Latics compound Cook’s woe
CH E S T E R F I E L D ’ S wretched run of form continued as they fell to an eighth successive game without victory at the hands of Oldham.
Devarn Green’s sixth minute opener was enough to secure David Unsworth’s side all three points – thanks largely also to an incredible performance from Latics goalkeeper Magnus Norman.
Unsworth praised the work-rate of his players and the backing from the strong away following, saying: “Thank you to all those fans, 1,300 fans who cheered us from minute one to the 94th minute. They were unbelievable and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
“We knew how Chesterfield played; we know they won’t change the way they play so we came up with a plan. Yes, they created chances, but they could have probably played three hours today and our goalkeeper was amazing.”
A frantic start almost brought an early goal for the hosts. Bailey Clements broke well down the left and lofted a ball into Paul McCallum at the back post, but the striker headed wide of the goal.
In the sixth minute, Oldham took the lead. Ellis Chapman’s low cross found Green at the far post, via a mishit shot from Joe Nuttall, and the winger diverted home from close-range.
The Spireites proceeded to dominate the rest of the half but a recurring theme kept popping up. Ollie Banks’ low cross found Ryan Colclough, who blazed his effort over the crossbar from six yards.
Norman was determined to help his side go into the break with the lead and had his hands stung by a powerful Liam Mandeville effort – Banks was denied on the rebound by Josef Yarney.
McCallum also tested Norman with an on-target acrobatic shot that was collected by the goalkeeper.
Early on in the second half, Oldham dealt with two scares as Colclough’s header was cleared off the line and Banks saw his curler drift just wide.
Norman continued his heroic display by denying McCallum a second Chesterfield goal as he got down to meet the striker’s pinpoint header.
Danny Rowe, who came on for his first appearance for the Blues since last May, rifled a half-volley towards goal which saw Norman produce an outstanding save to keep the away side in front.
Despite the continued efforts from the hosts, Oldham saw the game out to secure just a second away victory of the campaign.
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook said: “We are just on that run at the minute, aren’t we? We’ve drawn the last three games and if we got a win today, it would have been a really good confidence boost for everyone.
“Now all of a sudden, our little run that we are trying to build doesn’t look such a good run at all. Can I ask any more out of my players today? Not at all.”