GT talks Jacobson’s free-kick and mixing up the squad
By Matt Johnson
Graham Turner greeted a return to winning ways with a calming smile after Town defeated Oldham 1-0 in the penultimate fixture of the 2012-13 season at the Greenhous Meadow.
Joe Jacobson’s mesmeric free-kick, his first goal of the campaign, was enough to see off the Latics who made eight changes from the side who secured safety with a win over Yeovil on Saturday.
“I thought we had a very good second half and we should’ve added to the total and put it out of sight before there was any anxiety late on,” said Turner.
“I thought we showed a lot of energy for this stage of the season and there was a lot of brightness in our play. Oldham came here and worked very hard and we had to match that, but in the end we played some good stuff, some real pacey football and I was pleased with the manner in which we performed.”
Jacobson captained the side for the second game in succession and Turner was again delighted with the impact of his stand-in skipper, not least for his superbly taken goal.
“It was a cracking goal. It usually finishes out the ground when Joe takes a free-kick, but it was a good strike in the end!
“I think he has risen to his role as captain and I think he has put in two tremendous performances as well as the goal and that might have just given him that bit of responsibility and boost as the skipper of the team.”
Making six changes for the trip to Colchester on Saturday, GT again kept faith with a young side against Oldham and is now looking ahead to the season finale with Portsmouth on Saturday.
“It’s not been tough to leave players out; you need to give youngsters a chance now and again. They are all professionals and I’ve had no problems with the players I’ve left out, they’ve just been getting on with it in training. If they’re required for Saturday I’m sure they’ll be at their best.
“It should be a good atmosphere, you hope for a carnival atmosphere. They have had a run of some very good results recently and last Saturday they beat Sheffield United comfortably so we’ll expect a hard game. It’s an indication of how big a Club they are when they’re bringing that sort of following to the last game of the season when there is nothing at stake.”