Let’s build on this good work

ATHLETIC striker Charlie MacDonald writes exclusively for the Chronicle.

Tonight, he reflects on Latics’ great result in the FA Cup at Molineux.


WHAT a great week it has been in the Latics camp.

Following up our progression into the Northern area semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, the lads then produced a fantastic performance to overcome Wolves at Molineux to confirm our place in round two of the FA Cup.

This club must enjoy cup fever. After the exploits in the competition last year it looks like the bug is still in the veins, as we were dominant against a massive club in their own back yard.

We won 2-1, but in all fairness there could have been no complaints from Wolves had the victory been by a bigger margin.

Every week I find myself praising individuals, but I find it difficult to pick out just one person from this group of players who were magnificent in a game where the odds were stacked against us.

No neutral would have given us a chance of getting past round one when the draw was made — even more so in the replay — but the boys showed how good we can be on a big stage and it now gives us a platform to kick on in the upcoming fixtures.

After training for the first time in four weeks, I was named as a substitute for this match, but unfortunately I didn’t manage to enter the field of play.

That was disappointing, as I was itching to get involved in a contest of such superiority. Instead, I watched in awe of some excellent, flowing football and crisp passing.

I think the supporters would probably agree that when you are winning and playing well, you seem to forget about how cold it is in the wintery conditions — which was a positive factor, because it was absolutely freezing!

POSITION

If pushed on special mentions, I would say our captain Korey Smith was superb as a makeshift right-back and looked like a seasoned professional in that position. He didn’t put a foot wrong and was as comfortable as ever in possession.

I would also like to highlight the work Anton Rogers has brought to the side in his last two games.

He has been very unlucky not to start more matches so far this season, but he has showed his quality and is clearly a very good footballer who can open up teams with the passing range he possesses. Anton is an example of just how good the squad is.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to play some

competitive football and get much-needed game time under my belt in a reserve-team fixture against Wrexham.

Unfortunately, we lost the match 2-1 but I managed to get in 65 minutes of the action and came through it unscathed, which was the positive outcome I hoped for.

We had plenty of youth team players in the side and I was very impressed with a lot of them. It is difficult to adapt from kids’ football to men’s, with the biggest difference being the physical factor.

The more times they test themselves at this level, the stronger they will be in the future and the club has potentially some bright prospects.

It is vitally important we do not ruin the good work we have achieved recently by throwing it away against Gillingham tomorrow and Shrewsbury on Tuesday.

These two battles will define which direction our season is heading.

We cannot get too carried away as we are only one point above the relegation zone. As false as that may seem given our overall play, the league table doesn’t lie.

I hope I can write this column next week with the team sitting on 21 points.