Mersey, Mersey me!

YOU COULDN’T WRITE A BETTER SCRIPT: FA Cup hero Matt Smith rises to head home the equaliser.

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Athletic 2, Everton 2

MATT Smith might end up with a club fine — despite his heroics in this latest staggering chapter of Athletic's FA Cup adventure.

The super-sub has found his niche. Again he terrorised a top Premier League defence, turning this terrific contest on its head following an arrival into the fray from the substitutes' bench.

And again he found the net. This time it was in the fifth minute of added time, bang in front of the Chaddy End, to put the club into the draw for the quarter-finals for the first time in nearly two decades.

A notice taped to the home dressing room door at Boundary Park before the tie warned players not to swap shirts due to a 'severe shortage' of them.

Smith threw his into the small section of the Rochdale Road Stand where Athletic's jubilant fans were still jumping, hugging, singing and dancing a good 20 minutes after the final whistle had won them a replay.

Naughty boy? If chairman Simon Corney threatens his wallet, the imposing striker can simply point to the huge amount of money his first three goals at Boundary Park have netted the club. Two against Liverpool, one against Everton... hundreds of thousands of pounds in the club bank account.

International business management graduate Smith has become the scourge of Merseyside.

He is the clipped-toned assassin, the knock-out king. The man responsible more than any for the most thrilling days Athletic have experienced since the Joe Royle era.

There were no half-measures from David Moyes when the manager of a club 59 places above Athletic in the league ladder came to naming his side. It couldn't have been any stronger. The Toffees appeared primed for the physical confrontation.

Caretaker Athletic manager Tony Philliskirk kept faith with the line-up that a week earlier had disposed of MK Dons. And after a frantic, scrappy opening, the home side claimed the first goal.

Lee Croft — superb throughout – brushed off a challenge from Leon Osman as he broke from a cleared Everton corner, raced down the right flank from halfway and provided the assist for loan winger Jordan Obita to side-foot into an empty goal.

Midway through the first half, Anichebe equalised.

Obita almost put Athletic ahead a minute later. As the ball fell loose in the area, the Reading man struck a right-footed shot, which took a deflection, against the far post - with Tim Howard beaten.

But from that point until the interval the visitors were in the ascendancy.

Everton's second goal threatened to sour the day. But with half an hour left, Philliskirk turned to Smith. The big man won every aerial duel and the game was transformed.

With 10 minutes to go, Smith thought he had levelled, but his left-footed shot was superbly beaten by Howard. Was Athletic's last hope gone?

Philliskirk’s boys were giving it a good go and Everton, sitting deep, were content to hack the ball anywhere.

Athletic summoned up one final push. Even Bouzanis was shoved forward as Grounds aimed to swing in a corner underneath the crossbar. His first attempt was cleared, the second met powerfully by Smith... and the Chaddy End simply erupted.

The club will definitely need more shirts now. Mainly in the club shop, with 'Smith 14' printed on the back. Bring on the replay
mattchambers@oldham-chronicle.co.uk




TWELVE page match special in tonight’s print and eChron editions.