Attendance: 6, 944, (Away: 885)

Match Referee: Trevor Kettle (Rutland)

CLICK HERE FOR FULL MATCH STATISTICS AND TEAM LINE-UPS

This wasn’t a great performance from Rovers by any stretch but the fact that it was still harsh that they didn’t get a point just shows that Oldham themselves are not that much better than Rovers despite moving top thanks to a late fluke that saw Gavin Ward punch the ball into his own goal to hand Oldham a gift in injury time.

Oldham had the better goal-scoring chances as Chris Porter missed an early sitter and late on in the second half Chris Hall struck the Rovers post with Ward beaten but the ball was cleared to safety.

In the end though it was a fluke that won it at Chris Porter hoofed the ball hopefully into the penalty area and Gavin Ward flapped before punching the ball into his own net to deny the visitors a deserved point.

Ronnie Moore made three changes to the side, two of them enforced due to injury.  The injured defensive duo of Ian Goodison and Shane Sherriff were replaced in the starting line-up by returning loan player John Thompson and left-back Carl Tremarco.

Moore’s other change was also on the left side of the pitch as he replaced Steve Davies with Kevin Ellison.

The home side had more of the early possession and top scorer Chris Porter missed a sitter when Chris Taylor squared for him in the Rovers penalty area but the striker shot weakly into the arms of Ward.

Rovers best chance of the first half came from a Paul McLaren free-kick but Chris Greenacre, who had done well to beat his marker to the ball, headed over when it looked easier to score.

For Rovers the central midfield looked sluggish from the start with Ellison and Shuker having little effect on the wings whilst on the contrary, the central defensive partnership of Chris McCready and John Thompson were looking comfortable and a half time score of 0-0 was suitable for Rovers.

The second half was similar to the first in terms of the overall play as both sides played a lot of high balls although the home side did look the most likely to break the deadlock.

A superb last ditch tackle from the faultless John Thompson to deny Chris Porter kept Rovers in the game and Chris McCready blocked well from Richie Wellens.

With fifteen minutes remaining, Steve Davies replaced the relatively ineffective Chris Shuker but with Ellison equally as ineffective on the other wing and the midfield not looking as lively as they should have done, Rovers fans would have been happy to take the point.

With just a minute remaining, Chris Hall beat Ward with a low shot that struck the inside of the post and rebounded for Ward to gather but into injury time the home side snatched a harsh winner with a flukey goal in which Ward had a big hand – quite literally.

Chris Porter ran free down the Oldham right and hoofed a hopeful high ball into the penalty area in the rough direction of Chris Hall.  Unfortunately for Rovers, Gavin Ward, under some pressure from Hall but not to the extent that he was fouled, punched the ball up and into his own net for an own goal.

It was heartbreak for the Rovers fans and somewhat harsh but the game was not over there.  There was still time for Gareth Taylor to strike a bullet of a shot at goal that was expertly saved by Les Pogliacomi.

In the dying seconds, Richie Wellens was sent off for a midfield scuffle but Oldham moved to the top of League One after this win.

Next up for Rovers is Doncaster at home next Saturday (10th February) – Kick-Off 3.00pm.

John Thompson – The on loan Forest defender showed Rovers fans what they had been missing since his return to Forest with a superb performance at the back alongside the also good Chris McCready.

LINK: YOUR MAN OF THE MATCH AND PLAYER RATINGS

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