Latics troops continue the fight

IN CONTROL . . . Jonathan Forte.

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Athletic 2, Swindon 0

Three wins now at £50 a pop for the wise fans who kept the faith and took advantage of Athletic’s season ticket promotion.

Over 1,000 supporters are in that category: the nine home points so far have effectively cost Athletic £150,000, thanks to the cut-price offer that hands money back to fans when their team comes out on top.

The bean counters may be a little restless about the financial bottom line of such recent success, as the once-wretched home form has suddenly and dramatically been turned on its head. But diehard fans who have sat through thrashings by Peterborough, Scunthorpe and Southend deserve the side John Sheridan has built.

Rochdale apart, gone of late are the moments of madness in a defence that has been brilliantly marshalled by Anthony Gerrard – the sort of player whose arrival makes everyone realise exactly what had been missing. Three straight clean sheets couldn’t have been better timed.

In midfield, particularly in this dominant win over an attractive but powder-puff Swindon side in poor form, Athletic dominate opponents and have physicality allied to the wiles of astute Sheridan signing, Matt Palmer.

And up front, when hard-working Curtis Main headed in eight minutes from time to add to the opener from skipper and beating heart Liam Kelly – what a 90 minutes this was from him, by the way – the release of joy was evident all round the ground. In Sheridan they have a manager who knows exactly what he is doing.

In the new but familiar boss’s competence in the player market, in his innate feeling for the club and in his moulding of a side that refuses to give up, fans have a man in charge they can pin their hopes on.

Athletic aren’t yet out of the bottom four, but if in the seven games left the team can even go close to replicating the drive, determination and concentration on display here, relegation will be off the agenda soon enough.

Before kick-off, Sheridan faced the dilemma of dealing with the enforced absence of injury victim Aaron Amadi-Holloway. In came Cameron Dummigan, after missing the Chesterfield game for

international duty with the Northern Ireland under-21s. The unlucky man making way was Brian Wilson, who barely put a foot wrong at Burton and against Chesterfield but who hasn’t been training due to illness.

Athletic shaped up in a 4-1-3-2 formation, with the revitalised Jonathan Forte ostensibly up front with Main, but a constant menace wide on the left.

Swindon started well, with ex-Athletic man Anton Rodgers pulling the strings in a five-man midfield committed to passing on the improving surface. Then came the gut-punch: Forte raced down the left and his cross was a delight, perfectly whipped in to allow Kelly to plant an accurate header for his fifth goal of the season. The run, made with the knowledge that Timothee Dieng was screening the defence behind him, was timed to perfection.

Swindon battled back well after conceding but Athletic grew back into the game and in the second half in particular were bossing territory effectively.

Ellis Iandolo shot over when he might have done better from the edge of the box but that was a rare foray into Athletic’s defensive third.

James Wilson glanced a Palmer corner wide as Sheridan's men upped the pressure and Tareiq Holmes-Dennis saw a rapid burst into the box end with a low centre hacked clear before it reached Forte.

Still Athletic applied pressure, with Kelly imposing his authority and Rodgers losing his cool against his former club-mate as Swindon waned.

Luke Williams’ side was reduced to pot-shots from Jamie Sendles-White and Doughty, but when the second goal arrived they could have no complaints.

In an increasingly fractious game, Anthony Gerrard and Raphael Rossi-Branco were booked as a shoving match preceded a free-kick from Palmer. The ball was cleared but when Wilson lobbed back in, Main was there to nod over Belford for his richly deserved first goal for Athletic.

Main is clearly loving it at Athletic. The feelgood factor is back and for now at least, Sheridan can do no wrong, as wallets bulge and hearts fill with pride.