Finishing touch eludes Latics

NICK Blackman's curling shot sails past the Brentford keeper — and gives Athletic a draw

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Brentford 1, Athletic 1 

IT was hard to judge whether injury-hit Athletic’s glass was half full or half empty after Saturday’s stalemate at Brentford in Coca-Cola League One.

Athletic would probably have settled for a point beforehand bearing in mind the absence of key personnel, while newly-promoted Bees were unbeaten in the league.

But manager Dave Penney will probably view it an opportunity missed as, with more of a cutting edge, Athletic could well have left Griffin Park with all three points.

It was a performance which provided optimism for the future as there was evidence that Penney’s new-look team is starting to knit together.

Alex Marrow and Nick Blackman, whose loans from Blackburn Rovers have been extended until at least January, are proving two of the catalysts.

In the handful of matches they have played for Athletic, it is easy to see why both players are on the books of a Premier League side and they are clearly going to be influential players over the next four months.

Brentford enjoyed territorial advantage yet it was Athletic who had by far the best goalscoring opportunities.

But for Bees international ’keeper Lewis Price, Athletic would surely have triumphed.

The Wales international, who is on a season-long loan from Derby County, defied Athletic time and again with some superb saves.

Athletic, as they have done in most matches so far, created plenty of chances but they are still finding it a problem putting them away.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Athletic were solid and easily soaked up pressure. It was just a pity Andy Holdsworth conceded what can only be described as a soft penalty, their only blemish of the afternoon.

Chris Taylor, Jon Worthington and Kelvin Lomax joined the casualty list as the Athletic bench contained five players aged 18 and under.

Scholars Djeny Bembo-Leta and Phillip McGrath were joined by Hungarian new-boy David Kalnoki-Kis, along with first-year professionals Ryan Brooke and Chris Rowney. Danny Whitaker and Dean Furman won recalls in midfield.

Athletic somehow finished the opening half 1-0 down, despite having by far the better chances.

Keigan Parker broke from inside his own half in the third minute only to be denied by Price, who later pulled off another fabulous stop to turn over Whitaker’s goalbound effort.

Sean Gregan also went close, seeing his goalbound header hoofed off the line by David Hunt.

Bees centre-back Mark Phillips went close with a couple of headers from set pieces, but the Athletic defence was largely untroubled.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 42nd minute. Holdsworth was adjudged to have shoved Sam Saunders in the back when he need not have made contact.

Kevin O’Connor stepped up to score from the spot and the Bees could scarcely believe their good fortune.

But Athletic were back on level on terms within seven minutes of the restart after a sublime finish from Blackman.

He received the ball on the left just outside the box, cut inside before curling in an exquisite effort with his weaker right foot into the top corner beyond the despairing dive of Price. It needed something special to beat the Bees ’keeper and it was certainly a gem of a goal.

The Bees and Athletic then contrived to engineer two of the misses of the season.

Home player James Wilson and Athletic’s Pawel Abbott both failed to find the target with headers from no more than two yards.

The biggest threat to Athletic in the last 20 minutes came from Bees substitute Steve Kabba, who had a loan spell at Boundary Park last season.

In the space of three minutes, Kabba had a header brilliantly tipped over by Dean Brill, drove a shot just wide when he should have found the target and also had a shout for a penalty rejected.

It would have been ironic had Kabba been Brentford’s matchwinner after failing to find the net in his loan spell with Athletic from Watford.


Teenager aiming to build on first strike

NICK BLACKMAN was delighted to open his scoring account for Athletic with the goal which earned a point at Brentford.

The 19-year-old is also hoping his strike at Griffin Park is the first of many during a loan spell which has been extended until January.

Blackman said: “It is a big boost to me knowing that I am not going back to Blackburn straightaway.

“Hopefully if I keep working hard and scoring goals I will get a run of games here.

“The aim is to score as many goals as possible and to develop and gain experience so, when I do go back to Blackburn, I will be able to push for a first-team place.”

Blackman revealed that all three of his goals in league football — one apiece for Macclesfield, Blackpool and Athletic — have been scored with his weaker right foot.

“It is a shock to have scored all three goals with my right foot, but I am not going to complain.

“I knew what I was trying to do, but it is a case of just hoping it comes off and luckily it did.

“Sometimes when defenders see me going past them with my left foot, they don’t expect me to shift it to the right-hand side. It is all about that element of surprise.”

Blackman has set himself a goals target during his stay at Boundary Park, but he is keeping it under wraps so not to put too much pressure on himself.

Athletic manager Dave Penney described the match as a ‘battle”, specifically referring to the aerial bombardment they had to endure, especially from David Hunt’s huge throw-ins.

He said: “We defended very well and dealt with everything they chucked at us from throw ins, corners and free kicks.

“It was pleasing after the goals we gave away the previous week against Swindon that our centre halves headed everything and played to their strengths.

“In the first half the only thing Dean Brill had to do was to kick the ball out of the net from the penalty which shows how well we defended.”

Penney thought the penalty decision was harsh decision, but he was pleased with the way his side responded.

Blackman’s goal restored parity, while there were chances for Pawel Abbott and Keigan Parker to have snatched victory.

Penney added: “While Brentford put a lot of long balls into our box, they didn’t create any clear-cut chances.

“We are pleased because it was a good, battling point.”

Bees manager Andy Scott says their fans have to be realistic about what they can expect from their team this season.

He said: “My concern was that, after last week at Southampton (they drew 1-1), they would expect us to smash Oldham out of sight.

“We got a few grumbles from the crowd, but fans need to realise how far we have come in the last 18 months.

“Oldham defended with their lives out there and they worked hard to close us down.”