Oldham Athletic v Leeds United preview

The euphoria of Saturdays thrilling victory has hardly subsided and we are already preparing for our next test against fellow promotion hopefuls Oldham Athletic, thanks to the Sky TV schedule.  It does give us a chance however to keep the momentum of Saturdays battling performance going and plant ourselves firmly in the play off positions and nicely tucked in behind the 2nd automatic promotion spot.  Hang on a minute this is far too optimistic..................it's only 2 weeks since our disastrous trip to Cider country and a shameful 2:0 reverse against mighty Hereford so how can things be so rosy?  I suppose the answer to that is simple Jermaine Beckford.  If ever a game demonstrated the fine line between defeat and victory it was our tussle with Scunny and JB's two goals were not only priceless in the context of the result but showed  just how much we miss his electric pace and ability to score goals nobody else in the team or for that matter the division would aspire to.

One thing in our favour tonight is the presence of the TV cameras as a certain Mr Beckford does like to strut his stuff in the full glare of the wider TV audience as he has already notched 2 hat tricks and a brace of goals to add to his TV CV this season.  Howson will be missing after his indiscretion on Saturday.................it's a shame because he seems to be just peaking at the right time of the season, and with Robbo missing through a hamstring injury Larry will have to do some more juggling with his team.

Oldham will be no pushover as they showed when they silenced the big crowd at the first Elland Road match of the season.  They themselves had a lift by scoring in the last minute to beat the faltering Millwall on Saturday and will be relishing playing in front of a near capacity crowd at Boundary Park albeit bolstered by over 4000 whites fans making the short journey over the hill.

  Oldham's away kit when they came to ER was a sight for sore eyes, fluorescent yellow something reminiscent of what motorway repair men wear.................but in tonight's match they will surpass even that sartorial faux pas when they appear in a shocking Pink kit.  Now much as they will get some predictable flack from the big Leeds following it is all in a very good cause, a breast cancer charity, so once we've sung a couple of renditions of "We can see you holding hands" and "All the nice boys love a Sailor" I'm sure the majority of fans will be dipping in their pockets to support such an admirable gesture.

I just hope that by the end of the match the Sky analysts have got there technology trained on Mr Beckford's goals and not his Elbow!

MOT