Oldham 3
(Crowe o.g. 11′, Tollitt 64′, Abraham 74′)
United 2
(Goodwin 51′, Jarvis pen 68′)
United lost out in a five-goal thriller on Sunday, as Oldham secured a 3-2 win at Boundary Park.
An own-goal from Dylan Crowe gave the home side an early advantage, however Torquay roared back after the break, and deservedly equalised through Will Goodwin just after the break. The match ebbed and flowed wildly from that point, with Ben Tollitt’s strike cancelled out by Aaron Jarvis’ penalty, before Timmy Abraham eventually swung the match the home side’s way.
Following the 1-0 win at Dagenham & Redbridge eight days ago, it was hardly surprising that changes were kept to a minimum to face Athletic, with the Gaffer making just the one amendment to the starting XI, as Jarvis replaced Asa Hall.
In near-freezing conditions, it certainly didn’t take long for the action out on the pitch to warm the brave souls in attendance.
A second-minute foray down the right saw De Silva supply a low cross into the path of Stephen Wearne six yards out, however the Sunderland loanee couldn’t quite steer the ball past the goalkeeper, with Magnus Norman grateful that the ball was directed close to him.
In response, Athletic’s leading scorer Tollitt lashed a shot narrowly wide of Mark Halstead’s top-right corner seconds later.
The end-to-end nature of proceedings continued thereafter, with Goodwin sending a volley wide from the edge of the box in the 7th minute, before Oldham’s Ellis Chapman sent a back-post header across goal, rather than towards it two minutes later.
The breakthrough came shortly after, as Oldham took the lead in unfortunate fashion.
With a pacy attack down the right ending in a dangerous ball zipping across the face of United’s goal, Crowe was forced to act, yet instead of clearing the ball out of harm’s way, the Torquay man could only watch in horror as it ended up going into the roof of the net to give the Latics the lead.
Halstead had to be on hand to prevent the damage getting even worse on the quarter-hour mark, as he reacted smartly to divert Alex Reid’s goalbound effort over the crossbar, with United’s disappointment at falling behind after such a bright start there for all to see.
As the match clock wore on though, Gary Johnson’s side began to play their way back into the game. Another tempting cross from De Silva’s right boot just lacked the finishing touch in the 17th minute, and despite the hosts remaining a threat on the counter, there was plenty of cause for optimism in the Torquay ranks.
A Mark Kitching delivery at the other end did pick out Alex Reid in space on 33 minutes, however The Gulls were alert to the danger, with the Oldham man left with no option but to head wide of the target. It was actually from United’s first corner of the game that Athletic went closest, as a swift break upfield saw Reid darting into the box with only Halstead to beat. The latter came out on top though, as he smothered the effort, and kept the deficit at just the one goal.
Just prior the change of ends, Johnson’s charges so nearly drew level.
With De Silva doing well to win a corner, Kieron Evans’ flag-kick delivery was perfectly flighted to reach Shaun Donnellan, with his powerful header only kept out by a full-length save from Norman. The half-time whistle was blown immediately after, depriving the men in yellow an immediate chance of parity.
The Yellow Army didn’t have long to wait following the change of ends though.
Tom Lapslie, on as a half-time substitute proved to be the catalyst, as he provided a delicious pass to the feet of Goodwin on the edge of the D, with the on-loan Stoke forward applying the finish it deserved with a low drive on the turn that went past the despairing dive of Norman, and just inside the post.
Revitalised, it was all Torquay for the next ten minutes, with Wearne picking out Goodwin to fire in another effort towards goal, although this one was blocked at close-range.
Just as they were upping the ante though, a bolt from the blue of Oldham left Johnson’s men stunned.
Having United’s backline dealing with everything thrown into the box, leading scorer Tollitt decided to take a chance, and it paid off handsomely, as his 25-yarder soared into the top corner of the net, despite Halstead’s best efforts.
Showing plenty of character though, Oldham had only just finished celebrating when The Gulls found a pathway back into the game.
Goodwin’s neat footwork inside the box was too much for Chapman, whose rash challenge saw the United striker upended right in front of the referee, leaving him with no choice but to point to the spot.
Jarvis, relishing the chance presented to him by his strike partner, was in no mood to let the chance go by, and duly hammered the ball into the net to make it 2-2.
Having twice come from behind, United now had their tails up, yet a third from the home side ultimately sealed the points.
With the home side being frustrated by Halstead once again – this time producing a fine double-save from Kitching – it was to be a ball over the top that undid them.
Abraham, darting into the box in behind the defence, just managed to beat The Gulls’ ‘keeper to the ball, as he slotted the ball past him, and into the net via the far post.
No-one can ever fault the heart of Johnson’s men though, and time and again they went close to finding a third equaliser, with Goodwin seeing two efforts deflected over in amongst seven minutes of injury time, as those in yellow laid seige to the Oldham goal.
Sadly though, Torquay were left with no reward for their display, despite more than playing their part in an absorbing contest.
Oldham: 19. Magnus Norman, 4. Liam Hogan (c), 11. Hallam Hope (27. Timmy Abraham, 60′), 14. Nathan Sheron, 17. John Rooney (6. Lois Maynard, 84′), 18. Ben Tollitt, 25. Alex Reid (20. Mike Fondop, 60′), 26. Mark Kitching, 28. Sydie Peck, 36. Ellis Chapman, 42. Peter Clarke.
SUBS NOT USED: 8. Dan Gardner, 13. Mathew Hudson, .
United: 1. Mark Halstead, 2. Dylan Crowe (4. Tom Lapslie, HT), 6. Ross Marshall, 9. Aaron Jarvis, 11. Kieron Evans, 12. Stephen Wearne (10. Corie Andrews, 81′), 16. Shaun Donnellan, 19. Will Goodwin, 21. Dean Moxey (c), 27. Dillon De Silva (14. Brett McGavin, HT), 35. Mark Ellis.
SUBS NOT USED: 22. Rhys Lovett, 23. Ollie Tomlinson.
Yellow Cards: Goodwin 71′
Attendance: 5,615 (87 away)