Change of luck fully deserved

Athletic’s assistant manager writes every week for Chron Sport
WE RODE our luck at times at Scunthorpe.

I always say, though, that if you are going to hit the frame of the goal — as they did on three occasions — you may as well put the ball 30 yards over the top.

You make your own good fortune to an extent and I thought our two goals on the night were well-worked.

We played some good football, including down the right-hand side in the build-up to the first goal, where young David Mellor showed off that little bit of class we all know he has got.

With the header from substitute Matt Smith, it was a good delivery into the box by Filipe Morais. We knew what we were looking for and, thankfully, it came off.

There is one thing the manager has always said and I am in total agreement with. That is, if you show desire and willingness on the training ground, then sooner or later you will be picked for the first team.

That was the case on Tuesday night.

It is not to suggest that Matt has not shown us that. We felt it was time to bring him out because it is his first season in professional football and his body isn't accustomed to the stresses and strains that come with the game being played at this intensity.

We felt it was time to let him sit down and watch the game for a change. When he came on, he then showed us what he had and popped up with the winning goal.

Bringing Matt into the game from the bench totally changes the dynamics.

Beforehand we had Reuben Reid, who is all about using his pace down the sides and running at people.

When defenders get rid of him only to see someone as imposing as Matt coming on, they must fear the worst. It gives them a different problem to handle and that is the beauty of it.

A few days earlier, the Yeovil game saw a very disappointing performance.

With the game scoreless, we had talked about the importance of our play after half-time. Sadly, it was a case of deja vu.

Even when we were 1-0 down, we were still in the game. But there just seemed to be a lack of desire and commitment to try to get back into it. We got what we deserved.

It has been said Yeovil's first goal was a good strike, but I look at it from a different perspective. The point is, we weren't alive when the ball came back off our defensive wall.

There was someone stood at the end of the wall who is supposed to do the job for us.

There is a good percentage of free-kicks where the ball strikes the wall and it is about what you do afterwards. It boiled down to desire and we were left wanting.

We had the players in prior to the Scunthorpe game and the response was clear for everyone to see.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out the difference between the two performances. The players showed what they are about at Glanford Park.

They showed a winning mentality as well as a determination not to get beaten. And in truth, that is the minimum we expect. What we got at Yeovil was not an Oldham Athletic team.