Clarke and O’Grady seal Oldham’s path to the third round

Posted Sunday, December 02, 2018 by PA

Oldham progressed to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2013 after beating National League side Maidstone United 2-0 at the Gallagher Stadium.

Experienced captain Peter Clarke tapped home a well-worked set piece in the 17th minute after Sam Edmundson deflected Gevaro Nepomuceno’s deep free-kick into his path to put the visitors in front.

Chris O’Grady’s late solo effort sealed the League Two side’s victory – only their fourth away from home in all competitions this season – to put Frankie Bunn’s men into Monday’s draw.

Separated by 32 places in the league, the Latics dominated the opening half after Clarke’s opener.

Leading scorer Sam Surridge twice almost doubled their advantage before the break, heading narrowly over on 25 minutes, before forcing Stones goalkeeper Grant Smith to tip his powerful volley onto the bar.

Maidstone’s best chances of the opening half came in the final two minutes. Elliott Romain wasted the best of them, shooting straight at Daniel Iversen from 12 yards, while Jack Powell’s curling free-kick deflected just wide in stoppage time.

Stones’ stand-in captain Jack Paxman cleared Surridge’s header off the line approaching the hour mark as the visitors started brightly after the break.

But, in front of a record crowd for the competitive fixture at the Gallagher Stadium, the hosts almost equalised when Romain’s low drive forced a reaction save from Iversen.

However, O’Grady sealed the victory for the two-time semi-finalists six minutes from time with a fine solo effort that saw him turn Will De Havilland before beating Smith from a tight angle.

Substitute Ollie Muldoon hit the bar in stoppage time as the Stones were denied a late consolation goal.