Fans’ hopes rocket as Latics sink high-fliers

ACTION STATIONS: Matt Palmer leaves an opponent trying to play catch-up.

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Athletic 2, Gillingham 1

IT LOOKED to be another mission impossible.

Sixteen months had passed since Athletic last came from a goal down at home to win. This season, the long-suffering home support had seen their side on the wrong end of half-time scores in league clashes 10 times. Only once – Wigan at home, a 1-1 draw – had Athletic recovered to gain anything from those fixtures.

After Doug Loft had smashed the Gills in front with a superb 35-yard effort 16 minutes in, the omens looked poor for John Sheridan’s men to turn fortunes around. And to make it worse, rivals near the bottom were sitting pretty. Had Athletic not forced a victory here, then the chances of getting out of the bottom-four would have been significantly reduced.

But this side appears, finally, to be made of sterner stuff. Sheridan’s men kept going and the pressure built in the second half.

Front two Aaron Amadi-Holloway and Curtis Main, who both spurned half-chances in the opening period, continued to plough away, bumping defenders around, holding up the ball and providing a platform to play off on a difficult pitch.

Then Timothee Dieng, who epitomises the recent improvement that has seen Athletic go four matches unbeaten, netted with a neat back-flicked header from a chipped delivery from the outstanding Matt Palmer shortly before the hour.

The crowd was energised and the team found an extra spring in its step, taking the tricky surface out of the equation.

Up stepped James Wilson, again impressive as a right-back offering support getting forward, to tee in the sort of cross that keeps defenders awake at night. Jonathan Forte stepped in from the left wing and though his wasn’t the cleanest of connections, it was enough to slide the ball home.

In the end, as Main continued to press, Athletic might have had a third. Anthony Gerrard headed in but was penalised from what appeared a harsh call for a foul on goalkeeper Stuart Nelson.

It didn’t matter, though. Three points were taken with some ease in the end. And though Sheridan’s survival challenge is in no way simple to negotiate from here on in, it could be that – in the words of Athletic’s great David Eyres – the finest achievement of his stellar career is now in sight.

Sheridan’s side started well, though, buoyed by recent form which saw them have the better of scoreless draws at Wigan and Blackpool.

Daniel Lafferty forced a diving two-handed save from Nelson off a 25-yard free-kick and Main flicked one wide of the near post, before Justin Edinburgh's side hit Athletic with a bolt from the blue.

Hesitancy in the home defence saw Coleman first stay on his line then come out to block from Dominic Samuel with his body. A half-clearance fell for Loft in space and he controlled, composed himself and lashed in a drive that flew past Coleman.

Main forced a solid stop from Nelson with a lovely turn and low shot from the edge of the area soon after that and Amadi-Holloway smashed wastefully over after initially doing well to win possession.

When Dieng rose to nod in, it ended a goal drought lasting five hours of play.

Athletic had the scent. Coleman did well to tip over a rising shot from Gills’ £2million-plus rated midfield star Bradley Dack, but the pressure was mainly one-way.

Wilson did well to collect Bradley Garmston’s failed clearance, power forward and put in a cross even David Beckham would have been proud of.

That’s a suitable comparison, given Sheridan’s lauding of Palmer as Athletic’s very own Scholes-a-like in midfield.

There is an awful lot of work to do yet. Given Fleetwood’s superior goal difference, the gap to safety is effectively five points. There exists real hope, though, that Sheridan can now turn things around.