I thought we might struggle a bit in this game after two mighty away performances on leg-sapping pitches and so it turned out. We were the livelier side in the first half with Gnahouha causing them a few problems and it was his shot that caused the goalkeeping error that Whalley seized upon for our goal. We started the second half in a listless fashion and never really got going with important players like Nolan treading water but our defence held out even though Oldham probably deserved a draw overall. Sadler and Nsiala were very solid as usual but I would have to give MOTM to Henderson with a couple of smart saves and his reassuringly dominant presence in the box. Being able to grind out results is becoming second nature to this team and it is nice to see a bit of daylight between us and the play-off places. This team does remind me of Turner's first promotion team with its dominant midfield and never-say- die attitude and lets hope the rest of the division keep underestimating us as we have a realistic chance of automatic promotion. The cup game on Sunday will be a nice diversion from from the league and if we manage to keep it tight I fancy us to nick it at the death.
I couldn't make game due to my lads birthday. It sounded like a bit of a battling game from reports and Henderson definitely made some key saves. I can't believe excuses were being made by Oldham that our pitch was poor and bobbly.
The pitch was not that bad and anyway was more in their favour as we are a better passing side. Hope West Ham dont use the pitch as an excuse if they fail to beat us on Sunday though the odds on us getting anything from the game have just lengthened with the news that Henderson will not be allowed to play (even though we have a decent sub goalkeeper).
