Harry Kewell praises Oldham players after win at Bradford

Posted Sunday, November 29, 2020 by PA

Manager Harry Kewell hailed Oldham’s richly deserved 2-1 win in the FA Cup second round at Bradford as their best performance of the season.

It was in-form Oldham’s third away win in eight days and their sixth win in seven matches.

Oldham fell behind in the 10th minute when keeper Ian Lawlor brought down Clayton Donaldson in the box and Donaldson scored from the spot – a penalty decision questioned by Kewell.

But Oldham equalised seven minutes later when Conor McAleny cut in from the left and scored with a superb shot into the far corner.

McAleny then headed against the bar before twice being denied with fine saves from Richard O’Donnell as the visitors created a string of chances in a one-sided first half.

Oldham gained their reward three minutes after half-time when Danny Rowe scored the winner with a terrific 30-yard shot.

Kewell said: “I thought we played the game perfectly. Our passing, movement, discipline, commitment and attitude was spot on.

“The only criticism is that we have got to take these chances and put the game to bed. I thought we scored from the two hardest chances. We need to punish teams and if we can do that it will be a lot easier.

“I cannot fault the players. I thought they were brilliant. It was a fantastic pitch, which suited us perfectly for our passing game. We have not played as well as that this season. It was our best performance.”

For Bradford, it was their third defeat in eight days and manager Stuart McCall said: “I thought Danny Rowe and Conor McAleny were excellent for Oldham, but our possession of the ball was poor.

“Oldham were stronger than us and held the ball up better. Our all-round performance throughout the team was disappointing.

“We were still in the cup at half-time when we should have been out of sight. We changed the team to become more solid, but within two minutes we switch off and let Danny Rowe shoot into the top corner.

“Oldham scored two fantastic goals, but from our point of view there weren’t any positives. The quality of our passing annoyed me more than anything. We can do far better than that.”