‘Fantastic’ Latics get first win

Lee Johnson and Paul Dickov: one ended the game happier than the other...

LEE Johnson piled praise onto his players after a terrific first win of the season.

An early goal from Jonson Clarke-Harris and a penalty in the second half converted by Jonathan Forte gave the visitors three points. It could easily have been a far heavier scoreline, as Paul Dickov's Rovers were regularly carved open by the rampant Athletic attack.

Manager Johnson wants the victory – which pushes Athletic up to 17th in the league – to lay a platform for the rest of the season.

“I'm really pleased for the lads, as we have had a tough time,” Johnson said, after a first away-day win since seeing off Carlisle 1-0 late last season.

“In the first half they had a couple of chances so it was pretty even-stevens. But in the second half the lads were fantastic. We’ve done a lot of hard work on the training ground and they put it into practice, so credit to them for that.”