Two points dropped as ten man Oldham hold Tranmere

Dylan Bahamboula’s 78th minute wonder strike was enough to deny Tranmere all three points on Saturday and dent their automatic promotion push.

It was just reward for the Latics who attacked with intent from the off and showed bravery even when reduced to ten men after Sido Jombati’s red card.

Keith Hill was forced into two changes from what would be considered his strongest eleven recently and this was a major factor in the two dropped points.

Danny Lloyd and Otis Khan both missed out. Lloyd has a non Covid related illness while Keith Hill said after the game that Khan will be absent for ‘two to four weeks’.

Kieron Morris and Lee O’Connor came into the side and both were well up to speed after picking up game time in the EFL Trophy run. Morris himself will have been full of confidence after scoring the second goal in the semi-final victory at Oxford.

There was some talk among supporters prior to the match that Hill may opt to play Liam Ridehalgh in place of Khan and switch Calum McDonald over to right back. McDonald has been one of Tranmere’s best players in recent weeks and it did not make sense to switch him while he was performing so well.

The Scottish full-back provides natural width on the left hand side and is crucial to how Tranmere play. He also links up very well with the attackers, particularly Lloyd.

The 23-year-old justified the decision to keep him on the left hand side by netting his first Tranmere goal to make it 1-1 towards the end of the first half. McDonald won the ball high up the pitch an played a one-two with Morris, once more showcasing his link up play, before driving a glorious right-footed shot past Ian Lawlor in the Oldham goal.

It was also nice for Morris to pick up the assist. The former Walsall man grew into the game and picked up some nice positions across the midfield.

If McDonald impressed on the left flank, things were not so easy for O’Connor on the right. The on-loan Celtic man was given a tough workout in the first half as Conor McAleny drifted wide to double up with Alfie McCalmont to create overloads.

This was causing constant problems for Tranmere with Liam Feeney not getting back quickly enough to help out defensively. Hill spotted the issue and sent Morris out to the right and this did help with the 26-year-old offering more protection for O’Connor.

The red card certaInly swung things in Tranmere’s favour with Oldham no longer having the numbers to create the two versus one situations.

This is where the absence of Khan was glaring. The former Mansfield man is an attacker by trade but has slotted in well at right back in 2021. His attacking instincts and crossing ability have been good weapons for Hill on the recent good run.

Unfortunately, O’Connor did not display those same instincts and had to be told at times by Feeney and Jay Spearing to push higher up the wing. The interplay seen on the left just wasn’t there on the right, with a notable mix up between O’Connor and Feeney causing much frustration when chasing the win.

O’Connor’s crossing was also not to the standard of Khan’s, bar one notable exception in the first half which was turned behind for a corner.

It’s hard to criticise the Irishman too much given that he’s playing in a defensive midfield role in his recent outings. It’s a completely different role and it must be hard to change up your game to a more attacking version. The defensive instincts were plain to see.

Hill has a decision to make for the next few weeks while Khan is out. O’Connor may grow into the role again or we could see McDonald once more make the switch to the right. With time on the training pitch at a premium, there’s a good chance it may be the latter.

The league is remarkably tight at the minute and with tough fixtures to come, it’s a decision Hill can ill afford to get wrong.

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