‘Proud day’ for Wild after shock cup win
CARETAKER manager Pete Wild was a proud man after guiding Oldham Athletic into the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup after a 2-1 away win over Premier League side Fulham.
Denis Odoi had given the hosts the lead, but a Sam Surridge penalty and a Callum Lang header in between Daniel Iversen saving an Aleksander Mitrovic penalty proved to be enough on the day for Latics.
Wild spoke after the game at his delight on a ‘proud day’ for the club.
“I think it’s hard to sum up your emotions at the moment,” he told the club’s official website.
“It’s a really proud day for the club, proud day for the supporters and I’m just proud of everyone, certainly the players in that dressing room.”
Fulham dominated possession on the day without really creating too many chances as their only shots on target were the Odoi goal and Mitrovic’s penalty.
Wild said the game plan was to make sure Latics stayed in the game for as long as possible before trying to put pressure on the home side.
“We had a game plan to stay in the game as long as we could and try to contain them,” he added.
“We knew we were going to be under a lot of pressure which was the case, but we always said last 30 minutes we were going to have a go which we did.”
The headline makers on the day were duo Iversen and Lang, with Wild full of praise for the two for coming up big in the key moments of the game.
“Dan’s pulled off a fantastic save, he’s a good young pro and he’ll go on to have a fantastic career.
“He’s done what he’s paid to do, so fair play to him, he’s been great.
“Callum was excellent today, he had to do a lot of defending because we were getting doubled up on his side.
“His work rate was brilliant, we were thinking of changing him 10 minutes before he scored to freshen things up and I’m glad we didn’t in the end.”
There were special scenes at the end of the game as the players, coaching staff and fans all celebrated the win in front of the away end.
Wild says everyone involved against Fulham will hold these memories close to their hearts for a long time.
“It’s a special memory for all of us, especially our fans and players.
“We spoke to the players before the game and we said you don’t get many moments in your life where things like this happen.
“You’ve got to savour these moments, in the face of adversity special things tend to happen which certainly happened today.”
More than 4,000 Latics fans made the trip to Fulham and Wild was once again appreciative of the support his side received.
“I thought they were excellent all day.
“They travel up and down the country, so a personal thank you on behalf of everyone associated with the club for those who made the journey.” Wild wasn’t resting on his laurels as his attention will quickly turn to preparing the team for Forest Green Rovers next Saturday.
Although there is still uncertainty about the manager role going forward, Wild says he will continue to do his job until told otherwise.
“In my head we’ve got to prepare for Forest Green, unless I’m told otherwise, I’ll be there on Saturday.
“It sounds like I’m straight-batting it, but we can’t get carried away with this result, we’re five off the play-offs which is where we need to be.”
Oldham face a trip to League One Doncaster Rovers following last night’s FA Cup fourth-round draw. The ties will take place between January 25 and 28.