Dream tie well deserved

The Latics star writes every week for Chron Sport

AFTER being eliminated from the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on penalties and losing in stoppage time at Brentford, we finally had something to cheer with another mouthwatering tie against Liverpool in prospect.

But first, Griffin Park last weekend: the result left the lads very disappointed as I felt we shaded the majority of areas.

We coped well with one of the favourites for promotion, but lacked the cutting edge in the final third and were made to pay with a defeat in stoppage time.

I sat in the stand with my two sons. Being back at one of my old stomping grounds and not being able to play was frustrating. I saw our boys produce a fine performance with nothing to show for it, which was disheartening.

With the turnround in our fixtures being so fast at the moment, we then had arguably our biggest contest of the season so far — the FA Cup replay against Mansfield Town.

The prospect of a test against some of the greatest players in the country and one of the best players in the world in Luis Suarez, awaited the winners.

Despite being injured, I travelled with the team as I wanted be a voice in the dressing room, to offer words of encouragement.

Knowing the character of this young group and the way we had bounced back after previous defeats, I was confident of the club securing the big-money, third-round game.

The stage was set for the boys to enhance their reputations, since the game was televised. We didn’t have it all our own way against a big, strong and very physical Mansfield team — we were made to do it the hard way.

The second half started a bit edgily and only a fantastic save from Mark Oxley prevented us from going two goals down.

That was a huge turning point in the match. A flurry of goals from Danny Philliskirk, Jonson Clarke-Harris, Matteo Lanzoni and a penalty from Adam Rooney made the scoreline seem very comfortable and allowed the celebrations to begin.