Latics safe and well

Photo: Alan Howarth

Dominic Poleon

ON the same day as Athletic earned a fifth win in seven games, barely impressing but grinding along to another bloody-minded three points to set the seal on a rousing rescue act, a glance much further down the pyramid system serves as a reminder as to what an extraordinary campaign this has been.

To end up at more or less the same destination as is the norm – the post-John Sheridan era from 2009 has brought end-of-season points tallies of 52, 56, 54, 51, 56, 57 and the current 54 with two games left – Athletic have taken more wrong turns than a dodgy taxi driver.

The first manager of the season, Darren Kelly, this month ended up trying, but failing to rescue Hyde from relegation in a six-game spell at the Evo-Stik League Northern Premier Division in which each fixture was lost.

He is not being kept on at Ewen Fields for next season, effectively being told three times in a single term that his services are not required after also losing employment at Halifax in the Vanarama National League last November.

As for the second manager, David Dunn started off as a player under Kelly before becoming first interim and then permanent player-manager. He is now assisting at Blackburn Rovers' under-21s after only winning three times from 20 attempts with Athletic. He graciously took to Twitter to congratulate the club, saying: "Well done on staying up! Change did you good."

TRADITIONAL

The third manager needed no introduction when unveiled three months ago.

Sheridan had no whizz-bang presentation full of buzzwords to hypnotise a room full of directors.

Battle-hardened and wary of giving too much away to anyone, you can't imagine his office wall bedecked with charts marking out the 'individual brilliance zone'.

After several let-downs, Athletic's wary fans trust traditional methods over highfalutin language.

On the pitch, basics have been hammered down. The turnaround in results has been sensational for a side so down on its haunches.

Six of the nine wins achieved since Sheridan came back have been by 1-0 scorelines.

The team defends as a unit, the manager stresses, but it can't be mere coincidence that key signing Anthony Gerrard now has a total of eight shut-outs in his 16 appearances for the club this term.

Nine 1-1 draws before Gerrard's arrival suggested the lack of a defensive commander had been a major factor in the pre-Sheridan malaise.

At home, on what has been a cabbage patch of a pitch thanks in no small part to poor weather, pragmatism rather than pyrotechnics has been the order laid down of late.

Athletic aren't as pleasing on the eye as a lot of sides - here, Crewe were especially stylish - but victories have flooded in.

SUMMONED

Conventional wisdom has it that a club of Athletic's standing needs to be injury-free to enjoy consistent success. Sheridan hasn't enjoyed such a benefit.

Here, with Jack Tuohy out with a hamstring strain, for the second straight game the substitutes' bench had only six players on it.

Yet still, even down to the bare bones and playing poorly for most of the 90 minutes, Athletic summoned up the will to win again.

One game is left to play at SportsDirect.com Park, against Coventry on Sunday week, in which Sheridan will aim to make it five straight victories on home soil.

George Edmundson started and the 18-year-old centre-back made it two clean sheets from two outings on an impressive home debut.

Athletic could have been breached more than once.

Crewe's Marcus Haber wasted a terrific chance after eight minutes when glancing a corner kick wide from eight yards and also forced a very sharp save from the outstanding Joel Coleman, a goalkeeper who will only continue to attract interest from higher divisions with efforts as composed, decisive and athletic as this.

Callum Saunders – son of former Wales star Dean – was one on one with Coleman five minutes before half-time as Athletic, flat after the midweek journey to Southend, struggled to get out of first gear.

Trying to bend it round the goalkeeper with his left foot, he found Coleman on him quickly to effect a terrific block.

Curtis Main saw a volley well stopped by Alex ’keeper Ben Garratt and also fired an effort over the top from a tricky angle, but Athletic were quiet until scoring the only goal.

Timothee Dieng, who increasingly looks the part as a destructive defensive midfield player of note, provided the assist after somehow finding himself deep in opposing territory on the left flank.

Forte controlled with his back to goal, pinned his marker and spun before shooting left-footed from 10 yards.

Garratt stretched out a right hand and though he removed power from the shot, could not help it striking a post and travelling across slowly to nestle in the opposite side-netting.

Main went close from a cross by Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, before Coleman produced a stunning effort to arch his back and palm over a pinpoint Brad Inman attempt from 20 yards that was heading for the top corner.

SHARP

Dominic Poleon might have made it two but for a sharp tip-over from Garratt, but that would have been supremely harsh on Crewe.

Athletic got the job done again, leaving Sheridan to train his sights on a better league position in a year's time.

It's a tough job, as previous candidates have shown, but if anyone can achieve the improbable then it is fair to say the right man is in charge to do so.