Peterborough United 1 Oldham Athletic 2
Last updated : 23 January 2005 By The Chairman
The Latics bounced back from their disappointment against Doncaster to record a useful 1-2 win at Peterborough. Ex-player (loosly translated) Mark Arber was the Posh captain as he faced his old teammates.
The Latics took the lead in the 7th. minute when Betsy (pictured) pounced after a scramble in the box. Arber, trying to impress, was struggling to contain the Latics forwards but Peterborough equalised in the 20th. minute when Legg lashed home a powerful shot with gave Pogliacomi no chance. However, Legg was dismissed five minutes from the break after unceremoniously bringing down Kilkenny in the centre circle.
Betsy got his second, and the winner, in the 64th. minute after a delightful ball from Croft made the task look simple. Poggsy made a miraculous save to deny Posh a late equaliser minutes from the end but the Latics held on for a win which saw them climb into the top half of the league, and a win which pushed Peterborough next to bottom. The only bad part of the day was that the visitors received five yellow cards with Haining, Betsy, Hall, Eyres and Eyre all ending up in the referee’s notebook.
After the game Brian Talbot told the official website, “It was a frantic game although I don't think that it was as physical as the referee made it. There was a lot of bookings out there, a lot of passionate players trying to win a game of football. Entertainment I think for the fans. The sending off obviously affected the match and we're pleased to get 2 goals, 3 points- and get an away win. So that gives us some breathing space between the bottom four and us and puts us up into 14th place. We're coming away with a happy bunch of players and a good days work done.”
“I think a lot of people were surprised when I pushed Kevin Betsy up front. But he's got pace, he scored goals last year at Barnsley and I think circumstances are a must here. We've had Johnson, Jack and Killen out for most of the season so we had to do something about it. Obviously we've changed things around and at the moment we're doing OK. I've got to be fair to Scott (Vernon), I think he's done better since he's come back from Blackpool. He knows what we want from him. He's working at his game and people forget he's only 20. He'll have dips in form and inconsistencies like all my young players. I mean, it's unbelievable to think today that 8 started who are 22 (years old) and under. I've got 3 YT on the bench. I'm managing a youth team. But they're doing well for me. They're working their socks off and we're slowly but surely clawing our way out of trouble.”