The Latics made a giant step towards League One safety with a 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers. A late goal from substitute Deane Smalley was enought to claim all three points and move the club up to 16th. in the table and five points clear of relegation. The Latics had taken the lead through Lewis Guy early in the second half but Rovers pulled a goal back, with just 13 minutes of the game left, to sadded the hearts of the home crowd but two minutes from time Smalley struck.
A delighted Dave Penney beamed, "You have to give credit to the players who showed some bottle and character and stood up to the test. We make hard work for ourselves after allowing them to equalise and at that stage of the game you take anything you can get. The performance was not as good as Tuesday at Huddersfield, but we ground out a win which we will take every day of the week. It was important we won as had we lost the doom and gloom merchants would have come out. It was important we won with the three away games coming up. We have given Deane a reality check by leaving him out for a couple of games. I am pleased by the way he reacted as he came on in the second half and caused them problems and obviously he also scored the winning goal for us."
Chances were again missed but the home fans went away from Boundary Park with smiles on their faces and with the hope that the escape can be made. With three tough away fixtures coming up it was doubly important to get the three points in the bag to ensure a cushion should things not go the Latics way in the next three difficult fixtures.