Oldham Athletic manager Lee Johnson was disappointed to see his side’s 13-game unbeaten run end with a 1-0 defeat to league-leaders Bristol City on Saturday, but insists he has a lot to remain positive about.
Oldham’s impressive run briefly took them into the League One play-off places, a feat they hadn’t managed since the opening weekend of last season.
But Johnson remains upbeat after the end of this remarkable run and says his side have to move past this loss.
“Obviously I’m disappointed to lose the run, but more importantly I’m disappointed to lose the game,” he said.
“The lads were fantastic today. We played some great stuff against a good Bristol City side after the first 15 minutes where I thought we came out of the blocks a little bit slow.
“However, we move forward now and we take the good bits of the game and the positives and we move on.”
Kieran Agard finished off a well-worked free-kick routine just before the hour mark to ensure the Robins extended their own unbeaten run to 21 league games.
Dominic Poleon forced Bristol keeper Frankie Fielding into a late save, but Oldham could not find an equaliser at Ashton Gate.
“We gave it a good go today and I can’t be too despondent with the players as there are ginormous gaps between the two clubs as far as infrastructure and budget go,” Johnson said.
“Obviously it was a good free-kick from their point of view, but a poor free-kick defensively from ours.
“Although on the day we just came up short, there’s an awful lot to be positive about and go forward on.
“I thought we had some good breaks without really having that bit of end product that’s going to be important on a day like today.”
Saturday’s defeat was the Latics’ first loss since mid-August and saw them drop to ninth in the table.
But Johnson was keen not to dwell on this and believes his side can recover.
“As far as the run is concerned, we do need to build again, but generally we will keep sticking to our principles,” he said.
“We move on from this game now. I’ve told the players we must learn from this. It was a top of the table clash with both teams in good form and it showed today.”
The Latics’ exciting run has galvanized fans with impressive attendances, both home and away, and enthusiastic crowds.
Once again, Johnson was appreciative of the travelling support, reserving special praise for the 490 Latics’ fans who travelled down to Bristol.
He said: “I thought our fans were fantastic today. There were a big section of them singing their heart out until the end and I want to thank them on behalf of the players and myself.”
Main image courtesy of OAFC Official via YouTube, with thanks.
