Kelly bites the bullet after Posh run riot
THE axe fell on Darren Kelly after this defeat with assistant manager Dean Holden admitting Oldham deserved nothing against five-star Peterborough.
A new-look strike pairing of debutant Lee Angol and Souleymane Coulibaly both netted twice for Posh at Boundary Park, with Erhun Oztumer grabbing the other as the visitors quickly put behind them the sacking of previous boss Dave Robertson during the week.
Rhys Murphy got one back for the home team but that was as good as it got for Oldham with manager Kelly relieved from his post shortly after the final whistle.
“It was a poor performance,” Holden said. “We were in the game when we got a goal back in the second half and were on top at that stage.
“Then we went back to things we were doing in the first half.
“We conceded sloppy goals – and you can’t win games when you concede goals as bad as those we let in.
“We didn’t play as a team and were out-fought and that is the disappointing thing.
“Now is not the time for finger pointing. It’s time for people to go away and look at themselves and ask if they are giving enough.”
Ex-Luton forward Angol’s first, after 14 minutes, came after Coulibaly got in down the left and crossed to allow a simple finish inside the six-yard box. The visitors doubled their lead when Angol robbed Connor Brown and cut back for Oztumer to fire in rightfooted with the aid of a slight deflection.
Murphy pulled a goal back with a lovely leftfooted finish in the 48th minute, seconds after Carl Winchester had struck a post from the edge of the box for Oldham.
But Jermaine Anderson slipped a ball through for Coulibaly to poke beyond keeper Joel Coleman in the 62nd minute and shortly after the same player headed home a Marcus Maddison cross.
Oldham substitute Dominic Poleon hit a post at the other end, but Angol fired home a fifth.
“In spells we were breathtaking,” said Posh caretaker boss Grant McCann .“Everybody wanted the ball and I’m delighted with every one of them.
“The front two were excellent. I told the players on Tuesday I was picking a team based on what I saw in training.
“Oldham have a big pitch and I picked the team based on that because I thought we could keep the ball.
“Angol was a handful throughout the game. He has pace and aggression and with Coulibaly giving us an option in behind, we were always a threat.
“The players listened to what I have said and took it onto the pitch.”