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25/9/2007 DARWEN 4 OLDHAM TOWN 0 Darwen produced one of their best displays of the season to defeat high flying Oldham Town in this Vodkat League Division Two match. Oldham looked very dangerous in the first half, and were unlucky not to take the lead after ten minutes. A Darwen move broke down, and a pass found Curley unmarked on the right wing. He swiftly progressed to within twenty yards of goal, unleashing a volley on the run before he could be closed down. The strike beat Nathan Worrell in goal, but hit the post, rebounding to safety. Five minutes later, Curley received a corner ball on the edge of the area, but put his shot wide with the home defence scrambling to block. Darwen’s first clear chance came on twenty minutes, as Dennis Hill swung a free kick from inside the Oldham half into the penalty area. Ben Stanford jumped highest and headed down, but saw his effort go by the post. However, within five minutes, he had opened Darwen’s account when he met a Matt Morris cross with a powerful header giving McWatt in goal no chance. Straight from kick-off, the away side missed a good opportunity to level, as Curley and Scanlon interchanged passes at pace. Scanlon raced into the area, avoiding two tackles, but Nathan Worrell was quickly out to shadow the striker across the danger area, then bravely dive at his feet to clutch the ball. Oldham continued to be dangerous with quick breaks, but Darwen produced one of their own at the end of the half, as Neil Almond fed Dennis Hill down the wing. His looping cross arrived at Matt Morris’s feet whose instinctive shot hit the cross-bar, but Morris reacted quicker than the defence to head the rebound into the net. A minute later, another good combination by Curley and Scanlon saw the ball in the back of the Darwen net, but to the home side’s relief, the offside flag had been raised. Half Time: Darwen 2 Oldham Town 0 Early in the second half, Matt Morris powered home a shot in Oldham’s area, with McWatt having to make a great point blank save to deny the striker. At the other end, Daniel Finch made a wonderful saving tackle when it seemed that Scanlon was through on goal. As the away side strived to get something from the game, more gaps were left at the back, and Stuart Telfer, Matt Morris, and Jon Stephenson all went close. The pressure paid off on 70 minutes when Matt Howarth outpaced the defence to cross to the far post, where Jason Jones was waiting to volley the ball home. Oldham now looked a beaten side, with their passing game starting to fall apart. The Salmoners’ fourth goal came as a result of another failed move, as Jason Jones crossed for Jon Stephenson to hook the ball over the Oldham line. Full Time: Darwen 4 Oldham Town 0 ATTENDANCE: 75 REFEREE: Victor Evans ASSISTANTS: Matt Pope, Ian Muncaster GOALS: Darwen: Stanford (24), Morris (44), Jones (70), Stephenson (77) TEAMS: Oldham Town 1. Gareth McWatt 2. Lee Deakin 3. Tom Matley 4. Jonathan Phillips 5. Ryan Hewitt 6. Nicholas Thompson 7. Matty Russell 8. Mick Murphy 9. Darren Scanlon 10. James Curley 11. Leon Melia 12. Lee Scanlon (replaced Curley, 60 minutes) 14. Neal Spiers (replaced Darren Scanlon, 72 minutes) 15. Marcus King 16. John Joyce 17. Justin Andrew Darwen 1. Nathan Worrell 2. Dominic Slaven 3. Neil Almond 4. Daniel Finch 5. Stuart Telfer 6. Martin Parkes 7. Craig Chadwick 8. Jason Jones 9. Ben Stanford 10. Matt Morris 11. Dennis Hill 12. Jon Stevenson (replaced Stanford, 60 minutes) 14. Kieran Wood (replaced Chadwick, 72 minutes) 15. Joshua Eastwood 16. Joseph Darwin 17. Matt Howarth (replaced Matt Morris, 60 minutes) |
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The Anchor Ground, Anchor Road, Darwen, Lancashire. BB3 0BB
The Anchor Ground, Anchor Road, Darwen, Lancashire. BB3 0BB