Oldham Athletic boss Micky Mellon hails promotion and backs 3Up call

Oldham Athletic‘s extra-time fightback to return to the EFL may have had boss Micky Mellon in a spin but he still took time to fly the flag for three-up three-down.

Substitutes James Norwood and Kian Harratt scored within two minutes of each other as the Latics fought back from behind to beat Southend United 3-2 in the National League Promotion Final at Wembley. 

Mellon’s men had more of the play and the vast majority of the chances after Manny Monthe had found his own net within five minutes with Joe Garner’s cool penalty early in the second half taking it beyond the 90. 

Leon Parillon put Southend back in front 38 seconds into extra-time and that was followed by Athletic’s biggest lull of the day but Norwood lashed in from Monthe’s raking ball from deep and Harratt’s inswinging cross nestled inside the far post to flip a memorable match on its head.

Oldham Athletic manager Micky Mellon celebrates promotion to the EFL
PICTURE: Alamy

Mellon: ‘This club is a monster’

“With where the game had got to you would have to say it was an unbelievable achievement, turning it around to get a result from where we were,” said Mellon. 

“You always believe you will get a chance and that you are going to have to take it.

We could have felt our chances had run out because of where the game had got to and because we had missed a lot of chances.

“I thought I might be sitting here saying you have to take those chances if you want to win big games and get promoted.

We should have had a penalty (in the first half) as well, I have seen it back and it was a stonewall penalty. 

“This club is a monster; we have a great family that backs us, and we needed to go up.

“You’d probably say the same for Southend.

“It makes so much difference to everything about Oldham as a club.

“We can really build forward behind the scenes so it is massive to get in there.

“Everything changes now, it is terrific for us and I am delighted to be able to say that.”

Change

Mellon could have stuck with basking in the glory but made a point of telling the assembled press that runners-up York City – vanquished by Oldham in the play-offs – should be celebrating promotion too. 

“It has to change,” he said. “I hope people start to listen.

“You have to give these teams a chance in the National League because there are some big clubs that have been allowed to stagnate and get bottlenecked.

“It should be three up and three down. 

“York should have gone up automatically, you cannot get that amount of points (96) and not go up.

“You couldn’t tell me that teams like York and Southend wouldn’t make the EFL better.

“The EFL has to hold an olive branch out to its original members that are struggling and trying to put good teams together to get back in.

“I have been in League Two, there are clubs that are not as ambitious or as big as those in the National League.

“It has to change to make it competitive and it would be brilliant for English football if that happened.”

Hope

There was a time when it looked like it might not be Oldham’s day but while Mellon was preparing himself for the worst, hope never evaporated.

“I wanted us to be a bit better with the ball but we looked a threat every time we went forward,” he added. 

“Mike Fondop and Joe Garner gave them a really hard time and then James Norwood came on and we knew he would always get a chance.

“He could have hit his volley better (in added time of normal time) but his goal was a cracker. 

“We were dealing with a lot coming into us but we weren’t really hanging on.

“We changed the shape to go after it a bit and that worked, the boys who came on did really well.”

Shellshocked

Southend boss Kevin Maher was left shellshocked but had no complaints over the outcome.

“We are bitterly disappointed,” he said.

“It has just gone the wrong way for us in a couple of minutes in extra-time but I am so proud of everyone, the numbers we turned up with today, the players for the effort they gave, but it just wasn’t to be.

“We are all a bit numb but that’s football.

“It comes down to moments in games.

“They ask questions and they put it on you.

“We wanted another goal to give us that real gap and when we broke we felt like Josh Walker had the legs and Macca (Macauley Bonne) had legs.

“Leon Parillon came on and got his goal but it is always down to fine margins.

“You know that one moment can change momentum in the game and that was what happened.”

READ MORE: Oldham Athletic 3-2 Southend United aet: Latics return to the Football League