MELLON’S LATICS ARE DE-RAILED BY CARDS

MICKY Mellon reckons his previously in-form Oldham Athletic side were dealt a crushing reality check after they were well beaten by relegation threatened Woking at Boundary Park.

A goal 44 seconds into the second half from substitute Jermaine Anderson was enough to earn Michael Doyle’s Cards a first win in six games while Oldham’s four-match National League winning streak came to an end.

“It’s hard to think that this would happen before the game,” said Mellon.

“We lost too many individual battles across the pitch, too many players were way off par.

“It’s disappointing that we never really got going at any stage. We’ve played well over the past few weeks, but this match has shown us all it’s going to be a long process to get that consistency we need.”

A fourth straight win against Barnet on Tuesday night saw Latics start the game in the play-off spots, but it was the struggling visitors who started brighter. Lone striker Lewis Walker did well to get in behind the Oldham defence but could only drag a shot wide of the post.

Despite growing into the contest, the Latics couldn’t find the net before half time for the first time in over a month.

And after the break, it was Doyle’s men who roared life into the game, moving forward quickly from the kick-off.

Neat footwork from Rhys Browne found Jayden Luker on the right wing who put in a great low cross for Anderson and the midfielder took a touch to beat Oldham skipper Charlie Raglan before rifling past Matt Hudson within the half ’s first minute.

“The message at halftime was to go up a gear,” Doyle told The NLP.

“We started like a house on fire, but the lads were outstanding all game. We played well at Chesterfield on Tuesday but didn’t get the result.

“Today, we dominated the midfield, controlled that area and we’re starting to see the rewards of a lot of hard work.”

A stunned Boundary Park grew in its frustration as Oldham were unable to create any real chances with Woking keeper Alexis Andre Jr completely unworked throughout.

Indeed, it was the visiting Cards’ determination and grit which got a side in desperate need of a first win of 2024 over the line. Max Dyche, signed on Thursday night, led the line magnificently at the back and kept the prolific James Norwood a borderline bystander while there were also excellent performances from Scott Cuthbert and Dion Kelly-Evans.

“I spoke to Max on Thursday and didn’t know if he’d want to come with us in a bit of a relegation battle,” Doyle added.

“But he said how excited he was to get going and wow did he show it today. He’s a leader, and we’re going to need leaders for the rest of this season.”