Hill salutes Holness display

IT was a tense finale for Rochdale manager Keith Hill, but savouring the taste of derby victory over Athletic meant the frayed nerves were worthwhile.

Hill singled out former Athletic defender Marcus Holness for praise, highlighting Dale’s rearguard action in the closing stages of the 2-1 win over their close rivals as a clear indication his young side are learning fast.

“It was a bit nervy towards the end as Oldham applied a lot of pressure, but I thought we defended really, really well,” said Hill.

“Their goalkeeper won a free header late on which makes you all the more nervy, but overall I felt we deserved the three points and that’s all that matters.

“We withstood the pressure and I cannot remember too many clear cut chances for the opposition in the second half. We knew we would come under a little bit of pressure and you have got to be able to defend, and we did just that.

There was also a tribute to two-goal hero Chris O’Grady, whose second-half strikes against his former club took the game away from the hosts.

“The second goal came about after a mistake by an Oldham player, but the finish was equally as impressive and that’s the quality Chris possesses.”