Having spent the previous day getting mullered at the epic Trent Bridge test match win, it wasn’t until the morning of the match that I decided I was going to make this one. But boy, am I glad I did! For so many reasons this was a great day. The obvious one is to get one over on Ronnie. It would have meant so much for him to beat us yesterday and prove to the Millers 05 board what a huge mistake they had made in getting rid. Also with their ‘team full of rejects’ it was nice to show them that we are doing just fine without them.
Then there was the actual context of the result. A tough away game at one of the fancied teams in the league at the end of a period of four games in nine days yet we dug deep and defended well when we had to and as is the norm for this season so far, made their keeper work much more than ours was made to work.
The game itself was most definitely a case of ‘what we could have been watching this season’ against ‘what a joy we are watching’ as Oldham played in a style we know only too well and in many ways their performance was just like watching us last season! Long balls, pressure in the opposition box without creating, failure to cut teams open and then getting caught out at the back. But enough about Oldham! Let’s talk about Mick Harford’s Red and White Army.
Not a classic performance but still by far the best team on the pitch! For the first time this season as well, we have needed to show steel and determination and we showed that in immense proportion, which shows that added to our passing and movement we won’t go far wrong this season!! Up to fourth, unbeaten in five, won two in a row, what a weekend!! Still, let’s not get carried away, it’s still early doors and nothing is won at the beginning of the season!
A little word for the fans. Superb! We sang loud, created a great atmosphere and made it very clear about who we were behind now. As you all know, I was pro-Ronnie but even I found myself joining in with the “Ronnie, what’s the score” chants at the end. A great win for us and the day ended in fine style for us as we ended up doing a pub crawl across Woodhead Pass and arrived back in Rotherham some time after 9pm!