Oldham boss Richie Wellens aggrieved over referee decisions

Posted Sunday, April 08, 2018 by PA

Oldham boss Richie Wellens felt aggrieved that the Latics were not awarded at least one penalty in their 0-0 draw at Oxford.

The result from a nervy encounter at the Kassam Stadium leaves Oldham two points above the bottom four in Sky Bet League One, and Oxford five points above the drop zone.

In a game of very few goalscoring chances, Oldham appealed for a spot-kick when James Henry appeared to push Wilfried Moimbe in the back in the first half, and then when Henry put his hands on Rob Hunt inside the box in the second half.

Wellens said: “I’m disappointed the referee didn’t give us a penalty.

“For the first 20 minutes Oxford were the better team and started better than us.

“We created no really clear-cut chances, but there were a couple of penalties in there. I didn’t see the first one but everyone who has seen it says the second one was a clear-cut penalty.”

He added: “If you’d have offered me a point before the game I would probably have been OK with it.

“We didn’t really have any clear chances but we had so many opportunities and Jack Byrne has had one cleared off the line.”

Oldham had to reshuffle with Tom Hamer coming on to take over at centre back when Kean Bryan went off injured after 18 minutes – and Wellens enthused about Hamer’s showing.

“When you come on in that situation and you’re only 18 years old, you either sink or swim and Tom did brilliantly,” Wellens said.

“To me, Tom Hamer’s got every chance of going to the top, and even one day playing in the Premier League. Probably not as a centre back, but at right back.

“Our young centre backs defended the goal line like really experienced defenders.”

New Oxford United head coach Karl Robinson is still waiting for his first win in charge after four games.

“We’ve been conceding masses of goals so to keep a clean sheet will give the players a lot of confidence and it’s something for us to build on,” Robinson insisted.

“I can’t ask any more from everyone in terms of effort, not just the players but the whole club – the staff and the fans as well. I’m soaked through with sweat too from urging them on.

“It’s just looking like we are lacking a bit of confidence when we get into the final third.”

Asked about the Henry push for a possible penalty in the second half, Robinson conceded: “It probably was.”

He added: “When I first came here I wondered how you can get an atmosphere in the ground when it’s got only three stands, but there was certainly an atmosphere today, with our supporters willing us on.

“I’m learning about this football club all the time and about how much passion there is here.

“We’ve got a big game here now on Tuesday but I know what it’s like both at the top and the bottom at the back ends of seasons.

“We’ve all got to play a lot of difficult games between now and the end.”