Latics secured a colossal victory in a highly-anticipated ‘six-pointer’ against Scunthorpe United as John Sheridan goes in pursuit of a third ‘Shezurrection’.
On a bitterly cold afternoon in Scunthorpe, the ‘boys in blue’ showcased immense character in order to reward the 1,500 travelling fans, who were loud throughout the encounter, with a much-needed win.
With the game seemingly destined for a stalemate, uprose academy graduate Junior Luamba as he became the hero after being introduced from the bench.
The decisive goal arrived in the 83rd minute when Nicky Adams floated an inviting corner towards Carl Piergianni, and the defender clipped the ball into the path of the youngster before his acrobatic effort found the back of the net.
Following a professional display that earned a point against Rochdale, Sheridan opted for two changes to his starting XI with Mike Fondop and Tope Obadeyi replacing Dylan Bahamboula and Alex Hunt. Originally, Jack Stobbs was selected in the side, however, suffered an injury in the warm-up.
Upon his return to Latics, Obadeyi instantly started on the front foot and asked questions of his marker. In the ninth minute, the wideman received possession on the edge of the area, and then, manufactured space for himself, but he dragged his low effort wide of the target.
Unfortunately, Fondop suffered a head injury which meant that his debut for the club was cut short as he was replaced by Bahamboula with his name echoing around the ground courtesy of the away support.
Keith Hill’s side, who haven’t won since our reverse fixture on Boxing Day, earned a free-kick on the edge of the box as Tyrese Sinclair, an attacker that enjoyed a stint in the Latics academy, was brought down by Sam Hart. The Mansfield-loanee could only drill his set-piece into the wall to his relief of the Oldham dugout.
The Iron, rooted to the foot of the division, had a positive start to the second-half which was exemplified as Rekeil Pyke beat a few defenders to race to the byline before he managed to pull it back to fellow deadline day recruit, Joe Nuttall, however, the striker flicked his attempt over the crossbar.
With the away contingent vocal in a packed terrace, Latics applied pressure on the Lincolnshire-based outfit with Adams’ corner finding Piergianni, but the towering skipper steered his header wide of the near post.
In the 83rd minute, the away end absolutely erupted which resulted in carnage. In typical fashion, Adams delivered a pinpoint corner towards Piergianni with the skipper navigating the ball into a dangerous area, and then, Luamba produced an overhead-kick into the far corner for his second professional goal of his career.
Shez’s outfit remained disciplined and structured until the final whistle which meant that Latics secured their first win at the Sands Venue Stadium since Eoin Doyle and Patrick McEleney got themselves on the scoresheet in March 2018.
Scunthorpe United XI – Watson (GK), Millen, Delaney, Onariase, Beestin, Nuttall (Bunn 66’), Pyke, Sinclair (Pugh 62’), Feeney ©, Lewis (Hallam 87’), Grant.
Unused Subs: Collins (GK), Taft, Rowe, Matheson.
Oldham Athletic XI – Rogers (GK), Clarke, McGahey, Piergianni ©, Hart, Adams, Missilou, Whelan, Obadeyi, Keillor-Dunn (Luamba 78’), Fondop (Bahamboula 25’).
Unused Subs: Leutwiler (GK), Couto, Hunt, Vaughan.
Goals: Luamba 83’
Attendance: 5,014 (away – not announced)
Referee – Neil Hair