Manager Keith Hill reacts to Dale’s 3-1 defeat at Oldham…
The Latics’ Cameron Dummigan opened the scoring after just two minutes, but Matty Done equalised 14 minutes later. Eoin Doyle’s two late goals secured the points for the Latics,
“It was a fair result in the end,” Hill told iFollow.
“We were well in the game after a worst case scenario start. There’s no way their full-back should be scoring in that manner.
“Preparation has been brilliant but, as we’ve been talking about with the players, it’s about stepping over that white line and executing the game plan better.
“At 1-1, going into the embers of the game, we had a great opportunity. I thought the game was opening up, as we expected, and they score from a free-kick after we’ve left League One’s leading goal scorer free as a bird. That’s wrong and that’s down to an individual player mistake. That’s the small detail, but unfortunately, the big detail is that we’ve been beaten.”
He continued: “The game was in the balance at 1-1. There was a lot of huffing and puffing and we had that one chance where you’re thinking ‘score that and the game has really opened up’.
“We got Joe Bunney on and we were stretching their midfield width wise, and it was just a question of whether we could take care of their strikers, which were doing to a certain degree. But when the dead ball situation occurs, the players should see it as a red zone and they should be on high alert. You can’t leave Doyle in the box – he’s got a designated marker who has got to do better.
“If you don’t heed the warning signs you get hurt, and we’ve been hurt today. Doyle is a good player and their third goal is a wonderful goal – it’s a wonderful piece of skill for a player who shouldn’t be playing in League One. That, for me, is a crying shame – he should be playing in the Championship, but he’s come to Oldham and he’s doing exceptionally well here.
“His third goal is a contender for goal of the day but that doesn’t take away the pain that I’m feeling after losing this football match.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.