Bournemouth 4 Oldham Athletic 0

Last updated : 12 February 2005 By The Chairman

The Latics suffered their third successive league defeat, one which makes them look precariously over their shoulders, in another poor performance at Bournemouth. They had a glut of chances but erratic finishing meant that they were unable to convert any of them. The Cherries, on the other hand, took full advantage of their opportunites and hammered four goals past the hapless Oldham side. The result was flattering but in the end you must take your chances and unfortunately the Latics recent good form has deserted them and it looks like a long hard struggle against relegation for the remainer of the season. It’s the Northern Final of the LDV on Tuesday in a game which could mean a huge amout of financial income if the Latics can overcome Wrexham on a home and away basis. After today’s performance though, I wouldn’t be too hasty in booking your hotel room in Cardiff.

Manager Brian Talbot told the official site, “It was an unfair reflection of the game. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we really had some good opportunities to score but after they got their second goal it was game set and match. Yet until then I thought we would get something. We are so young at the back and not physically strong enough. We were a bit naive and that helped them cut through us. They exploited our back four and we have to accept we are in a man's league. But that's three defeats on the trot and we have to do something about it. We do have a problem when we don't have the likes of Dean Holden and Will Haining.”

“On paper, 4-0 looks like a hammering but, strange it might be to say, there were a lot of plusses to come out of the game. Chris Hall did well, Mark Bonner looked better and Scott Vernon got a full 90 minutes. We have to pick ourselves up for the rest of the season and all pull together. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that goals change games. They took their chances, we missed ours. At the start of the second half we were peppering their goal but they broke away and got a second. That was it, game over. We didn't start well and for the first 10 minutes we rode our luck. Then we had some good chances, only for their keeper to keep them in it. After their third goal went in we were all over the place and although we played well in patches, they cut us to pieces in the last 20 minutes and scored again. You make your own luck in football and we will be working hard to bounce back.”