Sun shines on Latics

back of the net . . . Chris Taylor (centre) turns away to celebrate after putting Athletic in front against Bournemouth.

Athletic 1, Bournemouth 0

Top-10 finish should be aim
LAST week, relegation was taken as an inevitability by those prophets of doom inhabiting the corner of cyberspace reserved for Athletic.

The polar opposite of that group, the rare Athletic optimist, will take Chris Taylor’s match-winning strike against Bournemouth as proof that the play-offs are not yet wholly out of reach.

After all, the defence is now secured thanks to Reece Brown’s switch to centre-back, while with Robbie Simpson back in the frame, Oumare Tounkara hunting down back-pedalling defenders like a large, hungry dinosaur and pocket dynamo Youssouf Mchangama improving so massively in a tiny period of time, this is a team on the up.

Two wins in two, and the sun was even shining at Boundary Park on Saturday — in March. An omen, if ever there was one.

Athletic’s manager is more in with the happy-clappers than the doom-mongers. But the Scot is also worldly-wise enough to let out a chuckle when the subject of a possible seven-point gap imminently separating his side from the play-offs was broached, post-match.

A more realistic reading is that from here on in, a top-10 finish should be the goal — one that would still represent significant progress. Still, there was no doubting the positive effect of Athletic’s youthful verve against Bournemouth.

Brown’s reading of the game alongside the in-form Jean-Yves Mvoto helped in no small part in picking up a second successive clean sheet — as did the heroics of goalkeeper Alex Cisak.

Mchangama is a player it is difficult to keep your eyes off. Springing into every aerial challenge, the Comoros Islands international may turn out to be a real discovery — not that he will be with Athletic for very long, should he manage to repeat the likes of the brilliant 30-yard shot which smacked against the crossbar in the second half with an added fraction more accuracy.

Shefki Kuqi also connected with the goal frame, his header which almost sent Athletic in a goal to the good at half-time the highlight of a fairly tepid opening period.

It was an even contest in the opening period, with the best action coming as it drew to a close.

Immediately more purposeful after the interval, Athletic took the lead with a superb team goal, five minutes after Reuben Reid had appeared to have his shirt tugged when angling for a cross in the penalty area.

Mchangama almost made it 2-0 with his superb drive, while influential Cherries substitute Harry Arter’s free-kick was palmed away by a diving Cisak at the second time of asking.

After the penalty incident, Lee hacked Addison’s header off the line as the home side rocked and rolled.

Two more Cisak saves from Arter, the first an agile stop to his right of a 20-yard daisy-cutter, and the final whistle which blew led to Athletic and their fans letting out a collective sigh of relief.



The full version of this story can be read in to tonight’s print and e-Chron editions