An electrifying opening period saw Dele Adebola hit the bar in the 2nd minute but the drama was only just beginning after Leon Knight was sent off for raising his arms to Scott McNiven who appeared to have tugged on his shirt as both players chased down a long ball which was eventually collected by Andy Goram.

The referee saw fit to send the young striker off after taking advice from the linesman, leaving Delroy Facey alone upfront and well marshalled by the Latics defence during the first half.

Tempers frayed in a first half almost bereft of chances for the harrassed Terriers, Kevin Gray was booked for a clash with Dele Adebola while Kenny Irons and Lee Duxbury squared up after another incident.

Scott McNiven was lucky to get away with just a yellow card after he brought down John Thorrington on the edge of the area after he had been put through following a super passing move between Kenny Irons and Delroy Facey.

Despite having no chances of goal themselves, the Terriers coped well with the loss of Knight by preventing the Latics from having any serious openings of their own.

Lee Duxbury had a volley saved while David Eyres had a chance in and amongst his testing crosses.

The second half saw Town improve with a great chance for Delroy Facey score when he hit the bottom of the post from John Thorrington's cross.

The rebound fell to Danny Schofield but he could only hit the side netting.

The American saw a lot of action in the second half, seeing several good dribbles end without reward, once through a Danny Schofield miss and twice being robbed.

Oldham could only reply with shots from Adebola and Murray, both well saved, as they finished poorly - opting to settle for the draw.

Town were comfortable throughout most of the match - only a possible booking (and therefore 2 match ban) for Steve Jenkins ruffled them.

Read Mel Booth's match report in the Examiner on Tuesday. Have your say in the messageboard below - selected comments will be published in the Examiner.

MATCH FACTS

Town (4-4-2): Margetson, Jenkins, G. Evans, Gray, Clarke, Irons, Mattis, Thorrington, Schofield, Knight, Facey (Booth 76)
Subs not used: P. Evans, Moses, Heary, Hay
Booked: Gray

Oldham (4-4-2): Goram, Hall, McNiven, Duxbury (Rickers 78), Appleby, Eyres, Adebola (Smart 75), Corazzin, Holden, Murray, Armstrong (Carrs 73)
Subs not used: Miskelly, Clegg
Booked: McNiven

Referee: Matt Messias

Attendance: 14,343 (1,967 Away Fans)

Match points follow on subequent pages.

FULL TIME

90 mins: 3 minutes of extra time were indicated but Oldham didn't seem too interested in chasing victory.

87 mins: Thorrington's corner was eventually repelled.

85 mins: Goram was at full stretch as he tipped Irons' set piece away!

84 mins: Andy Booth won a free kick on the edge of the Latics area.

76 mins: Delroy Facey was given a standing ovation as he ambled off to be replaced by Andy Booth for the last few minutes - Facey looked exhausted.

72 mins: Jenkins was almost booked for speaking out of turn at the referee's decision to give a free kick.

70 mins: Murray's snap shot was well saved by Margetson.

68 mins: Thorrington ran upfield on a winding run which excited the crowd until he was robbed. He got the ball back thanks to a lucky deflection and continued his run until he was once thwarted again.

67 mins: Thorrington's run and shot was defelcted out as far as Schofield whose effort was knocked away - Town were coping well despite playing most of the game without Leon Knight.

66 mins: Dele Adebola's well struck shot was brought down by Martyn Margetson.

61 mins: John Thorrington's well struck cross fell to Delroy Facey whose header hit the foot of the post and fell to Danny Schofield who could only fire the rebound against the side of the net. Facey was an effective lone man upfront but other chances were few - Kenny Irons' shot was wayward. Murray and Adebola were well wide as they failed to make their 1 man advantage count.

HALF TIME

Leon Knight was sent off after four minutes of this electric encounter at the McAlpine. The referee was booed off at half time for sending of fthe talismanic striker was was spotted raising his arms to Scott McNiven while trying to get into a scoring position.

Chances were few and far between after the sending off but there was no shortage of incident as niggling fouls followed.

Delroy Facey had Town's only real chance of goal when he contrived to sky Thorrington's cross.

46 mins: 2 extra minutes of time were awarded in this tight contest - Town had closed ranks to try and prevent a goal.

36 mins: Facey fired a hasty shot over the bar after great work by John Thorrington to rob Matt Appleby and cross for his team-mate.

31 mins: Town were struggling with 10 men and they lacked a cutting edge without Leon Knight as they had no chances since his sending off - Delroy Facey ploughed a lone furrow up front against the accomplished Oldham defenders. The Latics themselves had had only a couple of half-chances, with Nathan Clarke stopping Lee Duxbury's volley and David Eyres sending over some challenging left footed crosses for the Terriers to deal with.

13 mins: The game was ready to boil over after a non-stop opening period. John Thorrington was felled on the edge of the area by Scott McNiven after great work by Irons and Facey. McNiven appeared to be the last man - after ages deliberating, the referee opted to book the defender instead. Clashes were breaking out all over the field betwene players, with Irons and Duxbury squaring up and Gray booked for a clash with Adebola.

4 mins: Leon Knight was sent off after raising his hands against Scott McNiven after his shirt appeared to have been tugged in a bid to go for goal. The Latics had already hit the woodwork in the early stages in their last ditch bid for a play-off slot.

Dele Adebola struck the bar as Oldham came out looking for a vital win.

Lou Macari opted for a more familiar lineup against Oldham. Gareth Evans returned to the starting lineup while Thomas Heary dropped to the bench where he was joined by Adrian Moses.