Daniel Johnson scored his second and third goals for Oldham Athletic as they coasted to a 3-0 win over Rochdale AFC in a local derby that had been dubbed ‘El FlatCapico’.
Jonathan Forte scored a second-half penalty to take his tally for the season to 13, and to add gloss to the score line.
Oldham manager Lee Johnson was ‘delighted’ with his team’s performance, and now they are back in the League One play-off places, he expects his side to consolidate their position.
“We had a good shape about us, the boys worked hard,” he said.
“Rochdale worked their socks off too, they never stopped running right until the end and it was difficult for us. Without a doubt it was a tough game.
“I think that the 3-0 score line flatters us maybe a little bit, but what I would say is we were very, very professional and solid and strong as unit and limited them to very few chances.”
The Latics extended their unbeaten run to three league games in front of 3,250 fans who made the short trip up the A627.
Their away support was the largest travelling contingent in League One this weekend, and was described as ‘ridiculous’ by two-goal hero Daniel Johnson.
“Ridiculous. Ridiculous. It was mayhem over there. I’m really delighted they helped us today,” he said.
“The atmosphere from our fans was brilliant. That drove us through the game as well.”
The win sees Oldham climb further up the table and extend their unbeaten run to three league games.
Manager Lee Johnson described their emphatic victory as a ‘statement result’ and now that his side are back in the top six, he wants them to stay there and climb even higher.
“I think we can improve on today, I really do,” he said.
“I think our passing was nowhere near as good as it usually is, and if we can get both sides to our game, the solidness and the strength as unit, defensively, and a bit better attacking movements and attacking play, we’ll certainly be a force.
“It’s brilliant to move into the play-offs, but there’s a long way to go.
“We’re using that, not as a negative, but as a positive. We can still improve and we can still catch people above us.”
Main image courtesy of OAFC via YouTube, with thanks.
