletic 2,

Oxford United 0 IF Oxford United are to continue playing second division football next season, they must start taking their chances.

It was the same old story at Oldham's Boundary Park on Saturday, when the U's should have been at least three goals ahead at half-time, but ended up going in trailing to a deflected free-kick.

And when Paul Powell missed a glorious opportunity to equalise just 55 seconds into the second half, you knew it was not going to be United's day.

The defeat put Mickey Lewis's men in the relegation mire, but the really bad news was the horrific injury suffered by Scottish full back Neil McGowan.

The left back went in for a regulation challenge but got his studs caught in the turf and broke his right leg - an injury which will leave him sidelined for the rest of the season. The match only went ahead after a noon pitch inspection and the wind was so fierce that in the first half, United keeper Paul Lundin was struggling to reach half-way with his kicks. After the break, he tested opposite number Gary Kelly on no fewer than three occasions with long punts.

Lewis recalled Steve Anthrobus up front to partner new signing Nigel Jemson in a side which was without the injured Joey Beauchamp.

United started brightly, with Matt Murphy and Derek Lilley both having shots easily saved by Kelly, before Anthrobus had a great chance to put Oxford ahead.

Kelly and Andrew Holt got in each other's way and the ball ran to Anthrobus eight yards out. The big striker just needed to hit the ball first-time with his right foot into an empty net, but instead tried to get it on his preferred left. Holt recovered and the chance had gone.

Jemson made a massive difference to Oxford's front line, showing just what they've been missing.

He did most of his good work with his back to goal, but was also instrumental in many of United's chances. The scoreline might have been so different if he had been on the end of some of them. Powell went on a weaving run and fed Murphy, who tricked his way past two defenders before setting up Anthrobus with another great chance from 12-yards. This time, the striker got his shot in, but it went wide.

Oldham lost top scorer Mark Allott with a hamstring injury and, although the home side were finding in hard to break through United's back line, they made them pay for the earlier misses.

Phil Whelan was adjudged - somewhat harshly - to have obstructed Steve Whitehall on the edge of the box and Whitehall got up to take the free-kick himself.

His shot was going straight into the hands of Lundin, but took a wicked deflection off Powell on the end of United's wall and nestled in the other corner of the net, giving the Swede no chance.

United kept coming forward and Anthrobus saw another shot from Jemson's cross go wide. Only 55 seconds of the second half had gone when Murphy's through ball was missed by Scott McNiven and put Powell clean through. But, with just the keeper to beat, he scuffed his shot wide and a fantastic opportunity had gone.

At the other end, Lundin parried a Whitehall shot away and from the corner, McGowan had to clear off the line from Neil Adams.

Unfortunately for McGowan, that was to be his last action of the season after he was stretched off in agony.

Lewis replaced McGowan with Jon Shepheard, and sent on Jamie Cook for Lilley.

Cook had a shot saved at full stretch by Kelly, before the normally reliable Mark Watson handed Oldham their second. Trying to pass the ball out of defence, Watson hit his clearance straight to John Sheridan, who set up Whitehall to fire past Lundin.

Cook then saw two efforts cleared off the line in injury time, but the harsh reality is that if Oxford do not start scoring, they will go down.

Story date: Monday 31 January

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.

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