Reality check for off-colour Latics

Photo: Alan Howarth

SIDE BY SIDE . . . Djeny Bembo-Leta struggled to make an impact up front in last night’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie.

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Athletic 0, Shrewsbury 1

PERSPECTIVE is a rare commodity in football.

The same blinkered, short-term thinking which sees managers fired after a few weeks in the job can also leads to unrealistic aspirations after only a handful of good results.

Before this contest — one which an able Shrewsbury outfit clearly deserved to win, scoring the only goal and hitting the frame of goal twice — some fans may have looked at the npower League One table and imagined an easy ride to the next round.

After all, Athletic were ‘only’ up against a team from the division below.

After defeats of Tranmere and Notts County, plus an excellent display in drawing away against Charlton, wasn’t a trouble-free passage through to round two of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy to be expected?

In a word, no.

For starters, if football was as clear-cut as that then nobody would bother watching.

Teams, particularly at this level, will have off-days with players’ performance levels always prone to dips.

Athletic boss Paul Dickov has emphasised time and again this season that his side need to be ‘at it’ — in other words, operating at no less than 100-per-cent — in order to play as an effective unit.

Here, they didn’t manage to do so — hence the defeat.

But now is no time to man the panic stations, just as a run of two wins and as many draws in the opening four league matches shouldn’t have got anyone excitedly digging out the bunting in preparation for next May.

Athletic were off-colour. Particularly in the second half, when the team appeared to realise that there was no way through an organised visiting line-up by playing intricate passes through centre-field and searching fruitlessly for a ‘Plan B’.

At the back, the loss of the ill Jason Jarrett was significant in that it meant Athletic lacked a ball-playing defender capable of dragging opposition midfielders out of position.

Wide on the right, Ritchie Jones’ tight hamstring meant he couldn’t continue a highly-promising link-up with on-form full-back Kieran Lee.

And up front, the diminutive strike pairing of Djeny Bembo-Leta and Dean Kelly couldn’t quite fashion chances of their own making.

Signs that Athletic would struggle against an impressive Shrewsbury outfit, who saw off Charlton 4-3 in a Carling Cup thriller earlier this month, were apparent as early as the third minute when Seam McAllister crashed a header from a corner onto goalkeeper Dean Brill’s crossbar.

Kelly had a half-chance from ever-energetic Dean Furman’s pull-back in a lively opening but failed to connect properly in the six-yard box, before the same player brought a smart save from visiting ’keeper Chris Neal when skidding a header from Paul Black’s cross towards goal.

Athletic began by playing some bright passing football of the sort that has been a hallmark of Dickov’s reign.

But with big Oumare Tounkara on the bench, the team’s attacks lacked a physical focal point and too often fizzled out.

Dale Stephens sneaked a free-kick through the wall to bring another stop from Neal at his near post but chances for both teams were few and far between.

Shrewsbury’s early chance apart, the main excitement of the first half concerned a yellow card for Reuben Hazell.

Athletic’s captain didn’t take to it too kindly, seemingly making no contact at all as Jake Robinson played the ball past him before falling to ground claiming obstruction.

Hazell then departed after going down under no challenge himself, this time as a result of a thigh strain.

On came 18-year-old Rod McDonald for his Athletic debut, playing alongside the imposing Jean-Yves Mvoto.

Up to the hour mark, Athletic were still struggling to create chances. The team’s best opportunity came about as a result of a good challenge in the area from Deane Smalley, but despite the efforts of Chris Taylor, Black and Bembo-Leta, no player in blue managed to get a shot away.

Black stung Neal’s palms with a rare right-foot shot from 30 yards out prior to the introduction of Tounkara and debutant Rodrigue Dikaba, who operated with some promise on the right wing.

Shrewsbury grew with confidence as the game wore on.

Brill was almost caught out by right-back Dave Raven’s looping cross but managed to get a palm to it with Lewis Neal lurking at the back post.

Shortly after Tounkara had shown good body strength to hold off a defender and hit a shot on target which Neal held.

Town’s best chance so far arrived with 16 minutes left. Substitute Craig Disley swung in a free-kick from the left wing which was met powerfully by centre-back Shane Cansdell-Sherriff. Brill leapt to his right and showed great agility to tip the ball against the post and out to safety.

Chris Taylor, quiet after the break, could and possibly should have given the home side the lead.

Bembo-Leta got the the byline and pulled the ball back into the path of the winger, who controlled before placing a shot a yard over from the edge of the penalty area.

It was a rare opportunity though and on the balance of play, few could begrudge Graham Turner’s visitors from claiming the lead seven minutes from time. Disley played a pass into Steve Leslie’s feet and the winger spun sharply 20 yards out before firing low and emphatically inside Brill’s near post.

Mvoto was thrown up front as Dickov tried to find an equaliser to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out.

The trick nearly paid off. Tounkara drew a free-kick 25 yards from goal and Stephens struck it beautifully, putting his hands to his head as the ball scraped the paint off the outside edge of the beaten Neal’s right-hand post.

For Stephens and Athletic, there will be better days than this.