Salute to strikers

Photo: Anthony Miller

Oldham Athletic 2 v Oxford United 1. Pic shows Lee Erwin celebrating his first goal.

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JOHN Sheridan paid tribute to his new-look strike partnership after gaining a vital win over Oxford.

Lee Erwin scored twice, the first from a rebound after Aaron Amadi-Holloway had struck a shot off the crossbar, either side of an equalising Chris Maguire penalty.

The three points gained means that while Athletic are still 20th ahead of the trip to Peterborough on Saturday, they are now only two points behind Gillingham in 16th and five clear of Port Vale in 21st.

"We had the better chances and Aaron Amadi-Holloway was outstanding," said a delighted Sheridan, after a seventh win in 14 outings since he returned as manager.

"I would have loved him to score and he was a real handful all night.

'GREAT'

"Lee got his two goals and was in the right place at the right time.

"Strikers' goals are the best goals. For the first one, Aaron hit a great shot and I thought it was over the line. But Lee anticipated it and for the second, he read the ball in and guided it in. It was a good little finish."

The game had been built up by Sheridan as a "must-win" following the draw with Bury and he was left delighted with the way his players reacted.

"It was an excellent win against a really good team," Sheridan said. "Their away form was excellent and after a really good season last year are doing very well in this division.

"It was a magnificent performance from us - and we deserved to win the game as well.

'APPLAUD'

"There was great desire from the players and I can only applaud them. They knew the importance of getting three points after Saturday. I made that clear and they went out and gave me everything I wanted from them.

"I wouldn't like to play against us at the moment. I am disappointed with the penalty that we gave to them and that's what I am thinking about, more than us scoring the goals. I couldn't see them scoring as we do defend with a lot of heart and have Connor Ripley in goal playing really well."

The one negative on a happy night for Athletic was the loss of left-back Rob Hunt to injury after 41 minutes.

"It is his hamstring," said Sheridan, who rested Hunt for the Bury game due to a similar issue. "I am gutted for him and he was fit to play. We are hoping it's not too serious."

While results elsewhere went for Athletic - Swindon, Port Vale, Gillingham and MK Dons all lost - Sheridan says he will continue to be single-minded in his approach for the run-in to the end of the season.

"I am not bothered," he said, when asked about other scorelines. "We got three points and that's the most important thing. Keep winning and everything else takes care of itself."