Fondop double proves enough to see off Curzon

Action from Latics' 6-1 thumping of Chorley last Tuesday night

Latics striker Mike Fondop scored twice as Latics beat Curzon Ashton 2-1 on Saturday at the Tameside Stadium.

David Unsworth's side notched their second successive win on their travels in a comfortable performance which will doubtless boost morale and fitness with the National League season now only two weeks away.

Boss Unsworth hinted at what potentially could be the core of his preferred first XI in his first half team, particularly partnering Fondop and Alex Reid as strike partners again after the two players had hammered four goals between them in the 6-1 demolition of National Conference North side Chorley at the hosts Victory Park ground in midweek.

New signing Shaun Hobson was this time in at right back and the deployment of 'keeper Matt Hudson saw Magnus Norman again remaining on the bench.

Latics, therefore, initially played a back line of Hobson, Hogan, Raglan and Kitching, a midfield of Lundstram, Shelton Ward and Devarn Green, supporting the strike partnership

The home side had fired a warning to Oldham as early as the second minute when the host’s Alex Kenyon hit the bar, but it Fondop who set the game alight in the 10th minute when his relentless pursuit of a poor back pass to Curzon keeper Cameron Mason saw the keeper struggle in the consequential battle - he eventually failed to stop Fondop scrambling the ball in the net from close range.

And it was Fondop again who found the scoring touch shortly before the break when Hobson, Ward and Reid combined to set the striker up nicely to slot the ball past an, again, hapless Mason.

The performance in the second half, as for all Latics friendlies to date, was disrupted by six substitutions.

The two strikers were first to be changed as Nuttall replaced Reid at half time, and Fondop made way for Willoughby on the hour, whilst Will Sutton came into central defence in place of Raglan at the same time before midfielders Tollitt, Couto and Hope came on for Shelton, Ward and Green with 15 minutes to go.

The game soon lost any verve, with the only real excitement for the home fans when Curzon pulled a goal back through Stefan Mols on the hour after another untidy melee in the six-yard box this time punished Latics.

However, any hopes that this would open the game up for the 1068 fans seemed to quickly fade to the inevitable 2-1 victory in the remaining half hour.

So Latics have now completed four of their six pre-season friendlies, with two draws at Hyde and Southport and two wins at Chorley and Curzon Ashton.

This week sees the remaining two matches fought against two League 2 clubs – a trip to Barrow tomorrow night before Latics play their first home game, against Mansfield Town, on their new £1m Boundary Park pitch next Saturday, exactly one week before they kick off their National League 2023/24 campaign at Southend on Saturday August 5.

Latics are listed by the bookies as one of the promotion favourites, along with Chesterfield, following a strong second half of the season last year, and, on the basis of their performances in these friendlies, they are clearly fit and ready for the challenge ahead.

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