Chinnor 47-10 Cornish Pirates ( att : 2,231 ) – 2025/6 English Champ

December 20, 2025

Today’s pre-Christmas entertainment saw Chinnor entertain Cornish Pirates as 7^th hosted 4^th in round 11 of the English Champ, but with only two points separating the two sides in the league table.

Chinnor Update

Two weeks ago Chinnor lost their 100% home record as they were narrowly beaten 6-11 by Nottingham in awful conditions. However, Chinnor bounced back on Saturday with a 55-15 victory at bottom side Cambridge, scoring 8 tries and 36 unanswered second half points. Chinnor now had a 6-0-4 record but today marked a run of four consecutive matches against the sides currently in the top 4 in the table.

Previous Meetings

Last season was the first time these two clubs had met, and Pirates narrrowly came out on top in both encounters. In Penzance in November, Pirates edge to a 15-13 victory in front of a Friday night crowd of 1,272. Pirates also won the return by two points, emerging victorious 33-31 in April at Kingsey Road, just holding off a stirring second half comeback from Chinnor after Pirates had led 33-12 at half-time. 1,867 were in attendance.

Fatbear’s report on the match at Chinnor included a brief histroy of Pirates, their squad and the player connections between the two clubs.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2025/04/chinnor-31-33-cornish-pirates-att-1595.html 

Cornish Pirates This Season

Pirates finished fourth last season, and were currently on track to achieve a similar placed finish this season.

Pirates arrived with a 5-1-4 record but despite having fewer victories than Chinnor they had earned more bonus points.  Away from the Mennaye, Pirates were 2-0-2.

Pirates started the season poorly, suffering two narrow defeats, 21-22 at home to Hartpury then 26-21 at Ampthill, where Saracens wonderkid Noah Calouri scored two tries for The Mob. Pirates were then held at home to a 15-15 draw by Doncaster Knights.

Results improved as five consecutive victories were racked up as they overcame London Scottish ( A 38-10 ), Caldy ( H 38-27 ), Nottingham ( A 36-28 ), Cambridge ( H 52-0 ) and Richmond ( H 28-19 ).

However, Pirates had been beaten in their last two outings, losing 24-40 at Worcester Warriors and then 26-27 at home to Bedford Blues, thanks to a late penalty.

The average home attendance for Pirates this season over their 6 matches was 1,570, with the highest attendance being 1,722 for the visit of Richmond. This was slightly up from the 1,531 average for last season.

In comparison, after only 4 home matches, the average for Chinnor was 1,460, although that figure was dented by the lower than usual crowd for the Nottingham game due to the extreme weather. Last season’s average at Chinnor was 1,793.

Cornish Pirates Squad

Former Dragons, Jersey Reds and Cardiff Welsh fly-half Arwel Robson was the leading scorer with 47 points, just ahead of livewire scrum half Dan Hiscock, who had 9 tries to his name, and wing Arthur Relton with 7 tries.

Of the Pirates players mentioned in last season’s match, winger Matt McNab, who scored four tries that day, is now with Doncaster Knights, hooker Harry Hocking is now with Richmond, centre Charlie McCaig had joined Edinburgh after being on loan from Exeter Chiefs, fly-half Bruce Houston was now playing in the French third tier with AS Bressane, wing Robin Wedlake had dropped two levels to play for Camborne, and hooker Dylan Irvine signed for Cambridge. The whereabouts of ex-Chinnor prop Jay Tyack was unknown to Fatbear !

This season Pirates had four dual registered players from Exeter Chiefs, full-back Louie Sinclair, who played for Taunton Titans last season, lock Alfie Bell, back-row forward Jack Forsythe and hooker Sol Moody.

Hooker Morgan Nelson had returned to the club after a season at Gloucester and prop Alfie Petch had played for Exeter Chiefs, Northampton Saints, Biarritz, Gloucester, and after a loan to Pirates last season, signed permanently for this campaign. USA back-row forward Tomiwa Agbongbon, who was on a season long loan last season from Ealing Trailfinders, had signed up again for this season.

Centre Chester Ribbons had previously been at Exeter University, as had fellow centre Joe Elderkin, who began his career at Redruth. Irish prop Alessandro Heaney has signed on loan for the rest of the season from US Major League Rugby side RFC Los Angeles.

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Penzance to Thame is 290 miles and should normally take five hours. It’s Pirates third shortest journey this season after Hartpury University and Worcester Warriors. A decent number of Pirates supporters had made the journey, but unlike last year I didn’t spy any of them wearing kilts in the cold weather !

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was sunny with blue skies with a temperature of 8 degrees, although it felt a lot colder than that. The infamous Chinnor breeze was at its most gentle.

Adult tickets purchased online were £16 and £20 at the gate, and an online programme had been produced in advance of today’s game.

Pirates made three changes to the XV that started against Bedford Blues with Matty Ward replacing Harry Yates on the wing, Ollie Andrews replacing Alfie Petch at tight-head prop, and Alessandro Heany was in for Will Young at loosehead prop.

Chinnor made six changes to the side that thrashed Cambridge. Back in were hooker Alun Walker, prop Robin Hardwick, lock Conor Brockschmidt, flanker Will Cave, scrum-half Luke Carter, and wing Keiran Goss, with Luke Thompson, Kabous Bezuidenheut Callum Rafferty, Geroge Stokes, Callum Pascoe and Nick Smith missing out. Thompson, Rafferty and Pascoe were amongst the substitutes though.

Pirates were in a kit of mostly purple shirts and black shorts and socks rather than their usual red and black shirts. Chinnor were in their usual black and white hooped shirts.

Match Report

Pirates kicked off towards the ring-road end with the sun in their eyes and with the floodlights already on. Chinnor returned the restart and Pirates full-back Sinclair made the catch and set-up a ruck close to his 10 metre line. Robson’s high kick was fielded by Chinnor wing Kieron Goss and Chinnor kicked back into the Pirates half. The kick-tennis continued until Robson sent a fine kick bouncing into touch inside the Chinnor 22, but the referee took play back for a Pirates penalty on the half-way line.

Robson kicked to mid-way inside the Chinnor half, but the home side won the Pirates’ throw and appeared to knock-on in midfield, but the referee allowed play to continue and Chinnor kicked high for Pirates wing Relton to make the catch. Both sides then knocked on, so it was a scrum to Chinnor on half-way.

Chinnor centre James Bourton made a good break through the centre of the Pirates defence, and Carter then chipped deep into the Pirates 22 where a Pirates defender fumbled and the ball was fly-hacked forwards towards the Pirates line. A penalty advantage to Chinnor came to nothing, so it was back for a 5 metre line-out.

Lock Jamie Campbell secured possession for Chinnor, but the rolling maul and several drives for the line were repelled. Chinnor let their backs have the ball, and a pass through his legs by hooker Walker gave centre Sam Hanks an easy run to the line. Fly-half Nathan Chamberlain added the extras to give Chinnor a 7-0 lead after 10 minutes.

Chinnor’s return of the restart was kicked out on the full to give Pirates a line-out just outside the Chinnor 22, which Chinnor again won and kicked into the Pirates half and when Pirates kicked back, Chinnor full-back Cousins found a good touch.

Pirates finally won a line-out but Hiscocks’ high kick bounced into the referee who had no option other than to stop play and award a scrum to Pirates, who then launched a good move but eventually sent a kick bouncing into touch just inside the Chinnor 22.

The home side won their line-out through Campbell and attacked down the blindside, and winger Freddie Owsley’s grubber kick was knocked on by Relton to give Chinnor a scrum. Chinnor again went blind through flanker Harry Dugmore, who was pushed into touch 10 metres from the Pirates line. Bell won the line-out for the visitors and Hiscocks cleared their lines.

Chinnor threw long and Scott Hall made the catch. Chamberlain kicked deep from the sebsequent ruck but Pirates again were able to gather and Hiscocks again kicked to touch. Brockschmidt won the Chinnor line out and were awarded a scrum after several drives in midfield. Carter made a snipping run and fed Chamberlain who passed to Owsley, who couldn’t hang on to the ball and dropped it 5 metres from the whitewash.

Despite a good shove at the scrum by Chinnor, Hiscocks was able to again find touch. Chinnor threw to the front of the lineout where Brockschmidt made the catch, and when Chinnor attacked, Pirates were caught offside, and Chinnor kicked to 10 metres from the tryline. Campbell won the lineout and the rolling maul moved slowly forward. With a penalty advantage, Carter scooted over for the try and Chamberlain’s conversion was good. It was now 14-0 after 26 minutes.

Chinnor’s supporters had barely stopped celebrating when a Pirates lineout was overthrown. Owsley picked up the loose ball and the Chinnor backs launched a blistering move featuring Cousins, Carter, and Chamberlain gave Bourton a straightforward run for the line. A conversion from close to the posts increased Chinnor’s lead to 21-0 with 28 minutes on the clock.

Chinnor were winning the aerial battles so Robson decided to change tactics and tried to send a kick bouncing into touch inside the Chinnor 22. However, the ball bounced infield forcing Owsley to play the ball, but the Pirates attackers pounced on him and a penalty was awarded for not releasing. Agnongbon won the subsequent 5 metre line-out and the rolling maul barged over the line to open the Pirates’ account, with hooker Nelson being credited with the try. Robson’s attempted conversion drifted wide of the nearest upright so the score moved to 21-5 with 32 minutes played.

Agbongbon caught the restart and Hiscocks kicked high. Cousins made a good catch and Chinnor went wide. Goss kicked ahead but a Pirates defender was able to gather 5 metres from his own line and Pirates cleared. However, the ball stayed in play and Cousins made 20 metres, and Owsley chipped into the Pirates 22 where Hiscocks call for the mark, and kicked to his 10 metre line.

Dugmore caught the line-out throw for Chinnor and Campbell made a break but was illegally stopped, and some back-chat from the Pirates took them back another 10 metres to give Chinnor a penalty on the Pirates 22, which was kicked to 5 metres.

Campbell again ruled supreme at the line-out and Chinnor’s rolling maul trundled over the line, with Walker touching down. Chamberlain failed from the tee for the first time, so the score was now 26-5 with 40 minutes played

There was still time for a restart, from which Pirates won a penalty and kicked to 5 metres. However, they were penalised for delaying the throw, and Chinnor kicked the penalty off the field to end the first half, deservedly leading 26-5.

Pirates failed to deal with second half restart and Owsley picked up and ran down the touchline deep into the Pirates 22 but a Chinnor offence gave Pirates a penalty, which took them to their 10 metre line. A second penalty was won at the ruck after the lineout, so they edged their way to the Chinnor 10 metre line.

Matthew Cannon won the line-out for Pirates but when Pirates attempted to move the ball, Agbongbon dropped the ball in a central position and Chamberlain picked up the loose ball and headed for the try-line. He looked like running half the length of the pitch but was denied by a tremendous tackle 10 metres from the line. Chinnor’s forwards twice drove for the line but were pinged for crossing.

The visitors won another couple of penalties to get into the Chinnor half but Chinnor were then awarded a free-kick at a Pirates scrum. Chamberlain sent the ball into orbit for Relton to take the catch and set off on a mazy crossfield run, after which Robson kicked into the Chinnor half. Cousins made the catch and ran from his 22 metre line to the Pirates 10 metre but Pirates won another penalty at the ruck to take them back to just outside the Chinnor 22.

Pirates won their lineout and moved the ball across the field but it was Chinnor’s turn to win a penalty at the ruck which took them to just outside the Pirates 22. Campbell won the ball for Chinnor, and from the next ruck, Carter released Cousins to break through the middle, only to be brought down short of the line. Several Chinnor drives were defended but Chinnor then decided to move the ball and Dugmore was in acres of space to dive over close to the posts for a score against his former club. The easy conversion increased Chinnor lead to 33-5 after 52 minutes.

Pirates were able to claim their own restart, and Chinnor were penalised for a high tackle. The line-out just inside the Chinnor 22 was quickly thrown to a prop at the front of the line-out. Pirates drove several times for the line, and with a penalty advantage Robson chipped to the corner, and with the ball bouncing up nicely, substitute Ben Cambriani leapt the highest to take the ball and dive over in the corner. Robson’s attempted conversion from the touchline was sliced well wide of the uprights. The score was now 33-10 with 57 minutes played.

Agbongbon dropped the restart and the loose ball was kicked into the in-goal area where Pirates were able to touchdown for a drop-out from behind their line. Cousins fielded the clearing kick and ran 30 metres back at the Pirates, but the Chinnor attacks were defended until Chinnor knocked-on.

Pirates attempted to run the ball from the scrum but unfortunately for them the ball was dropped, enabling Carter pick up and run unopposed under the posts for his second try of the match. Chamberlain added the easy conversion to make it 40-10 after 60 minutes.

Robson’s restart came down with snow on it, and Pirates won a turnover, and then a penalty. A quick tap was taken, but with a penalty advantage the ball was thrown into touch. Another quick tap was taken but the Pirates forwards were held up over the line to give Chinnor the goal-line drop out.

When the Pirates attempted to run back at the Chinnor defence, they knocked on to give Chinnor the scrum on their 10 metre line. The scrum was wheeled but Hall was able to pick-up and Pascoe kicked deep. Relton again caught and ran back at Chinnor, but Pirates were penalised for crossing.

Chinnor were back on the Pirates 5 metre line and Campbell won the line-out. The rolling maul was stopped, as were a couple of drives, so Chinnor spread the ball and Cousins raced over for his side’s 7^th try of the day. Chamberlain knocked over his 6^th conversion taking the score to 47-10 with 66 minutes on the clock.

Needing two tries for a bonus point, Pirates moved from left to right and back again before attempting to go through the middle, but failed to make any impression. Eventually the ball was spilled and Pascoe kicked back to the Pirates 22 where Ward call for the mark. Unfortunately to the Pirates winger, he dropped the ball when attempting to take the tap so Chinnor had a scrum inside the Pirates 22.

Chinnor pressed for another try, but Chamberlain’s attempted long pass was intercepted. Two Pirates backs ran away, and decided to kick ahead. However, Owsley was too fast, racing past the Pirates to slide and gather the ball close to the Chinnor line, and Chinnor were able to clear to touch.

Cannon won the line-out for Pirates, who won another penalty. A quick tap was taken by the replacement scrum-half Will Rigelsford, but he only suceeded in running straight into a tackle and conceded a penalty.

The closing stage were mostly played in the Chinnor half. After Charlie Rice won a line-out for Pirates, Ward went on a jinking run but then chipped ahead straight to Cousins, who sped down the touchline but Chinnor knocked on when the ball was moved infield.

From the scrum, Pirates attacked down the blindslide and Ward looked to be racing clear to score under the posts, but unfortuantely for the Pirates, the referee had seen the forward pass to the winger.

The final whistle blew shortly after to give Chinnor a convincing victory, and their third this season over a full-time side. Pirates had nothing to take on their long journey home.

With the win Chinnor moved upto 5^th, whilst Pirates fell to 8^th in the table.

 

 

SV River Plate Aruba 2-6 SV La Fama ( att : 40 est ) – 2025/26 Aruba Division di Honor

December 15, 2025

This weekend saw round 6 of this season’s top flight league in Aruba, which commenced on October 24^th , with this match being the third of the day in the same stadium.

Aruba

Aruba is situated in the Caribbean 29 kilometres north of Venezuela and 80km north-west of Curacao. It is a constituent country in the Kingdom Of The Netherlands together with Curacao, St Maarten and The Netherlands, so all citizens of Aruba have Dutch nationality. The other Dutch islands in the Caribbean, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius, are deemed to the special municipalities.

Together with Bonaire and Curacao, Aruba forms part of the ABC islands.

Aruba has an area of 179 square kilometres and a population of around 110,000. The capital is Oranjestad, and whilst the national languages are Dutch and Papiamento, English and Spanish are widely spoken. The currency is the Aruban florin but the US Dollar is accepted just about everywhere.

Since the closure of its large oil refinery, the main industries on Aruba are tourism and off-shore banking.  Aruba is on track this year to have 1.4 million visitors who stay at least one night on the island, and the number of visitors is much higher when day visitors from docking cruise ships is taken into consideration. 75% of the visitors come from the USA, attracted by the all-year round good weather, the beaches and casinos ! Around 15% of the visitors come from Latin America with the rest nearly all coming from Europe, mostly the Netherlands.

Aruba National Team

The Aruba national team are currently 191^st in FIFA’s ranking, having been as high as 112^th in 2014 and as low as 205^th in 2021.  Good results in the recent CONCACAF Series competition, where they drew 0-0 with Antigua and Barbuda, and beat Barbados 3-0, both of whom were ranked 20-30 places higher than Aruba, saw them rise three places in the rankings.

In the recent 2026 World Cup qualification process, Aruba finished 4^th in their 5 team group.  They started with two away draws, 2-2 in St Lucia and 1-1 with Barbados, but were beaten in their two home matches, 0-2 to Curacao and 0-5 to Haiti, both of whom went on to qualify for the Finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA. The attendance for the Haiti match was 673.

In the earlier 2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League B, Aruba lost all 6 matches, going down to Haiti ( 1-3 & 3-5 ), Puerto Rico ( 0-1 & 1-5 ) and St Maarten ( 0-1 & 0-2 ). A crowd of 1,011 attended the Haiti home match.

Like Curacao and Suriname, Aruba have been tapping into their diaspora in the Netherlands, and only 5 of the 23 players in their most recent squad played their football in Aruba. Their all-time leading goal scorer is Dutch born midfielder Rovien Ostiana ( 15 caps ) with 8 goals, and he started in the youth teams at Brentford, Queens Park Rangers and Cambridge United, and is now playing amateur football in the Netherlands. Striker Terrence Groothusen ( 22 caps ) has scored 6 times for Aruba and has played for Dordrecht, 3^rd Division football in Germany and for two sides in Malta, but is now playing in the 4^th level in the Netherlands.

Midfielder Isai Marselia ( 11 caps ) plays for eighth tier Sutton Coldfield Town in England whilst left-back Bradley Martis ( 2 caps ) had played for Sparta Rotterdam and Cejle in Slovenia, but is now playing in the Dutch Third level. Record cap holder centre-back Paul Nickenson ( 35 caps ) had a short spell with Third Division Paros in Greece, but is now back home playing for Dakota.

Aruba Division di Honour

The top flight of football in Aruba consists of 10 sides who play each other once. The top six then split to the Gold group for 10 more fixtures, after which the top 4 play each other again in a play-off league, and the top two then play a final to determine the overall Champion.  Simples !

The bottom four form two groups with the sides in the second division, with the top 3 in each group then playing off to determine the four sides to make up the Division di Honour for next season, with the two group winners automatically securing places.

All matches are currently being played at the Sports Complex Guillermo Prospero Trinidad, Dakota, which is commonly abbreviated as CDGT, or referred to as the Trinidad Stadium. It is the national stadium located in the Dakota district of the capital Oranjestad, and named after a local politician rather than the Caribbean Island ! The stadium has an artifical pitch surrounded by an Athletics track, and depending on which source you refer to has a capacity of either 2,500 or 5,000 !

The first two rounds of the league were played at another ground in Oranjestad, the smaller Sports Complex Frans Figaroa.

SV Britannia have won the last two Division di Honour titles, and 6 championships in total but the record title holders are SV Dakota with 17, although the last was in 2021/22, and SV Racing Club Aruba ( RCA ), also with 17. RCA won the 2022/23 title.

The champions of Aruba qualify to play in the CFU Club Shield, the second-tier club competition in the Caribbean.  The 2025 edition, held over a two-week period in Trinidad and Tobago was bizarrely structured with 24 sides playing in 4 groups of 6, but playing only two matches, with just the group winners going through to semi-finals. SV Britannia drew 1-1 with Paradise SC International from Grenada and then beat St Paul’s United of St Kitts and Nevis 2-0 to finish joint second in their group behind Moca of the Dominican Republic, who went on to win the tournament.

RCA participated in the 2024 CFU Club Shield and only played one match, losing 1-2 to Arnett Gardens of Jamaica in a game played in Curacao. The 2023 competition was held in St Kitts, and Dakota got to play three group matches, beating SWA Sharks of the Turks and Caicos Islands 3-0 and Solidarite-Scolaire of Guadelupe 1-0, but lost 0-3 to Club Sando of Trinidad, who won the group.

2025/26 Season

After 5 rounds of fixtures, Dakota led the table with a 100% record, with Britannia in second placed having drawn 1-1 with newly promoted Sporting, who were 5^th.

SV La Fama, who are based in the town of Savaneta in the south of the island, were in third place with four wins but had lost last time out 1-2 to Dakota. Their victories had been 2-1 against Estrella, 3-2 over Deportivo Nacional, 2-0 against Bubali and 2-1 over RCA.

La Fama had won the league championship on one occasion, in 2012/13.

La Fama had a cosmopolitan squad. Canadian centre-forward Timothe Makanzu-Tinadio was the top scorer with 3 goals and was one of four Canadian in their squad along with captain and midfielder Anthony Walsh, midfielder Gregory David and full-back Abdelatif Taleb. There were also two Dutch players ( forwards Delayno Jansen and Bas van der Weij ), two from Colombia ( midfielder Dixo Ordonez and forward Lewis Bermudez ) and one from Haiti ( Caleb Jean-Baptiste ) and one from Jamaica ( Kenroy Ranger )

SV River Plate Aruba are based in the capital Oranjestad and are not to be confused with the team of the same name in Argentina, or the teams in Uruguay, Paraguay or Ecuador for that matter !

River Plate had two titles to their name, but the last was back in 1997. Last season River Plate were the Silver champions, winning the competition played to determine the sides that either stay in the top division or get promoted. In River Plate’s case they stayed in the Division di Honour having finished 7^th in the regular season.

River Plate started the season with a 3-0 victory over Real Koyari but then lost 1-5 to Dakota and 1-2 to Britannia. They then beat Deportivo Nacional 2-1 and drew 2-2 with Estrella to start the weekend in 6^th place in the table.

They had an all-Aruban squad and Shakeme Stamper and Johndrick Kelly had both found the net three times this season.

Matchday Information

The weather at the 20.00 local time ( midnight UK time ) was dry and 27 degrees.

The match was streamed live on FIFA, as were all the other round 6 matches, but with no commentary.

River Plate played in the same colours as their Argentinian namesakes, with white shirts with a red diagonal sash, black shorts and red socks. La Fama were wearing lime green shirts, with white shorts and socks.

River Plate made five changes to the side that started against Estrella whereas La Fama made four changes to the team that narrowly lost to Dakota

Match Report

There was a dramatic start to the game, as La Fama should have opened the scoring in the opening 20 second. A curling shot from David from the edge of the area struck a goalpost, and with the goal at his mercy and the River Plate keeper on the deck, Jansen shot tamely at the keeper Elias Croes, whose hairstyle made him look like Taylor Swift’s ugly sister. Croes was able to block for a corner. When the ball bounced around in the penalty box from the corner, Makanzu-Tinadio put the ball high and wide. 

The game settled down after that early rush, with La Fama having the lion’s share of the possession and the bespectacled Jermaine Carty and Jansen being prominent on their right-hand side but the next chance didn’t arrive until the 10^th minute, when Jansen took the ball off team-mate Ranger, who had his back to the goal, to burst into the River Plate area, but Jansen sliced his shot horribly wide as River Plate centre-back Carlos Quandt came over to cover.

River Plate’s first real foray into the La Fama half saw Ajeem Morales win a free-kick, which Kelly sent long and the La Fama defence shepherded the ball out for a goal-kick.

With 14 minutes played Jansen teed up David, but the shot from just inside the area was straight at the River Plate keeper, who held onto the effort.

Rafael Karamantana made an important tackle to stop Ranger at the expense of a corner after he had run into the River Plate area. However, Rangel’s delivery sailed straight out of play for a goal-kick.

A long pass out of the La Fama defence found David just inside the River Plate area, and although the Canadian took a good first touch, Karamantana was able to shield the ball and keeper Croes came off his line to dive on it.

River Plate centre-back Elian Samper was shown the first yellow card of the match, for tripping Makanzu-Tinadio as the striker was about to enter the River Plate area, and conceded a free-kick just outside the area on the right-hand side. David sent the free-kick to the far post, where Makanzu-Tinadio dived to head the ball into the opposite corner of the goal. It was 0-1 with 25 minutes on the clock.

Three minutes later the River Plate defence failed to deal with a David corner, and La Fama defender Tyrone Boasman slammed the loose ball into the roof of the net with his left foot from 2 yards. 0-2 with 28 minutes played.

River Plate’s reaction to falling two goals behind was to bring on joint top-scorer Stamper, who was perhaps surprisingly dropped for this game, and also surprisingly, the player to make way was Brayan Villalobos, who had looked neat and tidy at left-back.

With 35 minutes played, Jansen made an outrageous dummy to fool Samper and run on to the ball, but neither David or Makanzu-Tinadio could take advantage of his low ball into the River Plate area. A lengthy delay soon followed when the ball hit River Plate’s Yan Gomez flush in the face from short range after a clearance from Kelly, but fortunately Gomez was able to continue after a concussion test.

Whilst Gomez was briefly off the pitch, Carty was forced to concede a corner to prevent Stamper getting on the end of a long ball from Kendrick Poulina for River Plate’s first corner. However, the corner was played short and wasted, and La Fama won a throw-in.

Carty then controlled a long cross-field pass and skipped past Samper, but his cross from close to the byline was poor and went high over the bar for a goal-kick.

With 40 minutes played, River Plate had a sniff of a chance. La Fama’s backline failed to react when a long throw from Poulina went over their heads in to the penalty area, but Stamper could only get a toe to the ball on the stretch, and the ball hit keeper Faro, who gathered the loose ball.

David went on a mazy run across the field and fed Jansen, but midfielder Paulina was back helping his defence and made a block to concede a corner to La Fama.

With half-time approaching, Rangel’s flicked pass enabled Jansen to push the ball past Quandt to get to the byline and his low ball across the goalmouth presented a tap-in for Ranger at the far post. La Fama now led 3-0 after 43 minutes.

La Fama’s Boasman received his side’s first yellow card as he needlessly brought down Morales as the River Plate forward ran towards the La Fama’s penalty area but didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Kelly could only fire the 25-yard free-kick into the wall, and Gomez smashed the rebound nearer to the corner flag than the goal, and which brought an end to the half

Behind by three goals at the break, River Plate looked to be in big trouble and La Fama’s play looked to be a class above.

River Plate began the second half by stringing together a few passes a couple of times without making much progress, until Ranger clattered into Quandt just inside the La Fama half to receive the second yellow card of the game for La Fama.

In the 50^th minute, River Plate worked a nice move as Juan Diego Croes, perhaps the shortest player in any top flight division anywhere in the World and whose large shorts made him look like Stanley Matthews, threaded a pass for Stamper to run at the La Fama backline. After being closed down, Stamper laid the ball back to Gomez, whose mis-hit shot went to Kelly, who passed to Gonzalez, who in turn put centre-forward Morales in space on the left inside the La Fama area. Morales rounded keeper Faro but with nearly all the goal open, his close-range shot was blocked by Maduro on the line. It was a golden chance squandered.

Shortly after, a River Plate long-throw was launched into the La Fama area, and Gomez attempted an acrobatic volley at the rebound, but his effort went narrowly over the bar.

River Plate were now looking a different side and La Fama were under the cosh. However, against the run of play, Makanzu-Tinadio picked up possession near half-way and surged forward. He played in Jansen, who ran into the River Plate area and sent a fierce shot in roof of the net at the near post. It was now 0-4 after 54 minutes and it felt like game over.

River Plate had other ideas though, and Stamper delivered a delightful left-footed cross, and Kelly hung in the air to head into the opposite corner from 8 yards, with Faro wrong-footed. The score became 1-4 with 55 minutes played.

River Plate defender Karamamtana then appeared to pull a muscle running back to escort the ball back to his keeper and needed to be replaced after treatment. Once the game resumed, La Fama were quickly on the attack. Jansen ran from half-way and found substitute Bermudez in space on the right, and the Colombian substitute played a ball across the area to the unmarked David, rather than going for goal himself. Although the pass went slightly behind David, he was able to stick a leg out behind himself, and cleverly flicked the ball in to the empty goal. 1-5 after 62 minutes.

Almost from the restart Poulina sent a free-kick into the La Fama area, and the ball fell to Stamper, but his left footed effort lacked power, and keeper Faro managed to kick it away as he fell to the ground going in the wrong direction, and Morales sent the rebound high and wide.

La Fama substitute Jean-Baptiste showed good pace to run away from Qyzjon Rodriguez on the left wing and played in Bermudez but the shot from close to the penalty spot was blocked by forward Morales tracking back.

An under-hit back-pass put the La Fama keeper under pressure but his sliding clearance found Makanzu-Tinadio in space just inside the River Plate, and the powerful striker charged into the opposition area. With just the keeper to beat, he put his left-footed finish inches wide of the post. The Canadian couldn’t believe he hadn’t scored !

The game fizzled out as a spectacle after a raft of substitutes were introduced by both sides, although Jean-Baptiste managed to wriggle free inside the River Plate area but his drive from a tight angle was pushed away by keeper Croes. At the other end, Stamper got ahead of his marker to get to a low ball in from the right byline, but his ambitious back-flick went wide of the near post.

Unexpectedly, River Plate pulled a goal back after some dreadful defending by La Fama. First, substitute centre-back Davidson Kaarsbaan, who could be a candidate as a prop for an Aruba rugby team, let a pass go under his foot and had to concede a corner. Siljean Vrolijk took the corner and would have been happy as Faro fumbled the cross under pressure under his crossbar and Quandt headed home from a yard. 2-5 with 85 minutes on the clock.

La Fama hit back straight away, and after Croes had punched away a cross, Maduro threaded a pass to Anderson Ceballos, who turned and hammered into the top corner from the edge of the area. It was now 2-6 after 87 minutes.

With the result a foregone conclusion, the referee blew for full time exactly on 90 minutes, there was no need for an unnecessary added time !

Overall, this was an enjoyable game to watch, with an absence of cynical play, diving, gamesmanship and cheating, as both sides played in a good spirit. La Fama were deserved winners, and looked to have some decent attacking players.

SV River Plate : E Croes – Karamantana ( D. Morales ), Quandt, Samper ( Rodriguez ), Villalobes ( Stamper ) – Gomez, Gonzalez Poulina, J. Kelly ( Nadall ) – J.D Croes ( Vrolijk ), A. Morales ( R. Kelly )

SV La Fama : Faro – Carty, Maduro, Rangel, Boasman ( Kaarsbaan ), Panneflek – Ordonez, David ( Jean-Baptiste ) – Jansen ( Farro ), Ranger ( Bermudez ), Makanzu-Tinadio ( Ceballos )

 

 

Crawley Town 2-2 Oldham Athletic ( att : 3,152 ) - 2025/26 League Two

December 13, 2025

Today saw Fatbear’s first attendance at a regular season EFL game since the pre-Covid match between Oxford United and Blackpool in February 2020.

However, Fatbear did attended the 2023/24 League Two play-off final at Wembley when Crawley were victorious 2-0 over Crewe Alexandra to achieve promotion to League One. The report covered Fatbear’s previous history of growing up in Crawley and watching The Red Devils.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2024/05/crawley-town-2-0-crewe-alexandra-att.html 

Unfortunately, the US owners of Crawley decided to cash in on their assets with nearly all the players that achieved the promotion being sold, but despite a good start to life in League One, manager Scott Lindsey decamped to MK Dons, and replacement manager Rob Elliott often looked like a rabbit in the headlights as his side would sometimes produce an occasional impressive victory, but more often than not subsided to lame defeats. Eventually Elliott was sacked, and replaced by the returning Lindsey, who in the meantime had been sacked by MK Dons, but despite an upturn in performances and results in the last two months of the season, it was too late to avoid relegation.

Crawley This Season

Most Crawley supporters had little idea as to whether their side would bounce back to be promotion contenders, or would have a fight to avoid relegation to the National League.

As it turned out, Crawley lost four of their opening 6 matches with just two draws, before the first win, 1-0 at Harrogate. This was followed by a 2-0 victory at home to Cheltenham, before another run of four defeats and a draw in the next 5 games, but their form improved with two home wins ( Bristol Rovers 4-0 and Fleetwood 2-1 ). Two draws then followed, an encouraging 2-2 draw at Gillingham, and 1-1 at home to Accrington Stanley. However, they then fell to a 3-4 defeat at Salford City after leading 3-2 with 5 minutes remaining, which was depressingly similar to so many late away defeats in the past couple of seasons.

On Tuesday evening, Crawley travelled to Bromley and despite taking an early lead succumbed to a 1-3 loss, which could have been greater. Crawley came into today’s fixture in 21st place with a 4-5-10 record, but 3-3-3 at home, and just one point clear of the relegation zone. The average home attendance so far was 3,373, with the highest being the 5,361 who saw the 1-1 draw with MK Dons in August.

Crawley’s participation in the FA Cup was pretty embarrassing, crashing out after a 0-3 defeat at National League Boreham Wood in the First Round, but the League Cup saw a fairly respectable 1-3 loss at Championship side Swansea City.

Crawley Squad

Ex-Swindon Town, Hibernian, Carlisle United and Bromley forward Harry McKirdy was the top league scorer with 4 goals, followed by Kabongo Tshimanga on 3 goals, who is fondly remembered for his 24 goals for Oxford City in 2018/19, and also played for Peterborough United, Boreham Wood, Chesterfield and Swindon amongst others. Ex-Bromley winger Harry Forster also had 3 goals to his name.

Goal-keeping duties were being shared between Ghanian international Jo-Jo Wollacott ( 11 caps ) who had previously played for Swindon, Hibernian and Charlton Athletic ( and could be facing England in the World Cup next year ! ), and Liverpool loanee Harvey Davies, who had previously had a loan spell at Crewe Alexandra.

Centre-back Dion Conroy was ex-Swindon, defender Charlie Barker had featured in these diaries playing for Wealdstone and was the son of former Crawley manager Richie Barker, and left-sided defender Josh Flint signed from Dutch top division side Volendam. Midfielder Max Anderson had appeared in these diaries playing for Dundee, and was with Inverness Caledonian Thistle prior to that.

Jamaican International forward Kaheim Dixon ( 23 caps ) was on loan from Charlton Athletic, and Albanian defensive midfielder Geraldo Bajrami was on loan from Burton Albion.

Captain and St Kitts and Nevis defensive midfielder Jay Williams left with manager Lindsey to join MK Dons, but re-signed in the close season, forward Louis Fowler was in Brighton’s youth teams and central midfielder Reece Brown had played for Birmingham City, Forest Green Rovers and Peterborough.

Winger Ade Adeyemo was signed from step 4 side Cray Paper Mills, striker Ryan Loft was on loan from Cambridge United and had previously played for Carlisle, Scunthorpe, Bristol Rovers and Port Vale, and Irish midfielder Louie Watson was ex-Charlton Athletic, Derby County and Luton Town.

Oldham Athletic

At the end of the 2021/22 season Oldham Athletic became the first, and only club, to have played in the Premier League to be relegated to the National League. Luton Town had risen from the National League to the Premier League, and had earlier played in the pre-Premier League Division One and went on to be relegated to the National League, so had completed the full circle between Levels 1 to 5, so to speak. Carlisle United had one season in Division One in 1974/75 before being relegated to the National League for the 2004/05 season but the Cumbrians only spent one season at level 5, until this season !

Oldham were founder members of the Premier League when Sky invented football for the 1992/93 season.  Oldham’s place in the Premier league was confirmed with a 17^th place finish at the end of the 1991/92 season in their first season in Division 1 since 1922/23, and Oldham stayed at the top level until relegation at the end of the 1993/94 season.

Oldham gradually worked their way down the leagues, spending three seasons at the second level Division One, as it was renamed, and then 21 seasons in the third level ( Division 2/League 1 ), followed by 4 seasons in the fourth tier League 2.

Oldham spent three seasons in the National League, finishing 12^th, 10^th and last season 5^th to enter the promotion play-offs. Oldham were a revelation in the play-offs, thumping Halifax 4-0 at home and York City 3-0 away, before winning promotion with a 3-2 victory after extra-time over Southend United in the final at Wembley, watched by a crowd of 52,115, a record for the National League Play-off final.

Under manager Joe Royle, Oldham enjoyed, by their standards, unprecedented success in cup competitions in the early 1990s. As a second division side they reached the 1989/90 League Cup Final but lost 0-1 to Nottingham Forest. The same season they reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they lost to Manchester United after a replay. A 3-3 draw had been played at Maine Road but they lost the replay 1-2, which was also at Maine Road.

Oldham again reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1993/94 and Manchester United were again the opposition at Wembley. After a goal from Neil “Dissa” Pointon, Oldham looked set to reach the final, until Mark Hughes scored an equaliser in the last minute of extra-time. Deflated, Oldham lost the Maine Road replay 1-4, and didn’t win again that season to be relegated.

Oldham Athletic play at Boundary Park, which now has a capacity of 13,560, and has a reputation for being the coldest ground in England.  Joe Royle famously dubbed it Ice Station Zebra !

Oldham’s home colours are now two broad white stripes either side of a broad blue stripe, with blue shoulders and backs ( rather than their former all blue shirts ), with blue shorts and socks. Their most common nickname is The Latics, although many Oldham supporters refer to their team as The Owls.

Oldham Athletic This Season

Oldham began the season with four draws and two defeats before, like Crawley, getting their first victory of the season in their 7^th game of the season with a 1-0 win at Cambridge United. This led to two more victories, 1-0 at home to Bromley and 3-0 at Cheltenham Town. However, after this Oldham went on a winless run of three draws and two defeats before winning 1-0 at Harrogate Town, drawing 0-0 at home with Crewe Alexandra and stuffing Newport County 3-0 at home.  In their most recent away fixture, The Latics went down 0-1 at Accrington Stanley, and on Wednesday evening, Oldham hosted league leaders Walsall and fell to 0-1 loss in a game of very few chances

This result left Oldham in 17^th place with a 5-8-6 record, and 3-3-3 at away. The three away losses had come at Notts County ( 1-3 ), Salford City ( 0-1 ) and Accrington. The draws had been in August, at MK Dons ( 0-0 ), Bristol Rovers ( 0-0 ) and Fleetwood ( 1-1 ).

Oldham’s average home attendance was 7,306, the 6^th best in the division, with the highest crowd being 8,937 for the 0-0 draw with Crewe.

Oldham’s record of conceding only 14 goals was the best in the division, but only Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham had scored fewer than The Latics 16 goals. A low scoring match looked in prospect, unless Crawley’s leaky defence came to the rescue !

Oldham’s participation in the FA Cup ended with a 1-3 defeat at MK Dons in the 2^nd Round after they had overcome League One Northampton Town 3-1 at home in the First Round. In the League Cup Oldham crash out at the first hurdle, going down 1-3 at Accrington Stanley

Oldham Squad

Oldham’s manager was the vastly experienced Micky Mellon, who had played as a midfielder for Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackpool, Tranmere Rovers and Burnley amongst others, and was appointed in October 2023, having previously managed Fleetwood Town, Barnsley, Shrewsbury, Dundee United and Tranmere.

Oldham’s top scorers in the League were ex-Sunderland and Tranmere midfielder Josh Hawkes, ex-Gillingham, Yeovil, Chesterfield and Forest Green Rovers Irish forward Joe Quigley, and on-loan Scottish forward Michael Mellon with 3 a-piece. Mellon, a Scottish under 21 International and the son of the manager was on loan from Burnley, and had also scored three times in the FA Cup.

Oldham’s overseas players included Australian right-back Reagan Ogle, who had played for Accrington, Hartlepool and Scunthorpe, ex-Forest Green Rovers, Tranmere, Walsall and Northampton Cameroonian centre-back Manny Monthe, Montserrat defender Donervon Daniels ( 7 caps ), who numbered Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Doncaster Rovers, Crewe and Walsall amongst his former clubs, and Cameroonian striker Mike Fondop who has played for Oxford City, Wrexham, Chesterfield, Aldershot, Burton Albion and Hartlepool..

Ex-Dundee United, Lincoln City and Forest Green Rovers left-back Jamie Robson was Scottish, right-back Sam Caprice had played for Exeter City, Burton Albion, Tranmere and Leyton Orient, midfielder Tom Pett signed from Cheltenham having also played for Port Vale, Stevenage Borough and Lincoln, and midfielder Luke Hannant joined from Gateshead with Port Vale, Cambridge United, Colchester United and Dundee on his CV.

The regular keeper was Matt Hudson, who started his career at Preston North End, midfielder Kai Payne joined from Preston, and defensive midfielder Ryan Woods had played for Shrewsbury, Brentford, Millwall, Stoke City, Birmingham, Hull City, Bristol Rovers and Exeter City.

Defender Dynel Simeu had a spell in Albania with Teuta Durres, and also played for Carlisle, Tranmere and Morecambe, whilst Will Sutton was a product of Oldham’s youth scheme.

Watching Oldham Athletic

I had previously seen Oldham play on four occasions, all of them at Brighton and Hove Albion’s old Goldstone Ground.

In March 1972 my father took me to see a mid-week a fixture in what was the old Third Division. Brighton were doing well that season, and ended up getting promoted behind Aston Villa, but they were disappointing that evening and slipped to 0-1 defeat. From my biased childhood memory, Oldham scored from their only shot of the game, which was Tony Hateley's only goal for The Latics.

The next match was in the 1986/87 in the Second Division when Oldham were again victorious, by 2-1 with Roger Palmer and Michael Cecere on target. Brighton were in the middle of a run of 12 games without a win and were relegated at the end of that season after finishing bottom. Oldham finished third but lost in the play-offs to Leeds United.

Two years later after Brighton had returned to Division Two and had a disastrous start to the season, losing their first six league matches, and 8 of their first ten, but Albion achieved their second win of the season by beating Oldham 2-0. Centre-backs Larry May and Steve Gatting were the scorers. Brighton recovered to finish 19^th whilst Oldham were 16^th.

The final time I saw Oldham was in the 1990/91 season when Oldham were 2-1 winners. Brighton ended that season by losing 1-3 to Notts County at Wembley in the Play-off final after coming 6^th whilst Oldham were promoted as Champions ! Almost inevitably both of Oldham’s goals were scored by ex-Brighton forward Andy Ritchie, whereas centre-back Gary Chilvers scored Brighton’s goal. The Oldham line-up that day contain several players that were to become familiar in their Premiership and Cup campaigns, including Norwegian full-back Gunnar Halle ( 64 caps ), centre-back Earl Barrett ( 3 caps ), midfielder Richard Jobson ( not to be confused with the singer with The Skids ! ), striker Roger Palmer and wingers Neil Readfearn and Rick Holden.

Unfortunately, I was away when Oldham made their only visit to Oxford City, in April 2024 in the National League, and judging by the reports of the 0-0 draw I didn’t miss much !

 

Previous Meetings

These two sides had played each other 12 times, with Crawley winning 4, Oldham winning 6 and there had been 4 draws. Between 2012 and 2015 there were six meetings in League One, with the other 6 matches being in League Two between 2018 and 2022.

At the Broadfield Stadium, Crawley had a 3-2-1 record, with Oldham’s only success coming in April 2021 when they won 4-1. Crawley’s best win was in March 2020 when they beat the Latics 3-0. The last meeting in Crawley was a 2-2 draw in March 2022, and the last game between the two sides was a 3-3 draw in May 2022, in what was Oldham’s last match before being relegated to the National League.

Matchday information

The distance between Oldham and Crawley is 250 miles and according to AA Route Planner should take 4 hours 15 minutes. Supporters coaches were leaving Boundary Park at 8am. Officially 414 Latics fans made the trip to support their side. The journey from Fatbear Towers took 1 hour 30 minutes.

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off time was sunny with the temperature around 9 degrees,

I was able to park in the K2 sport centre car park, which was free, and had a five-minute walk to the ground.

In the Fan Zone, I had a pint of Red Devils Lager ( £6 ) from the Missing Link Brewery near East Grinstead. It was fine and went down well.

Crawley are one of the very few clubs were the OAP concession starts at the age of 60, so I was able to get a ticket for the East Stand for £17, whilst it is £22 for adults.

The East Stand is often referred to by home supporters as The Gazebo due to its temporary nature, and the low roof restricts view of high balls, but the view of the pitch was fine. The main stand is on the opposite side from the Gazebo, and there are two covered terraces behind the goals. The South Stand houses home supporters whilst the North Stand is for away fans, who also have a couple of blocks of seats in the East Stand.

Bet365.com made Crawley narrow 6/4 favourites, with Oldham at 8/5 and the draw at 12/5.

Both sides were in their usual colours, with Oldham in their blue and white kit and Crawly in all red.

Both sides made four changes to their sides from midweek. Crawley brought in keeper Davies, Conroy into the back three, and Dixon and Jack Roles into midfield. With Robson suspended, Oldham brought Ogle into their defence, with Caprice playing right wing-back, Payne in midfield and Mellon up front.

Match Report

Crawley started brightly with Williams sending a 35-yard effort high over the bar, then a flick on gave Dixon a chance to chase a ball beyond the Oldham back-line but keeper Hudson came out of his area to clear for a throw-in, but in his follow through he clattered into Hannett. After a four-minute delay, Hannett had to leave the field to be replaced by Jake Leake.

Once play had resumed, Barker ran onto a long ball down the right-hand channel. After his cross was headed out back to him, Barker crossed back into the Oldham area again, where Loft’s overhead kick went a couple of yards wide.

A minute later Mellon ran clear on the right, looking a couple of yards offside but the linesman waved play on, and his low ball into the Crawley 6-yard box was pushed away by the diving keeper as far as the edge of the area, where Leake shot high over the bar.

With 12 minutes played Dixon fouled Leask near the left-hand touchline. The free-kick from Woods was not convincingly dealt with by the Crawley defence but the flag was raised for offside.

Rather than playing a quick forward ball to put Forster in space, Dixon dithered near the half-way line, and his eventual pass was blocked. The rebound fell to Mellon who tried his luck from 25 yards, but his effort was straight at Davies, who made a regulation save.

The errors from Crawley continued as Adeyemo played an awful back pass under no pressure which Fondop intercepted, but fortunately for the home side, the Oldham striker put the ball wide from a tight angle.

Shortly after, Roles twisted on the edge of the Oldham area but his shot struck an Oldham defender, and with keeper Hudson wrong-footed the ball went a couple of feet wide of the post. The corner was headed clear, but Crawley reworked possession and sent a ball back into the mixer where a poor defensive header from Leake only sent the ball to Loft 10 yards out. A slightly mis-hit first time shot deceived the Oldham keeper, who remained motionless, as the ball nestled in the keeper’s right- hand corner. A Loft conversion so to speak, and Crawley led 1-0 after 18 minutes.

Oldham looked to immediately hit back and won a corner, from which Fondop was left unmarked 6 yards out, but his header went straight to keeper Davies, who made the catch. A yard either side of the keeper and it would have been a certain goal, and it was a great chance missed.

The game was now end to end, and Barker released Forster, whose cross from the right was met by Flint, but the deft back flick flew just wide.

Roles, who has a reputation amongst Crawley fans for shooting from anywhere, and missing the target, confirmed the stereotype, with a 25-yard effort the flew high over the bar. Barker then again found Forster in space on the right, but Monthe headed the cross away.

When Oldham won a throw in deep in the Crawley half, the home side brought everyone back to defend. Leake’s throw was headed on, and turned into the net at the far post by Pett. Despite having all 11 players inside their area, Crawley were unable to prevent the ball going into the net, but fortunately for them, the goal was ruled out for offside.

The frustrating nature of Crawley’s play was illustrated when Barker had the opportunity to play a simple ball down the touchline to Forster, but instead opted to turn and play the ball all the way back to his goal-keeper.

Oldham created a great chance in the 29^th minute. A poor cross from Roles went straight into the hands of keeper Hudson, who immediately kicked down field. Mellon outjumped Adeyemo to win the header, and with most of the Crawley players still in the Oldham half after their failed attack, Pett ran clear onto the loose ball. He only had the Crawley keeper to beat, but his shot lacked conviction and Davies dived to make the save.

Loft then played a dreadful, casual pass as Crawley broke, and Caprice turned the tables with a strong run down the right-wing to win a corner. Woods’ delivery was headed high into the air, and Davies punched clear under pressure, and the referee deemed a foul had been committed on the Crawley keeper.

Mellon had another effort from outside the area as Williams bore down on him, but the ball apologetically went several yards wide.

Forster then had possession on half-way, but instead of looking to go forward, turned and played an abysmal back-pass that almost hit the corner flag, but went off for an unnecessary corner to the visitors. Woods’ corner took a deflection and hit Fondop, and after the ball sailed high into the air, Davies made the catch.

Crawley finished the half strongly. Forster made his way to the Oldham byline and pulled the ball back to Brown, whose shot from just inside the edge of the area was blocked by Hudson’s legs. Crawley regained possession and the ball was played to Dixon, who turned and shot. The ball deflected off a defender, but Hudson was able to change direction to dive and make the save.

Roles then fed Adeyemo but the 25-yard effort was held low down at his right-hand post by Hudson. Six added minutes were to be played, and Forster skipped past two defenders but slipped as he entered the Oldham area. Dixon then ran onto a through ball from Flint and played the ball back to Brown.  Keeper Hudson was in no-man’s land after having initially coming off his line to get to the through ball and was stranded. However, Brown’s chip from 20 yards drifted over the keeper, and in what seemed to be slow motion, struck the crossbar and bounced back into play.

The final action of the first half saw Dixon get to the byline but his cross was headed clear by Monthe. Crawley then won a soft free-kick just outside the Oldham 18-yard line as Roles crashed to the ground. Forster’s free-kick pinged around the goalmouth until it fell to Roles, whose snap shot looked to be going in until it hit Ogle and bounced just wide.

Despite Oldham winning just about all the headers, Crawley deserved to be ahead at the interval and probably should have had more than one goal, although Oldham had also missed a couple of good chances and Crawley’s defence always looked like they had a defensive howler in them.

Oldham must have received a rocket at half-time as they started the second half at a blistering pace, whilst Crawley appeared to have had sleeping pills put into their half-time cup of tea.

A cross from the left was flicked on by Mellon but Woods couldn’t get to it. Flint then carelessly passed straight to Payne, but the Oldham midfielder’s effort was blocked by Conroy for a corner.

Brown then dwelt too long on the ball and Payne took the ball from him and ran into the Crawley area but his ball across goal was put out for a corner. The ball to the near post was cleared after a scramble. Oldham reworked possession to Mellon, who turned on the angle of the penalty area and sent a delightful shot across goal into the far corner. A peach from Mellon, as you could say, and it was now 1-1 with 50 minutes played.

It was a reward for Oldham’s fast start to the half, and Crawley didn’t seem to be at the races.

Monthe was then allowed to stride forward unopposed and his 35-yard attempted went inches wide of the Crawley goal.

Crawley briefly came to life as Adeyamo fed Brown, who sent a 20-yard shot just wide, after which Monthe went on another galloping run to win a corner for The Latics.

Ogle did well to keep a long ball in play and turn the ball back to Fondop, but the left-footed volley from the edge of the area went straight to Davies, who made the catch.

Leake then made a run into the Crawley area and although there appeared to be a slight tug on his arm, the Oldham substitute fell dramatically to the floor. Referee’s these days are not inclined to award a penalty when the player’s fall has been exaggerated, and play here was waved on.

Flint then ran into the Oldham area after neat passing from Forster and Adeyamo but after a scramble Oldham were able to clear.

The first yellow card of the match belatedly came in the 67^th minute when Leake pulled down Forster after the Crawley man had pushed the ball past him.

The next goal came shortly after. From an Oldham throw in on the right, Garner headed on for Mellon, who with his back to goal played a cute flick into the huge hole in the heart of the Crawley defence where ex-Banbury United and Solihull Moors striker Jake Stevens ran on with just the keeper to beat, but the young Welshman kept his composure to finish well into the top corner for a deceptively simple goal. 1-2 with 68 minutes on the clock.

Despite falling behind Crawley were still bringing everyone back to defend set pieces, and Loft was looking increasingly immobile. However, it was Adeyamo and Roles who were sacrificed for Tshimanga and Antiguan International Dion Pereira ( 9 caps ) to enter the fray, and Forster to swop wings.

However, the initial impact of the substitutions was for Oldham centre-back Daniels to turn and shoot from 20 yards into the arms of Davies.

As the game entered the final 10 minutes, Conroy sent a long cross-field ball to Pereira on the right-hand touch-line, and with virtually his first touch of the game the Antiguan slipped a pass behind the square Oldham centre-backs to put Tshimanga clear, and as Hudson came off his line, the Crawley striker slid the ball past the keeper and just inside the post for the equaliser. The two Crawley substitutes had made a dramatic impact, and the score was now 2-2 after 82 minutes.

Finally, when Oldham had a throw deep inside the Crawley half, Tshimanga stayed on the half-way line, and the visitors were forced to keep two players back to defend, and Crawley easily cleared.

Monthe then made a poor mistake, enabling Loft to find Tshimanga. Although the Crawley substitute was forced wide, he was still able to get a left-footed shot in, and Hudson made a vital diving save to push the ball wide for a corner.

Both sides were pressing for a winning goal, and after some more dodgy home defending the ball fell to Stevens, whose shot from just outside the area appeared to be goal-bound until it hit Mellon.

Watson then hoofed clear from the Crawley defence but Hudson was alert to clear before Tshimanga could reach it. A mystery free-kick was awarded to Oldham when a Crawley free-kick was sent into the Oldham penalty area, but almost immediately the referee levelled matters with a mystery free-kick to Crawley after and Oldham free-kick was played into the Crawley area.

Shortly after, Loft flicked a header on to Tshimanga who played in Forster to run into the Oldham area. Similar to the incident at the other end earlier in the half, Forster went down after some contact, but he seemed to have gone down too easily, and the referee was consistent and ignored the appeals for a penalty. That said, it was in the category of “I have seen them given…….”

Stevens became the second Oldham player to see yellow for kicking the ball away at a free-kick, as a sign that Oldham were hanging on.

Loft then went down easily but was awarded a free-kick wide on the left, which was put out for a corner by an Oldham defender. Williams met the corner with a towering header, which Hudson parried away. In the frantic melee that followed the ball struck an arm, and the referee awarded a penalty to Crawley. My first reaction was that the ball had actually hit a Crawley arm, and the Oldham players furiously protested as Tshimanga got ready to take the kick. Unfortunately for the home side, the referee decided to consult with his assistant, and then reversed his decision. Flint was subsequently shown a yellow card, presumably for dissent at the decision ?

It would have been typical of Crawley’s season had Oldham gone down the other end and scored, but Crawley dealt with the final attack of the match and the game ended as a draw. The home fans predictably hurled heaps of abuse at the referee for reversing his decision and denying Crawley the chance to win the game.

With this result, both side’s position in the table were unchanged.

Highlights :  https://www.skysports.com/football/crawley-town-vs-oldham-athletic/report/533447

Crawley Town : Davies – Barker, Conroy, Flint – Forster, Williams, Brown ( Holohan ), Dixon ( Watson ), Roles ( Tshimanga ), Adeyamo ( Pereira ) – Loft

Oldham Athletic : Hudson – Ogle, Daniels, Monthe – Caprice ( Stevens ), Woods, Pett, Payne, Hannant ( Leake ) – Mellon, Fondop ( Garner )