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JABO IBEHRE

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MATTHEW CHAMBERS at SportsDirect.com Park

Oldham 2, Doncaster 2

THE pressure of potential financial peril last week gave way to the unbelievable incompetence of a third-tier refereeing team at its end.

The beautiful game – warts and all – was back and it was as enthralling, miserable, exciting and frustrating as it should be.

After the ugly conclusion to the Ched Evans saga even the errors of hopeless referee Carl Boyeson, which went a long way to denying Athletic three points, were received by the faithful as some kind of respite.

There were plenty of jeers for Boyeson at full time, after he missed a clear foul on Paul Rachubka for Rovers' first goal having sent off Joseph Mills for a tackle for which he didn't even initially award a free-kick.

Jamie Coppinger cut in to fire home an equaliser deep into added time, cancelling out earlier efforts from Jabo Ibehre and George Elokobi after a contest Athletic clearly had the better of.

Even with only 4,181 fans inside a wind-battered SportsDirect.com Park, the atmosphere was heightened and the feeling was that the shackles were off.

No longer is the club a target for outsiders with no real interest in Oldham Athletic.

Athletic's squad was as clueless as anyone outside those involved in the complex negotiations of the Evans pursuit, conducted against a backdrop of social media's white noise of highly-potent outrage.

And no longer were minor sponsors, such as those who paid the equivalent of the cost of three adult season tickets to air their moral objections, the centre of attention, on the one hand claiming the high ground and on the other enthusiastically scooping as much publicity out of it as they could.

A banner in the Chaddy End read: “70,000... Where are you?” The inference was clear.

After a week of disastrous PR on the unprepared Athletic's part, there was at last a sense of unity of purpose as the focus was finally back on the game.

Athletic's players attacked their task with pent-up relish. With Liam Kelly back after a month's absence and again an influence of colossal proportions, the home side had just about the better of the first half.

Doncaster fluffed their lines when the influential Kyle Bennett skewed a shot wide from inside the penalty area and Harry Forrester hit both crossbar and post with long-range strikes.

Athletic took the lead midway through the first half. Andy Butler swung and missed his attempt at a clearance near the right touchline, Jonathan Forte pounced and as Athletic countered, he slipped in Ibehre who controlled and neatly stroked home, downwind, past Sam Johnstone.

Athletic took what looked like a decisive advantage after 54 minutes. Ibehre appeared to have shoved his man as Athletic won a corner and Elokobi rose to meet Mills' delivery with his head, the ball crossing the line before it was cleared, on the say-so of Boyeson's assistant.

Carl Winchester was a whisker away from making it 3-0 with a left-footed shot and, until Mills' dismissal, Athletic were in total control.

Initially, Boyeson didn't even award a free-kick against Mills, who jumped in recklessly. Neither, mystifyingly, did he award a yellow card to Rovers' Paul Keegan for a forearm smash on the left-back in the scuffle that followed.

Tyson scrambled a goal back after hauling Rachubka to the ground with his arm in an incident that evoked the days of Nat Lofthouse’s roughhousing of goalkeepers.

Boyeson's copybook was further blotted in added time. With Athletic on the back foot trying to see time out, he awarded an advantage for an offside against a Rovers player. Seconds later, Coppinger took advantage of poor defending to slam home with his left foot.

Normal service, with all of its hope followed by disappointment flavoured by ineptitude, was back. But despite itself, it felt good.