PAUL Scholes was left down but not out after he saw Oldham fall to their first defeat under his charge after a late Aaron Collins goal clinched a 2-1 win for Morecambe at Boundary Park.

Jose Baxter levelled the scores with 15 minutes to play after the visitors went ahead through Jordan Cranston four minutes in, but Collins’ late finish proved the winner.

And in all his myriad experience in football, Scholes was keen to cast the result off as a mere bump in the road, knowing all too well that defeats are part-and-parcel of the game.

“I’m not too disappointed to be honest, I thought we played well we just missed that little bit in the final third I suppose,” he said.

“We conceded an early goal which isn’t ideal, and they made it difficult for us.

“They make it really hard and they’re a streetwise team. They were wasting time and we have to learn, we have to grow up on the pitch, we have to become more streetwise ourselves but I’m not too disappointed.

“I thought we played well once we got the goal and I thought we’d go on to win it then but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

Oldham went in firm favourites after four points from six from Scholes’ first two games in charge, while Morecambe were flirting with the relegation zone.

But the Shrimps had clearly not read the script and got off to a flyer. Piero Mingoia was afforded too much time to drive a low cross into the box and Cranston side-footed home from eight yards.

Latics’ Christopher Missilou then blocked a Carlos Mendes Gomes shot and only seconds later the Spaniard saw a diving header saved by the sprawling Daniel Iversen.

Home striker Chris O’Grady should have done better with a free header from Gevaro Nepumuceno’s cross, but he glanced his effort well wide.

Then O’Grady nodded down to Baxter, who looked like he had toe-poked underneath Halstead, but the keeper managed to get a hand to it.

Cranston nearly slotted a second for the Shrimps before half time and Oldham were lucky to go into the break only one down.

They started the second half with slightly more energy and O’Grady’s surprise turn and shot nearly caught Halstead off guard.

But that effort was short-lived as Zac Mills strode through the Latics midfield, but his wild shot over the bar did not match his run.

Then from out of nowhere, Baxter headed a pinpoint Nepumuceno cross into the corner of the net and somehow Latics were back in it.

Mingoia’s piledriver nearly put Morecambe back ahead immediately but for a fine save by Iversen.

Despite that chance, the home fans, unsettled until the Baxter goal, were buoyed and urged their team ahead, and when Urko Vera Mateos’ header was tipped over the bar by Halstead Latics looked a different team.

But it was Morecambe who came on strong in the dying embers of the game.

Not long after Rob Hunt had cleared a Steven Old header off the line, substitutes Liam Mandeville and Collins combined with the latter prodding home the winner in the 90th minute.

And despite the disappointment, Scholes was encouraged by the performance of one standout individual, with Baxter’s goal not the only point of praise.

“I knew he had quality, I thought that was his best game tonight,” he continued.

I thought he was really good for us, everything that we seemed to do that was decent came through him and he got his goal as well.

“He’s probably our best footballer so he needs to be on the pitch as much as possible.”

Oldham Athletic: (4-2-3-1): Iversen 6; Hunt 5, Clarke (c) 6, Edmundson 5, Stott 5 (Dearnley 50, 6); Sylla 5 (Maouche 60, 5), Missilou 5; Nepumuceno 5, Baxter 7, Branger-Engone 5; O’Grady 5 (Vera Mateos 72, 5).

Subs not used: De La Paz, Taylor, Coke, Robinson.

Morecambe (4-1-4-1): Halstead 6; Mills 7, Conlan 6, Old 6, Sutton 7; Kenyon © 6; Ellison 5 (Oates 84, 5), Mendes Gomes 6 (Mandeville 65, 6), Mingoia 6, Cranston 7; Bennett 6 (Collins 73, 6).

Subs not used: Roche, Dalby, Oates, McKay, Hedley.

Referee: Andy Haines.

Attendance: 4,218.