Laurent Banide hails influence of senior players as Oldham beat Cambridge

Posted Sunday, August 25, 2019 by PA

Oldham boss Laurent Banide praised the influence of his senior players after seeing his side grab their first Sky Bet League Two win of the season with a 2-1 victory at Cambridge.

The Latics were under the cosh for long periods but captain David Wheater’s header in the 67th minute secured the victory.

They had taken a first-half lead through Urko Vera before United’s Marc Richards restored parity.

“It was important to get our first victory. I’m very happy to get started, especially against a beautiful team with very good players who made it difficult for us,” said Banide.

“We scored at good times in the match and our experienced players really helped the team – Gary Woods, David Wheater and Mohamed Maouche were excellent – and Chris Eagles gave us a lot with his technique.

“We need these players to help the young ones – Wheater is very important for the team, he gives the rest of the squad a lot of confidence. He contributes off the pitch and sets the tempo for us on it.

“We are happy today and now we must continue to improve our concentration. Now we have a week to recover and get ready for the next game.”

Oldham scored from their first attack through Vera in the 28th minute. The striker needed two bites at the cherry, seeing his shot from Eagles’ cross saved by Dimitar Mitov before he bundled in the rebound.

Cambridge dominated possession and got back on level terms seven minutes later when Richards bagged his third goal of the season, swivelling to score after being picked out by Paul Lewis.

The U’s looked set to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign as they pushed for a second, but Liam O’Neil was denied by Gary Woods and Leon Davies saw a shot hit the crossbar.

After the break the home side ran out of steam and Oldham grabbed the points when Wheater rose highest to nod in a corner from Maouche.

Cambridge boss Colin Calderwood said: “We have absolutely given the game away today. You shouldn’t lose to a team which only offered a threat on the counter or from set plays.

“Our defending for the second goal was terrible and after that, they set up really well and we struggled to maintain our tempo.

“We lacked intelligence in key moments; the ball went across the back too much, we missed chances to play wide and tried to go through the middle where it was crowded.

“We needed to be a bit braver on the ball.

“It’s entirely our own fault and one or two of the performances today weren’t good enough.

“There was only going to be a danger if we were slack with the ball, and as a team we’ve got to defend our box better.”