Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day

3 games, 3 wins, 3 clean sheets. September is very much our time, and Oldham are very much back.

Shout out to our friends Saraan and Rachel, for whom Cheltenham was a relatively local game. The last match they came to was Wembley. We should get them season tickets.

Cheltenham’s very pretty, it has to be said. There was something very sweet and wistfully beautiful about watching the autumn leaves falling onto the pitch. I kind of thought we’d left the pitches surrounded by trees behind in non-league, though.

And, to be brutally honest, that’s where the Robins are going to end up if they keep playing like they did last Saturday. I’ve rarely seen a team less up for it. Almost like the manager had completely lost his players. Gary Johnson (remember him? Lee’s dad?) quit as their director of football recently, and Michael Flynn said in response “You’ve got to be together, there’s got to be unity and when that happens, you get success”. And when it doesn’t….

We’ve played plenty of terrible teams over the last few years, though, and failed to make them look terrible. You have to step up and make shit teams look shit, and thankfully, last Saturday, we did. Mini Mellon was unlucky to not score when Pett managed to play the ball to him despite three players trying to foul him, but young Michael’s shot hit the post. We really are a far better team with Pett back, aren’t we?

If Mellon jnr was frustrated at hitting the post, Hannant’s missed chance had everyone tearing their hair out. Pett (again) played him in with a lovely backheel, he only had the keeper to beat, and he hit the post from close range. “Christ, if we can’t beat these, fold the club.”

The club did not, in fact, have to fold. But we need to talk about how catastrophically out of position everyone was for the opening goal. Why was our centre-half bombing down the right wing? Why was our right-back in the middle of their penalty area when Daniels’ cross was only half cleared? Disgraceful lack of discipline. Sort it out, Mellon.

📷 Phill Smith

Seriously, though, what a finish by Sutton into the top left corner. He admitted after the game that “I don’t know what I was doing there in the first place!”. Us neither, son, but good on you.

Late on in the first half, Fondop landed awkwardly on his shoulder after going for a header, and, given how much we were dominating the game, there was no point risking him, and Quigley replaced him at half time. It looked like Daniels might have to come off as well after getting a nasty head wound in an accidental collision with Hudson, but after lengthy treatment from our physio and Cheltenham’s doctor he was OK to continue. I’ve always suspected that centre-halves love playing with their head bandaged.

He recovered well enough to win us a penalty shortly after, when he was dragged back in the box. Young Michael must have been gutted that he wasn’t on the pitch to take it, having just been subbed. Instead, Hannant made up for his earlier missed chance, sending the keeper the wrong way.

📷 Phill Smith

In the 90th minute, Quigley made the scoreline reflect something like how much we’d battered them. Caprice crossed the ball in (and what a great option he is to have on the bench), Pett’s shot was saved, and Quigley was perfectly placed to tap in the rebound. Didn’t score all last season, did he not? Well, he’s at a proper club now.

📷 Phill Smith

There was still time for Drummond to, once again, create a great one-on-one chance, and hit it straight at the keeper. Poor sod. On the pitch when he finally scores.

***OLDHAM FAN MEDIA CONDEMNS THE VERY SERIOUS CRIMINAL OFFENCE OF TRESPASSING ON THE PITCH IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS***

Mellon snr was full of praise for his players. He spoke about how pleased he was for Sutton, and how we want to bring our own players through, and “he’s hopefully the first of many”. He described Hannant’s penalty as “very clinical, very calm”, and was glad that Quigley scored, having been through an ‘unfair time’. No, we’re still not over it. They WERE being wankers.

Hannant confirmed that he was absolutely desperate to take the penalty: “I think I hit my top speed running to get the ball!” Sutton seemed as surprised as anyone that he scored, but claimed that, as a defender, he was happier that we kept a clean sheet. We’re not convinced, but we’re very happy for you, Will.

📷 BlezOAFC

As for Cheltenham…. Michael Flynn said after the match “performances like that get you the sack”. The Cheltenham fans we chatted to in the pub agreed, and so did their club’s board. Turns out we overestimated their patience when we sang “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.

Chatting to other clubs’ fans is one of the joys of an away day, and some Bradford fans approached us on the train to tell us that they want to build a statue of Michael Mellon for his goal against Salford last season. They also said that they hated playing against us because we’ve got a decent record against them, although I couldn’t help remembering watching Sonhy Sefil at Valley Parade, with a shudder. I’d love us to have a trip to their place next season, and not because they’ve been relegated.

On our way home, the awful news broke that the former Millwall Lionesses, Chelsea Women and Liverpool Women manager Matt Beard had died, at the age of just 47. He was a huge figure in the women’s game, and the WSL paid tribute to him, saying “Matt played an instrumental role in the growth of women’s football and will be missed by everyone associated with the game”.

In an incredibly moving episode of BBC Women’s Football Weekly, journalist Emma Sanders spoke about how he said that his proudest moment at Liverpool wasn’t winning back-to-back titles but overseeing the women moving to Melwood and using the same training facilities as the men. It’s been both beautiful and heartbreaking to see the outpouring of heartfelt tributes to him. If only he’d known how loved he was.

If you’re struggling, please reach out for help. The Samaritans are available 24 hours a day – you can call them free on 116 123, or email them at jo@samaritans.org (it may take a few days for them to reply to emails). You can also get support via text message from Shout by texting ‘Shout’ to 85258, which is also available 24 hours a day. Andy’s Man Club have free to attend support group meetings every Monday at 7pm in Oldham Event Centre and Waterhead Rugby Club, or you can find your local group here. Please share any resources you think people might find helpful on social media.

We’ll be giving out the latest issue of the Beyond the Boundary Park Alert System fanzine. You can find us on Furtherwood Road/Boundary Park Road near the Chaddy, outside the Rocky and near the car park entrance (if I manage to get my arse out of bed in time). Huge thanks to everyone who donated to the crowdfunder to enable us to give the first two issues out for free. This issue will be the last free one. If you want to support the fanzine by advertising in it, contact Matt at matt@kupod.co.uk .

I can’t be doing with these lunchtime kick-offs. Completely disorientates me and throws me out of sync for the whole day. I won’t have a clue what time to eat. I’ll probably be in bed by 9pm. You know what’ll make it worth it? Making it 4 wins out of 4 and a 100% record in September. And maybe Drummond scoring. Dream big. KTMFF.

📷 Phill Smith

Written by Arlene Finnigan