OLDHAM Athletic boss Dino Maamria was disappointed his side were thwarted by a late equaliser as they drew 1-1 with Forest Green Rovers at Boundary Park.
Gevaro Nepomuceno’s 56th-minute goal looked to have given Latics all three points before George Williams levelled for Rovers in the closing stages.
Oldham bounced back from a heavy defeat at Exeter last time out but missed the chance to make it three wins in a row at home as Nepomuceno spurned a chance in stoppage time.
With just two wins in their last 12 League Two games, Latics sit 18th in the table and Maamria was frustrated his side didn’t capitalise on their lead.
“It was a good game of football in difficult conditions. It was basketball, end-to-end at times,” he said.
“It’s really disappointing to concede [in] the way we conceded. Despite the late possession they had, I felt we were comfortable enough.
“Hats off to their player [George] Williams, it’s an unbelievable finish from 25 yards to put it in the top corner. We should have done better to stop the shot but sometimes you think, ‘Wow, that’s a great finish’.
“It’s unbelievable how we end up not winning that game with Gevaro [Nepomuceno] having a chance one-on-one. Brilliant build-up play, great ball from [Mohamed] Maouche.
“He made the right decision to go past the keeper, but the ball didn’t bounce right for him. That probably sums up our season. Those little things go against us at the moment.”
The wet and blustery conditions brought by Storm Dennis did not bode well for an entertaining game, but an action-packed opening half hour contrasted with the gloomy skies.
Nepomuceno sent a curling effort wide in the first minute, before Jack Aitchison was denied by Gary Woods after Aaron Collins slipped him in on a Rovers counter-attack.
Celtic loanee Jack Aitchison was gifted time and space outside the area a few moments later but failed to hit the target.
The Boundary Park faithful sparked into life after 25 minutes when Cameron Borthwick-Jackson’s good work on the left set up Zak Dearnley, whose piledriver cannoned off the crossbar.
Jonny Smith went close just seconds later when his deflected cross forced Lewis Thomas to tip wide.
Woods vindicated Dino Maamria’s decision to start him in goal ahead of under-fire teammate Zeus de la Paz as he reacted sharply to tip over Collins’ drive just before half-time.
The visitors were out of the blocks quicker after the interval as Jevani Brown advanced from midfield and fired over.
Just as the home crowd was getting restless, Nepomuceno broke the deadlock as he collected a loose ball and fired past Thomas, who will feel he might have done better.
Mark Cooper rang in the changes as Forest Green continued to probe without penetration and Woods did well to hold onto substitute Williams’ free kick.
The away side went closer still as Liam Kitching met Williams’ pinpoint delivery with a diving header that struck the bar.
And they equalised when Wales international Williams bent a shot beyond Woods’ reach with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
Mohamed Maouche released Nepomuceno on the break in the 94th minute but Farrend Rawson intervened at the last moment as he rounded the goalkeeper, while Woods was also called into action as Oldham held on for a point.
After back-to-back defeats to Crewe Alexandra and Exeter, Maamria applauded the effort on display from his players and is particularly impressed with those who joined in January.
Maamria added: “It was a good point – it’s always difficult when you come back from two losses. The Tuesday game at Exeter took its toll on our squad.
“It’s not a lack of effort from the players, they put everything there. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve.
“We did good business in January. The message from day one was I need the players to affect the first XI.
“I thought those players have been fantastic. Now we’re totally different to where we were before Christmas.”
Oldham Athletic (4-4-2): Gary Woods 8, Zak Mills 7, Tom Hamer 6, Carl Piergianni 7, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson 6, Gevaro Nepomuceno 7, Christopher Missilou 6 (Mohamad Sylla 73 6), Chris McCann 6, Jonny Smith 6 (Johan Branger-Engone 83 6), Zak Dearnley 6 (Mohamed Maouche 66 6), Danny Rowe 5. Subs not used: Zeus de la Paz, Christian N’Guessan, Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Scott Wilson
Forest Green Rovers (3-5-2): Lewis Thomas, Farrend Rawson, Chris Stokes, Liam Kitching, Kevin Dawson, Carl Winchester, Jevani Brown (Rob Hall 60), Ebou Adams, Nathan McGinley, Aaron Collins (Josh March 68), Jack Aitchison (George Williams 60). Subs not used: Conrad Logan, Matt Mills, Elliott Frear, Matt Stevens
Referee: Marc Edwards
Attendance: 2,227
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