Oldham Athletic 2, Huddersfield Town 1

Dec 13 2004 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Town dominated, though, and roared on by their massed bank of fans looked like snatching a point in the four minutes of additional time.

Well into the third minute, Worthington caught hold of the sweetest of shots and it seemed destined to beat Pogliacomi's desperate dive to his left.

Town's skipper was off the ground in celebration but, at the very last moment, the big Aussie clawed the ball away.

A top save, but he's definitely off the Christmas card list!

Man of the Match: Pawel Abbott

THE leading scorer was praised by home coach Tony Philliskirk and his contribution was solid, winning challenges at the back, linking well with midfield and causing plenty of goal threat

How they rated:

Paul Rachubka Stranded on his line for both goals, he was hardly stretched otherwise and will not be happy with defeat Rating: 6/10

Anthony Lloyd Unfamiliar role of right wing-back but supplied a brilliant cross for Abbott's goal. Sacrificed to give Town more attacking bite Rating: 6/10

Rob Edwards Kept plugging away and didn't give Croft too much joy, being booked for one challenge. Some decent set pieces Rating: 6/10

Nathan Clarke After being caught in possession early on, he responded strongly with good tackles and some accurate use of the ball Rating: 7/10

Efe Sodje Lost the odd aerial battle, but did a solid marking job on Killen overall, getting back to clear superbly at times Rating: 7/10

David Mirfin Caught flat-footed for both goals, the teenager was brought off in the second half to get Mendes on Rating: 5/10

Tony Carss First time back at his old club and ought to have scored when missing the target with a left-foot drive Rating: 6/10

Jon Worthington Desperately unlucky not to score at the death with a rasping shot clawed away by Pogliacomi. He grafted hard again, too Rating: 7/10

Chris Brandon Brought a brilliant save from Pogliacomi with a right-foot volley. Superb first half. Quieter when pushed wide in second Rating: 7/10

Andy Holdsworth Played a holding role in midfield to start with and had to work hard. Put back to wing-back in a second-half reshuffle Rating: 6/10

Pawel Abbott Scored his 15th goal of the season and unlucky not to get at least one more. Worked hard and showed good skills Rating: 8/10

SPOTLIGHT ON THE REF

NORTHAMPTON official Peter Walton reacted to the crowd too much and all the bookings, apart from Jon Worthington's for dissent, made little sense.

Rob Edwards won the ball against Lee Croft but got a card because of what had gone before. Oldham's Hughes saw yellow when Paul Rachubka simply kicked the ball against him while Pogliacomi was booked for time-wasting when he couldn't have re-started the game in any case because Killen was having treatment.

Walton missed a blatant penalty for Town for handball as well.

Oldham Athletic: Pogliacomi, Holden, Griffin, Haining, Hall, Croft, Killen (Vernon 90), Betsy, Hughes, Kilkenny (Boshell 90), Eyres. Subs not used: Mildenhall, Beharall, Wolfenden.