Latics get the job done

Chris Taylor (L) congratulates Lee Hughes after he scored the winning goal for Oldham during the Coca Cola League One game between Southend United and Oldham Athletic at Roots Hall, Southend on Sat Nov 22, 2008

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CONFIDENCE is a funny old thing.

It comes and goes faster than you can say “Golly gosh, another lovely traffic jam, this journey to Southend is such good fun”, yet it can also inspire events which were hard to envisage just a few minutes earlier.

Athletic were staging a mediocre performance at Roots Hall until Chris Taylor’s equalising goal from a setpiece sparked a complete turnaround in fortunes.

Confidence flowed, Southend drooped, Lee Hughes conjured up a clever winner. And Athletic, having looked destined to finish empty-handed at one of League One’s toughest away grounds, were celebrating a notable victory.

In-form Southend had only lost once in 13 outings, but John Sheridan’s side completed back-to-back wins on the road after shattering Northampton’s unbeaten home record the previous week.

They didn’t play dazzling football, but they did show character and grit — this was a hard-earned triumph and it’s unfortunate that Athletic have recently lost their way at Boundary Park, where the majority of fans see the majority of games.

That’s not to say everything is hunky dory, but Athletic deserve plaudits for their recovery. There can’t be any team in the league who have taken more points after falling behind.

It helps when you’ve got the best attacking player on the pitch. And Hughes, as well as bagging his seventh goal of the campaign, led the line superbly after half-time.

The visitors were poor for 45 minutes, but they stayed on level terms despite Southend making better use of possession.

Athletic lacked momentum and couldn’t get their front men on the ball. It was a struggle but, crucially, they didn’t give away many chances.

Southend kept the upper hand for about an hour, but Taylor’s eighth goal this season brought a sea-change in the balance of power as Athletic started passing with conviction and accuracy.

All aspects of their game showed a big improvement, resulting in the clinical winner from Hughes and a relatively stress-free passage to the final whistle.

Hughes and his co-striker, Darren Byfield, were key elements in the fightback as their defending from the front knocked Southend’s attacking rhythm. Instead of building with patience, the hosts were hurried into mistakes.

Mark Allott and Kevin Maher, who was given a hero’s welcome on his return to Roots Hall, took hold of midfield, while Kelvin Lomax and Reuben Hazell were the pick of a committed back four.

In truth, despite both teams being in play-off contention, this was no classic, and the stalemate wasn’t threatened until Southend broke away after 25 minutes.

Robert Milsom’s cross was headed back by ex-Latics man Kevin Betsy, only for James Walker to scoop over the bar when he should have done better.

Southend grabbed the initiative, believing they had scored after midfielder Jean-Francois Christophe hit an 18-yard drive against the post.

Peter Clarke netted with the loose ball, but home celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.

Mark Crossley then tipped over a goalbound Betsy corner, while Christophe fired narrowly wide after Athletic failed to clear a setpiece.

The visitors’ only sight of goal in a low-tempo, low-quality first half came in stoppage time when a corner dropped to Hughes, who couldn’t find the target at full stretch.

There was a better chance just after the restart as Danny Jones crossed from the left and Byfield rose 10 yards out to plant his header just wide.

Southend, however, broke though with a smart build-up and finish which saw Simon Francis maraud down the right and set up Walker to volley home from close range.

Athletic almost levelled 12 minutes later as Clarke miscued his back-pass, leaving Hughes with only the ’keeper to beat — his shot was curling into the bottom corner until Adam Federici made an excellent save.

Federici also denied Byfield as Athletic mounted a spell of pressure for the first time. And they soon discovered some rich pickings.

They forced three corners in quick succession, equalising from the last as Andy Liddell crossed directly to the six-yard line and Taylor charged into the sea of bodies with a powerful header.

The goal provoked immediate changes in body language, with Athletic taking over and scoring again within five minutes.

Another setpiece was the source of their joy as Jones delivered from the corner of the box and his free-kick glanced off Stefan Stam.

Hughes — intelligently, instinctively and without Southend tracking his movement — had pulled away beyond the far post, and his first-time volley flashed back across the helpless Federici.

From there on, Sheridan’s men controlled the game well and only had one scare when Southend’s Alan McCormack drilled a yard off target.

It had taken them a while to get going but, once they did, this was more like the Athletic who topped League One early in the season.

STAR MAN - Lee Hughes

A pat on the back for Athletic’s defence, but Hughes was the ultimate difference between the teams.