A superb all round team performance saw Prestwich take advantage of Hopwood College’s 3G pitch to continue their recent run of form to get the better of a powerful table topping Oldham side.
Prestwich took to the field pretty much at full strength and unlike in their last 3G outing a lacklustre performance against Roach Dynamos it was clear from the off they meant business.
Playing a nice passing game they were in the ascendancy from the start but Oldham don’t top the table without reason. It was obvious they had quality in their ranks in particular in the form of their main striker who was ultimately to be subdued by a back line in which Richard Steadman and Sam Holden in particular performed brilliantly on the day.
The team as a whole were competing strongly for every loose ball.. and usually winning it. The chances soon started to come and Prestwich took the lead on six minutes when a slick exchange of passes saw Matthew Struminski burst through on goal some 30 yards out to the right of the area, he held off a couple of challenges to plant a powerful low shot across the keeper just inside the left hand post.
The sheer determination in the side to get something out of the game was typified when minute later Chris Hopkins was booked for a thunderous challenge in the hectic midfield, arguably it could have been a straight red card but nonetheless it set the tone for the day and sent a none too subtle message to the opponents that this was not going to be the easy outing they may have anticipated.
Prestwich continued to play the much better football with Hopkins, Struminski and David Prieto patiently recycling the ball between them in the central areas waiting for the chance to release wide men Steve Murty and Mike Neary who caused havoc throughout with their penetrative running down the flanks.
It wasn’t all one way though and Oldham also had good wide players capable of taking on and beating defenders as well as having the benefit of a strong wind behind them, but Prestwich keeper Mike Hudson was also having a blinding game, not so much with shot stopping but his judgment of when to come of his line and when not to was precise to the point that he was effectively operating as a sweeper, whilst his handling of speculative shots and crosses was perfectly sure too.
The half petered out with Prestwich continuing to play the better football but unable to get that all crucial second goal despite Sean Haslam and Murty both coming preciously close whilst Oldham remained a threat throughout with their more direct approach, although a late scramble from a corner saw Hopkins head one of the line to save the day.
The second half continued to be a real blood and thunder affair with no quarters given by either side but Prestwich generally had the upper hand football wise, and defensively they were excellent the back four and keeper nullified the Oldham attack to limit them largely to long range speculative shots or just pumping high balls forward which was food and drink for Holden and Steadman.
As the half wore on the only negative was the frustrating inability to score the crucial second goal to make the game safe and one sensed Oldham were bound to come on with a surge before the final whistle.
Time and time again the shots rained in and ball fizzed around the Oldham box as Haslam, Murty and Neary proved just too hot to handle for the Oldham defence but Oldham too had an excellent keeper on top of his game.
As the minutes ticked away sure enough Oldham did up the pressure forcing a string of corners but in truth Prestwich looked just as likely to add a second goal on the breakaway.
Nonetheless it was a relief when the final whistle came and the lads got the victory they thoroughly deserved. The next few games are all against teams around them in the table and will be pivotal to the season but if the same levels of commitment and application are repeated then this group are more than capable of continuing their unbeaten run.
