Latics 1 Shrewsbury Town 2

Attendance 4,510 (602 away)

TAKING positives in defeat is a rare but crucial quality to possess.

It’s a bit like laughing in the face of adversity . . . or facing the music – and dancing.

It is also, however, something nobody particularly wants to have to do – ever.

A millstone round their collective neck is what Latics have at the moment – eight games in and rock bottom of League One with only a solitary victory to show for their efforts.

A far cry from how many imagined the season would start.
Against Shrewsbury on Saturday, there were plenty of encouraging signs to suggest the weight of the world which lies heavy on John Sheridan’s shoulders would soon be lifted.

Bright, energetic, attacking play was in evidence here – not something necessarily associated with a side at the foot of the table – and all against the league leaders.

Latics were more than a match for the Shrews for large parts of this game, making a mockery of the predicament in which they find themselves. They were facing the music . . . and jigging along to the beat.

As so often has been the case so far this campaign though, defensive frailties were their downfall.

Quite what has happened to the once impenetrable back line – the bedrock of survival last term – is something the Chasers on Bradley Walsh’s tea-time quiz show would struggle with.

Defensive kingpins Anthony Gerrard and Peter Clarke – the beasts of League One – are still there. The clean sheets however, are not. And while the centre backs could never be accused of being sinner men, if the rot isn’t stopped soon, Latics could well end up needing a few pushbacks in their quest to catch the rest.

For the third match running the Latics line-up remained unchanged, Shez keeping the faith with the eleven who came away with four points from two tough fixtures on the road.

So often at this level though, as the manager has spoken about at length, consistency can prove something of a scarlet pimpernel when searching for even a little run of form.

And so it proved when – after a more than bright opening – the home side fell behind after 19 minutes.

A low ball from the right caused confusion in the six-yard box, George Edmundson finding himself in a pickle, smashing into Stefan Payne who somehow prodded home despite having hooter splattered across face. Pain indeed. His afternoon was over.

From there though Latics refused to let their heads drop and ploughed forward with increasing regularity in a bid to draw level.

The breakthrough arrived on 35 minutes when Gevaro Nepomuceno swung in a delightful cross from the left for Craig Davies to do the rest. Four in four now for the striker who – thankfully – looks every bit his old self following his return to the club in the summer.

Latics began the second half where they had left off, this time Eoin Doyle rounding the keeper only for the striker to see his shot rebound of a post. He really should have scored. The Irishman would later see red for a late challenge in injury time.

By then though, the damage was done. Jon Nolan ensuring the visitors left with all three points with another scruffy one to concede from the home side’s point of view defensively – and all against the run of play.

Good chances came and went for Sheridan’s men – Jack Byrne, again pulling the strings in his attacking midfield role – going close from a free kick, and Davies spurning a gilt-edged header late on. But then that’s how it goes when you’re at the bottom. Latics have to keep on keeping on – continue on the front foot, and the results will follow. Better keep an eye on that back door though . . . come what may, it will leave you out in the cold.

How Latics rated

(3-5-2)

JACK RUDDY 6 ANTHONY GERRARD 6 PETER CLARKE 6 GEORGE EDMUNDSON 6 DAN GARDNER 7 KEAN BRYAN 6 JACK BYRNE 7 RYAN McLAUGHLIN 6 GEVARO NEPOMUCENO 6 CRAIG DAVIES 8 EOIN DOYLE 6 Subs: Fane (for Gardner, 75) 6; Menig (for Edmundson, 77) 6; Obadeyi (for Bryan, 85). Not used: Placide, Dummigan, Brian Wilson, Amadi-Holloway.

The Oldham Times:

STAR MAN: Craig Davies