LATICS WIN GIVES DINO CONFIDENCE
OLDHAM manager Dino Maamria feels his side are “getting better and better” ahead of their derby meeting with Salford.
Latics did the double over Morecambe with a narrow victory at the Globe Arena.
Desire Segbe Azankpo and Mohamed Sylla scored Oldham’s goals, with Carlos Mendes Gomes on target for Morecambe.
After seeing his side clinch back-to-back wins for the first time this season, Maamria said: “I feel we have been growing and getting better and better every game. We have a settled side now and we have some cohesion in the team.
“We have been playing a particular way for some time now and have been doing a lot of work.
“I’m not the sort of manager who likes to change things all the time. I like to give players a run of games and we have a decent squad that is very good and growing all the time. It was a fantastic win for us.
“Morecambe have been doing well at home lately and had a terrific win here at the weekend against Newport, but I always thought we were in control and when we scored the winner the reaction of our fans gave me goosebumps.
“Looking at this game overall I always felt we were in control. Apart from a poor start to the second half I thought we were on top and should have scored two or three in the second half.”
Azankpo gave the visitors the lead on the half hour as he gratefully accepted a post-Christmas gift from Mark Halstead.
Filipe Morais tried his luck from range which Halstead saved easily only to push the ball straight into the path of Azankpo, who slotted the loose ball into the empty net from three yards out.
The hosts levelled within two minutes of the second half. A long ball forward was superbly controlled by Ajay LeitchSmith who then teed up Mendes Gomes for the midfielder to slot under Zeus De la Paz.
The Latics sealed the points 15 minutes from time. A cross into the box ended with Smith seeing a shot blocked, but the ball fell perfectly for Sylla, who scored from six yards out.
Morecambe boss Derek Adams felt his players were unlucky not to get anything from the game. He said: “I felt we had the better share of the play for large parts, but just lacked that killer instinct.
“We started the game well and I thought we were on the front foot and created a good number of early chances, but went behind to their first real shot on goal against the run of play.
“That deflated us for a while but then we picked ourselves up at the start of the second half and that set us on the front foot. Our strikers looked like they would put us ahead, but we missed a great chance and they scored late on.”