Oldham play ok but exit the EFL Cup

Stoke City 2 - 0 Oldham Athletic

League Two Oldham made Championship side Stoke City work hard for this win to earn them progress to the next round.

Author | Alex W

Mark Robins’ side needed an own goal from Oldham’s summer signing Oli Norburn to break the deadlock, before Robert Bozenik’s composed finish secured their progress.

Despite the defeat, Oldham can take plenty of encouragement from a performance in which they competed well for long spells.

Both clubs have enjoyed notable League Cup runs in the past. Stoke won the competition in 1972 and reached the quarter-finals in 2020-21, while Oldham made the final in 1989-90.

Do you remember this memorable campaign Oldham fans?

A closer analysis of what happened

Robins handed competitive debuts to three summer recruits, with Svante Ingelsson and £10m signing Ethan Galbraith looking assured in midfield, while former Dundee defender Luke Graham impressed at the back.

The Stoke manager will have been encouraged by what he saw, although his side were unable to find a breakthrough in a first half in which both teams created opportunities and Oldham more than held their own.

Calum Kavanagh was a lively presence in attack for Mick Mellon’s side, setting up Mike Fondop early on, only for the striker to be denied twice by Viktor Johansson.

Fondop returned the favour shortly before the interval, but Kavanagh could only direct his effort straight at Johansson.

Stoke had gone closest in between those chances, with Sam Gallagher seeing an effort saved by Oldham goalkeeper Matt Hudson after 15 minutes. He fired over after the half-hour mark before heading narrowly wide of the top-right corner four minutes before half-time.

The Potters took the lead three minutes after the restart, with Norburn, who joined Oldham on a free transfer from Notts County this summer, inadvertently turning Sorba Thomas’ corner into his own net as he attempted to clear with his head.

Stoke grew more comfortable from there and wrapped up the victory eight minutes from time. Bae Jun-Ho slipped a through ball into Bozenik’s path and the Slovakian forward kept his composure, finishing low into the bottom-right corner from 14 yards.