Latics will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s late disappointment when they make the long trip south to Exeter tomorrow evening (7:45pm KO).
To do this, Dino Maamria’s team would have to be the first team to win at St James’ Park in the league since late September.
Form Guide
Latics loss to Crewe was their first in six games whilst the Grecians’ bounced back from two consecutive defeats with a 2-1 win against Stevenage on Saturday. Their last defeat in the league before those back-to-back losses was back on the 2nd of November.
The Grecians’ last six:
- Grimsby Town 0-1 Exeter City
- Exeter City 3-0 Stevenage (EFL Trophy)
- Exeter City 0-0 Colchester United
- Port Vale 3-1 Exeter City
- Swindon Town 2-1 Exeter City
- Exeter City 2-1 Stevenage
Head-to-Head
Latics have won nine of the 30 meetings between the two clubs. Exeter have won 13 and eight of the meetings have been draws. When the clubs met earlier on in the season it ended in a goalless draw. You have to go back to December 2009 for the last time Oldham won against Exeter.
Oldham Athletic 2-0 Exeter City – 12th December 2009
Latics secured their first win in seven games and leapfrogged Exeter in the process.
The teams went in at the break level but Deane Smalley gave the hosts the lead just more than five minutes into the second half. The points were secured not long before the hour mark when Paul Hefferman’s deflected effort found its way into the back of the Exeter net.
The result lifted Oldham to 16th in the League One table, four points above the drop zone. Exeter slipped down to 19th in the table.
League Story So Far
Exeter have enjoyed a great season so far and currently occupy one of three automatic promotion places.
The Grecians’ emerged as promotion front runners from the start of the season, they went the first 10 games of the season undefeated winning six of them. It seemed as if the wheels may have been coming off for Exeter as they won just two of their next seven league games whilst losing three in that sequence. Their form picked up dramatically and City then went 11 league games without tasting defeat.
Exeter are third in the table, just three points from top of the league Swindon Town with a game in hand. They are 21 points better off than Oldham going into the game.
What We Said
Dino Maamria after his team’s 2-1 loss at Crewe: "We didn’t control possession as well as we should do. The two goals that we conceded, on a technical and tactical they were really poor. We knew what Crewe’s strengths were. Especially from the left-hand side coming inside and taking shots. We have to make sure we show them the line and keep them outside.
"It’s frustrating, especially the second goal, he came through three bodies. It hurts but we will learn from it, we have some young players there.
"It was a big game for both teams, we had a big following and they had a big crowd behind them."
What They Said
Matt Taylor after his sides 2-1 win over Stevenage: "A lot was made of last week and not picking up points but that’s all it was last week. Not us losing our chance, just us not picking up points. It’ll change. There is 15 games left, a third of the season, and people are already talking about third and second and fourth. It’ll change every single week from now until the end of April so we can’t control that. We can only control performances and performances turn into points and that’s our focus at this stage.
"It is on to Tuesday, a quick turnaround, and we have couple of niggles on the back of today and last weekend so I’ve got to pick a sensible team on Tuesday against a team who have hit a bit of form all of a sudden. I was pleased with our performance today, we gave ourselves a real chance of winning today and Stevenage were a better team than a couple of weeks ago – their new signings made a difference. On another day, it might have been three or four, but I’m really happy with the win."
Watch Out For
The Grecians’ top scorer Ryan Bowman is someone that Latics will have to be wary of.
Bowman has scored 10 League Two goals which makes him the joint sixth top scorer in the division.
The 28-year old striker started his career at Carlisle United but only made nine appearances for the Cumbrians. During his time at Brunton Park, Bowman had two brief loan spells with Workington. Bowman had spells with Darlington and Hereford United before playing back in the Football League with York City. After his time at Bootham Crescent he signed for Torquay, Gateshead and then Motherwell.
Bowman signed for the Grecians’ in January 2019.
Familiar Face
Current Cheltenham Town striker Reuben Reid has played for both Oldham and Exeter.
Before joining Oldham in 2011, Reid had stints at Plymouth Argyle, Kidderminster Harriers, Rochdale, Torquay United, Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford, Rotherham United, West Bromwich Albion, Peterborough United and Walsall. He joined Latics on the 28th January 2011 until the end of the season with the option to extend it further. He made his debut the next day in a 2-2 draw with Carlisle United. His first goal came in a 4-0 win against Hartlepool United.
He started the next season well for Latics and had five goals before the end of September. Injury plighted the forwards career at Boundary Park as he missed over five months of the season and he was released at the end of the 2011/12 season.
After leaving Oldham, Reid went to Yeovil Town and then Plymouth Argyle before he signed for Exeter. Reid scored 20 league goals for the club before moving to Forest Green Rovers and then his current club Cheltenham Town.
Stadium
Exeter City play at St James’ Park.
St James’ Park has been the home of the Grecians’ since 1904 and has a capacity of 8,696.
The record attendance for the ground was set in 1931 when Exeter played Sunderland in an FA Cup sixth round replay.
In The Dugout
Matt Taylor is the man in the dugout for Exeter.
Taylor was given his first job in management in June 2018 replacing the long serving Paul Tisdale at St James’ Park. In his first season, the Grecians’ missed out on a place in the top seven by just one point.
The 38-year old made over 150 appearances as a player for Exeter and captained the club on the pitch. As well as playing for Exeter, Taylor also played for: Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, Colchester United, Cheltenham Town, Newport County and Bath City.
Match Officials
Keith Stroud will be the man in charge when Oldham Athletic take on Exeter City at St James' Park tomorrow night in the Sky Bet League Two fixture (7:45pm).
The Championship referee has officiated 21 games so far this season handing out 70 yellow cards and two reds.
His last Oldham Athletic fixture was on 19th November 2013 as Latics beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Molineux in the first round of the FA Cup.
Graham Kane and Geoffrey Russell will assist the referee, with Scott Jackson as the fourth official.
Sky Bet Odds
Oldham Athletic are priced at 18/5 to beat Exeter City in the Sky Bet League Two fixture tomorrow night (7:45pm).
The hosts are priced at 3/4 and a draw can be found at 12/5.
Danny Rowe is the bookies favourite player to score first for Oldham at 7/1.
Both teams to score tomorrow is priced at 10/11.
The last meeting between the two sides was in August 2019 at Boundary Park and finished 0-0, the same result for tomorrow can be found at 8/1.
Please gamble responsibly, for more information visit: www.begambleaware.org.
How To Follow The Game
For those not making the journey, live commentary is available for all subscribers on iFollow Latics with Mike Brown and Roy Butterworth who will be talking you through the match.
The iFollow video match pass is also available for overseas and UK residents due to it being a midweek fixture.
To subscribe for the fixture, click here. The match pass fee is £10 and includes on-screen graphics and replays.
Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.
