Pete Wild signs off with impressive Latics win

Pete Wild signs off with a win

For the first time since New Year’s Day, Oldham Athletic have recorded a win in the league and also sent caretaker manager Pete Wild back to the academy with a smile on his face thanks to a 3-0 win at Crawley Town.

With Paul Scholes set to become Latics new manager after being cleared to do so by the Football League last week, his soon to be players put in a performance that ranks among the best of the season so far.

Crawley did have the best of the chances to break the deadlock during the first half, David Sesay saw his shot blocked by Peter Clarke and also blazed over just before halftime.

With 16 minutes to go it looked like the game was heading towards a draw, but Oldham’s Johan Branger had other ideas.

He struck a superb 25-yard free-kick which flew into the back of the net to open the scoring.

They doubled their lead just over ten minutes later when Zak Dearnley notched his first for the club after joining on loan from Manchester United after being found by Branger.

The points were safe deep into stoppage time with Gevaro Nepomuceno squeezing home from a tight angle.

The victory gave Latics their first win since the opening day of 2019, and also pushed them up to 14th in the League Two table, nine points off the playoff places with a game in hand over the majority of those above them.

It was also the perfect send off for Pete Wild who will end his six-week spell in caretaker charge of the side on Monday (11th February).

Next up for Oldham Athletic will be a home game against Yeovil Town on Tuesday (12th February) and give Latics’ fans the first chance to welcome their new manager, believed to be Paul Scholes, to the club.