Preview: Oldham Athletic v Crewe Alexandra

Latics return to League Two action at Boundary Park tomorrow after one of their best performances of the season gave them a 0-1 win away to Harrogate Town last Saturday.

Micky Mellon was emotional immediately after last week’s win for two reasons: the first was that he felt the referee had not protected midfielder Oli Hammond when he was slumped to the ground in agony having dislocated a shoulder; and the second was that his side produced his favourite type of performance.

Hammond was enjoying a rare run in the side and had been a menace all game for Latics. On another day, he might have found the net in the first half with a sly back-heel that was cleared off the line. Mellon was beside himself post-match because the referee let the game continue when Hammond was down injured in the second period, but he would also have been gutted for Hammond personally – Mellon has invested a lot in his young midfielder and Latics were starting to see the best of him.

Mellon’s voice came closest to cracking in his post-match interview when he was talking about the performance of his players: they were dogged when they needed to be, but also brave in possession and full of endeavour, especially in the first half. Every single starter and substitute contributed. They made mistakes and rectified them, they encouraged each other, they ran their socks off. They say football is a game of 11v11, but Harrogate were playing against just one last week: a solid, one-in-all-in collective.

The travelling Latics fans were similarly throaty. They share Mellon’s love of a 0-1 win where everyone on the pitch gets 10 out of 10 for commitment, but there were also historical reasons: on their last visit to Wetherby Road in January 2022, the club was dying, the team got hammered 3-0 and the atmosphere was awful. Last Saturday, the current players gave the fans a moment to contemplate the club’s progress since those dark days.

Mellon does not have the luxury tomorrow of starting the same XI as he did at Harrogate. Hammond and Ryan Woods, who was sent off for dissent last Saturday, join a long list of unselectable midfielders. Woods was one of the orchestrators of Latics’ best football last week and has made himself a linchpin of the side. Mellon spent the summer collecting midfielders, which means he still has options, even if he is not spoilt for choice. Josh Hawkes and Kai Payne could be a straightish swap for Woods and Hammond. Alternative configurations include an extra attacking player such as Kian Harratt, Kane Drummond or Jack Stevens, or an extra defender in Will Sutton or Jake Leake. Mellon is guarded and unpredictable in matters of selection, so your guess is as good as mine.

Crewe are eighth in the table, only two points off the top. Form and position say they’re favourites, but they have a weakness for giving chances and goals away. Latics could prosper if they pick up where they left off at Boundary Park against Northampton Town in the FA Cup when they were ruthless with the opportunities that came their way.