Poleon pushes for start after goal-den show

Photo: PICTURE by ALAN HOWARTH.

ALL-SQUARE . . . Dominic Poleon gets a hug from Lee Croft after equalising for Oldham on Saturday.

Oldham boss David Dunn can head to Port Vale tomorrow with plenty of confidence after his squad’s clean bill of health in the derby clash against Wigan.

The first battle of the two Latics since 2003 ended 1-1 as home side Oldham profited from the visitors’ reduction to 10 men with 20 minutes to go.

Max Power put Wigan ahead in the first half, only for sub Dominic Poleon to equalise after Jordan Flores’s red card - giving Latics two draws in two games since Dunn took charge.

Aside from a painful-looking bang to the shoulder for loan defender Jonathan Burn, Oldham emerged unscathed from the weekend, and now attention turns to the next league game at Vale Park.

Oldham don’t appear short of attacking options now. Poleon’s late goal and overall excellent showing after replacing Liam Kelly will have presumably thrust him back into the reckoning for a start, while last season’s top scorer Jonathan Forte will also be available following his three-match ban.

Boss Dunn said: “Dominic looked really lively when he came on. He certainly gave me food for thought for tomorrow. I was delighted with him. He made a big impact and that was pleasing.”

Michael Higdon replaced Poleon in the starting line-up against Wigan and almost scored after just 12 minutes when his header was palmed on to a post by goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell.

With Jay Fulton also impressing on debut following his loan switch from Swansea, Dunn will have decisions to make ahead of the Vale Park game.

“Both Michael and Jay both did well to get in 90 minutes,” added Dunn. “I was pleased for them both, there’s definitely much more to come.”