Youth team suffer heavy defeat
Latics under-18's suffered a 4-0 defeat at Walsall in the Football League Youth Alliance's North West Conference.Academy Manager Tony Philliskirk admitted his side was second best as the Saddlers recorded an emphatic victory.
"Sometimes you have to hold up your hands as Walsall were older than us and too big and too strong. It was men against boys in terms of the size of our team and also the performance as we were second best," explained Philliskirk.
Latics found themselves 2-0 down halfway through the opening period through two pieces of poor defending as Latics' back four comprised three first-year scholars and one schoolboy.
They still had some great chances in the opening half as Jordan Bove, George Edmundson and Jordache Walters ought to have found the net.
"Though we lost heavily, we still had great chances, but they typified our day as we were timid," added Philliskirk.
Walsall scored two late goals to make it a miserable day.
Walters made his first start for the youth team and did well while Kyle Hardman played half an hour, his first action of a season interrupted by injury which at least provided some positives.