Oldham Athletic 0 – 0 Brentford
In a day that was headlined by a returning, home grown hero, in James Tarkowski, after leaving Boundary Park for the Bees on deadline day in January, it was Oldham’s defence that stood out most. With only one clean sheet in their last seven matches, and two of the league’s most prolific strikers in recent seasons baring down on them, not many people would have expected a 0-0 draw in this one, but in the end it was well deserved.
The home side started the stronger of the two, with most of their best play coming from Harkins and Worrall on the wings. The Bees did however show glimpses of why they are where they are in the league table with some nice passing from the back. Oldham did have arguably the best chance of the first half when Danny Philliskirk missed the goal from only 6 yards out after a great cross form Harkins.
In the second half Brentford came into the game more with a few half chances and good passing, however Oldham’s defence and midfield stood strong. Both sides did have chances to win it in the second half with Oldham substitute James Dayton going one on one with Button in the Brentford goal but he squandered the opportunity, and arguably the best chance to win the game for Brentford came when the unmarked Bees’ substitute Dallas fired a powerful volley at the back post straight at Rachubka in the Oldham goal.
Overall a draw seemed a fair result with Oldham manager Lee Johnson ecstatic with a point over one of the league’s top teams, but Brentford will look at this one as two points dropped come the end of the season.
Oldham Athletic
| Paul Rachubka- Didn’t have too much to do, however he made a fantastic save when it was needed most and overall his catching and reflexes were good. | 7.0 |
| Connor Brown- One of his best games all season, held off the wingers well throughout showing great strength and defensive awareness | 7.5 |
| Adam Lockwood- Good in the air and on the deck, cleared everything needed with very few errors all game | 7.5 |
| James Wilson- very quiet game overall but was strong in the air and in tackles to deny the Brantford strikers any clear chances | 7.0 |
| Jonathan Grounds- Fantastic defending throughout the game and great in a tackle | 7.5 |
| David Worrall- Good in the first half with a few decent crosses but very quiet in the second before being substituted off for Dayton. | 6.5 |
| Korey Smith- Quiet in terms of going forward, however he was very strong in the defensive midfield role, shopping the Brentford attackers well. | 7.0 |
| James Wesolowski- Probably the stand out performer for Oldham, passing was superb as well as good clean tackles when needed in the heart of midfield | 8.0 |
| Gary Harkins- Showed his typical moments of attacking flair and pin point crosses but had patches were he just wasn’t involved in the game enough to make a huge impact | 7.5 |
| Danny Phillskirk- Played well just behind the forward to play passes along the ground and had a few half chances of his own but never really looked like scoring | 7.0 |
| Johnson Clarke- Harris- A bit of an off day for Clarke- Harris, didn’t really get the supply he needed to make an impact | 6.0 |
Substitutions
| James Dayton- failed to make a big impact and missed a fantastic chance to win the game | 6.0 |
| Charlie MacDonald- Not the ideal impact sub, failed to get into the game | 6.0 |
Brentford FC
| David Button- Made a few decent saves but was never really forced to be at his best | 7.5 |
| Nico Yennaris- Strong throughout and held off the Oldham attack well | 7.0 |
| James Tarkowski- Good heading and runs from the back, but always looked a liability for a card with some poorly timed tackles | 7.0 |
| Harry Dean- Very good performance, led well from the back and was strong throughout | 7.5 |
| Jake Birdwell- Strong down the wing with a few tempting croses but final product lacked slightly | 7.5 |
| Alan Judge- Very average performance, never really lit the game up, hard to see how he was at a championship side earlier in the season | 6.0 |
| Alan McCormack- Good passing and tackling again, but never really anything special | 7.0 |
| Jonathon Douglas- Got stuck in well with good passing and effort all game | 7.0 |
| Adam Foreshaw- Very quiet game and rather disappointing set pieces, didn’t really look himself | 6.5 |
| Will Grigg- Ran around a lot and attempted to link the play, but was never really a threat on goal | 7.0 |
| Clayton Donaldson- Failed to make an impact and didn’t show any really glimpses of his goal scoring talent | 6.0 |
Substitutions
| Stuart Dallas- Had a great chance to win the game but forced a great save from the Latics keeper | 7.0 |
| Marcello Trotta- Put himself about and won a few balls but never looked like scoring | 6.5 |
| Toumani Diagouraga- Quiet when he came on, not too much effort or flair shown | 6.0 |
Man of the Match
| James Wesolowski (Oldham Athletic) Fantastic strength in midfield, passing was neat and accurate throughout with a number of well timed, strong tackles to stop Brantford’s momentum, overall a great well rounded performance form the Latics number 4 | 8.0 |
