Strike duo can fire us to success

Midweek heroics put Lee and Lewi in the driving seat


MANAGER John Sheridan is banking on his strikers to push Athletic further up the League One table at home to Yeovil tomorrow.

Lewis Alessandra grabbed the headlines with his clinical hat-trick against Scunthorpe on Tuesday, and Sheridan believes the youngster’s partnership with Lee Hughes can have another massive impact.

Yeovil are just above the drop zone, although two 0-0 draws in the last week have shown they possess both grit and organisation.

Athletic face an awkward task, but Alessandra, Hughes and the hitmen in reserve are giving Sheridan cause for confidence.

He said: “I’ve had my concerns about the strikers not scoring this season, and one good game doesn’t mean the problem is solved.

“But scoring a hat-trick has got to give Lewi a big boost and we know Hughesy is always going to be in there.

“They caused Scunthorpe all sorts of problems and could have scored at least six between them, so I want them to carry on that form into the next few games.

“We’ve been scoring goals at home, but if Lewi and Hughesy keep performing to that standard we’re going to create lots more chances.

“I’ve got five good strikers because Brett Ormerod and Craig Davies are both wanting to play and I’m not forgetting about Chris O’Grady, even though he’s out on loan at Bury.

“But Lewi and Hughesy have got the shirts at the moment and they need to go out against Yeovil and show the same sort of movement.

“You’ll always perform better if you step on to the pitch as a confident player, so this is a chance to kick on and start a decent little run.

“We got our rewards against Scunthorpe, but it’s all about taking that forward week in, week out.”

Yeovil drew at Huddersfield on Tuesday night, and their squad for the latest trip north is set to include three players who are very familiar with Boundary Park.

Paul Warne, Terrell Forbes and Gareth Owen were part of the set-up inherited by Sheridan in 2006 – but he went on to release all of them.

Warne, whose 100-per-cent effort always made him popular, was player of the year when Athletic reached the play-offs in Sheridan’s first season.

He was not offered a new contract but has since made 53 appearances for Yeovil, either up front or out wide, and scored three goals.

Defender Forbes, meanwhile, was among the first casualties when Sheridan took over from Ronnie Moore and set about reshaping his squad.

Forbes had his contract cancelled less than three weeks later, opening the way for a move to Huish Park, and he soon discovered the form which eluded him with Athletic.

Owen recently joined Yeovil on loan from Stockport, where he was stripped of the captaincy following a bust-up with manager Jim Gannon.

That came just before Athletic’s trip to Edgeley Park at the start of this month but, albeit in a different shirt, Owen will still get to face the club who shipped him out two years ago.