It was down to earth with a bump for Paul Dickov's young Athletic team. The youngsters built up a formidable 2-0 lead to take into the dressing room only for Peterborough to snatch a goal back on the stroke of half-time, a goal which was to become the turning point in the match. Had they managed to hold on and not become as cavalier it could have been a different story. As it was, they continued to press for another goal which was to become their downfall.
Dickov commented after the game, "If we had come in 2-0 ahead it would have been a different story, but the silly goal we gave away just before half time meant they came off with their tails up. We were playing well but it looked as though we didn't believe we could win the game. I told the players at half time to believe in themselves as they were playing well and winning the game and they had to continue to do the basics right and we would see the game through. It is about levels of concentration and doing the basic things right which has cost us the game. When you defend poorly against a team like Peterborough with their forwards you get punished as happened today. We didn't lose because of a lack of effort, but their better quality and us making mistakes."
The Latics lost their unbeaten run in the defeat although they continued to play with gusto even though they were up against a Posh team who look like they could be promotion contenders this season. Ritchie Jones and Chris Taylor (pictured) were the marksmen for the Latics and it was Jones' first goal but he couldn't celebrate like he wanted to. He said, "My goal doesn't mean anything as we did not win the three points. It was disappointing to lose and the defeat is even harder to take after we had started so well. I don't know what happened as the lads worked really hard and you cannot fault our effort. They have a good strike-force and I don't think we will come up against a better one in this league. The game has gone and we have to focus on putting things right for Saturday's home game against Bournemouth."
Peterborough went on to win 5-2 which was a flattering score but the Latics continued to battle to the very end and the band of travelling fans stood and applauded them at the conclusion of the game. The players responded well and it is a testament to their spirit that they continued to give their all even though the pack was stacked heavily against them. Paul Dickov and his back-up team will have learned from this experience and both the manager and team should come out of this stronger. Maybe it's a wake-up call and the learning curve is going to be a steep one but the fans can't wait for the next game which still holds much promise for the remainder of the season. Bring it on!