Latics 1 – 1 Chesterfield: Drummond breaks his duck but Latics can’t force the win

It’s only new year’s day and Manny Monthé’s header from about a yard out with the last touch of the game has won it for Latics. Not the match, but the miss of the year contest, besting Joe Quigley’s first-half howler from two yards. Joe Garner’s soft stoppage-time penalty straight at the legs of Zach Hemming in the Chesterfield goal was nowhere near as bad.

LATICS 1

Drummond 59

CHESTERFIELD 1

Lewis 21

8,853 (1,440)

Latics will be sick they didn’t win this, but Chesterfield fans would argue that their side were good value for a point. They won two corners in stoppage time and threw the kitchen sink at Latics, to no avail, and showed plenty of intent for a good chunks of the game. They forced Mat Hudson into two excellent second-half saves.

The Spireites went ahead on 21 minutes. Jamie Robson got into big trouble going backwards towards his own corner flag under pressure from Will Grigg. When Robson finally attempted a clearance, it got no further than Tom Naylor, whose pass across the edge of the penalty area was inviting. Adam Lewis accepted, running at full speed from left-back, smashing it true and low across Hudson into the far corner.

Latics came back into it but, for the remainder of the half, were undone by their own untidiness up front. Kian Harratt, scorer of the last-minute winner at Walsall on Monday night, nearly equalised immediately but failed to turn Luke Hanant’s cross past Zach Hemming. Then came Quigley’s early miss-of-the-year contender. He won it in midfield, fed Pett on the right and then charged, head down, into the middle to meet the cross. Pett put it on a plate for him and Quigley somehow contrived not to score from a couple of yards with the keeper beaten. It slid off his right boot and out for a goal kick. At that point, it was nailed on for miss of the year.

Latics went into the break needing to settle down, and were the better team afterwards. Gary Brabin (on dugout duty in place of boss Micky Mellon, who was in the doghouse having received three bookings) would have seen the complete lack of pace of Vontae Daley-Campbell on the Chesterfield right and, on 51 minutes, brought Kane Drummond

on to face him. It was a total mismatch. Drummond was too quick for Daley-Campbell and everyone else in the Chesterfield side.

The only thing Drummond lacked before today was a goal. He’s been close so many times. He’s shot over and wide both ways, he’s hit all three bits of the woodwork, he’s found the keeper and the last man on the line.

When his chance came today, he buried it, and Latics fans will pray that the dam is broken along with his duck. It was a simple goal. Mat Hudson hit a goal-kick long and found Quigley unmarked outside the box. Quigley’s onward header was right into the path Drummond on the turn, and he leathered it past Hemming. The Jimmy Frizzell Stand went berserk, a seething mass of joy.

The scores were even but Chesterfield, who became very disorganised after a triple substitution, were playing for a point, time-wasting here and there, making the most of any break in play.

Latics could and should have won it – twice – in stoppage time. Drummond won the penalty after Kyle McFadzean took his legs from under him on the penalty spot. McFadzean had been fouling everyone within range all game but escaped sanction until relatively late partly thanks to the close relationship he established with the referee throughout the game. But now he ran out of road and was sent off for a second booking.

Garner stepped up but could not find the corner to the keeper’s right. In fact, the keeper had dived well past the ball and saved it with his feet.

Then came Monthé’s miss of the year winner. He headed it high into the air rather than into the net, and it hadn’t landed when the referee blew the final whistle. Monthé stood there, open-mouthed, incredulous, staring.

Oldham Athletic: Mat Hudson, Reagan Ogle, Tom Pett (c), Donervon Daniels, Monthé, Ryan Woods, Joe Quigley, Luke Hannant (Joe Garner 68), Kian Harratt (Kane Drummond 51), Jamie Robson, Kai Payne

Subs not used: Tom Donaghy, Will Sutton, Kieron Morris, Jake Caprice, Oli Hammond

Chesterfield: Zach Hemming, Vontae Daley-Campbell, Kyle McFadzean, Janoi Donacien (John Fleck 80), Adam Lewis (Dylan Duffy 80), Tom Naylor (c), Ryan Stirk (Luke Butterfield 88), Liam Mandeville, Ronan Darcy (Will Dickson 80), James Berry, Will Grigg (Lee Bonis 75)

Subs not used: Ryan Boot, Devan Tanton