OLDHAM ATHLETIC 0, BOLTON WANDERERS 2
Head coach Harry Kewell moaned about “silly mistakes” as Oldham Athletic suffered an 11th home defeat of the season in Sky Bet League Two as form-side Bolton Wanderers triumphed in this derby clash.
And with only four wins and one draw leaving a return of 13 points from a possible 48 at Boundary Park, that remains a major cause for concer.
On their travels, however, Latics’ seven league wins and four draw from 15 games would earn them a play-off spot based on their away form.
Kewell had two enforced changes to his side that won at Carlisle three days earlier with Conor McAleny and Marcel Hilssner missing through injury and replaced by Serhat Tasdemir and Raphael Diarra.
Then before kick-off Cameron Borthwick-Jackson picked up a knock in the warm-up and was replaced by Kyle Jameson.
Latics started positively and had a couple of half chances without seriously threatening the visitors’ goal.
However, Bolton took the lead in the 19th minute as Harry Clarke netted an own goal on his 20th birthday. Gethin Jones drilled a low cross along the face of goal and Clarke, who couldn’t do anything other than turn it into his own net.
The game turned on his head in the 29th minute when Jameson received a straight red card for a late challenge on former Aston Villa striker Nathan Delfouneso.
Just before the interval, the Trotters doubled their advantage when former Latics’ favourite Eoin Doyle fired in from close range.
Fellow ex-Latics loanee Dapo Afolayan’s shot cannoned off the post and into the path of Doyle and he converted for his 13th goal of the season.
Early in the second-half, Ian Evatt’s side had two good free-kicks from the edge of the box. First, Declan John was denied by Ian Lawlor before Doyle drilled his set-piece just past the post.
Substitute Marcus Maddison caused Latics problems, his best opportunity saw him race goalwards before trying his luck from the edge of the box, but he dragged his effort wide.
A positive for Kewell was that youth team scholar Harry Vaughan came off the bench for the second time in a week for Latics.
Substitute Callum Whelan had Latics’ best chance of the second period but goalkeeper Matt Gilks was equal to his effort as Wanderers saw the game out to make it six wins in six games.
Oldham Athletic: Lawlor, Adams, Clarke (Vaughan 84), Piergianni, Jameson, Diarra, McCalmont (Whelan 69), Bahamboula, Keillor-Dunn, Tasdemir (Fage 46), Grant (Ntambwe 46). Subs (not used): Bilboe, Blackwood.
Goals: Clarke, 19og, Doyle, 39, for Bolton.