Soccer
Mark Robins satisfied as Stoke pass ‘tough test’ and beat Oldham in Carabao Cup
Satisfied Stoke boss Mark Robins praised his side for a workmanlike 2-0 win over Oldham in the Carabao Cup first round.
An unlucky own goal from captain Ollie Norburn and a late strike from Robert Bozenik proved the difference as the Championship side avoided an upset against their League Two visitors.
“It was good, I’m pleased because it was a difficult game,” praised Robins. “We scored two goals and we’re into the next round.
“Teams from the lower divisions always give it their all. At this stage of the season there’s plenty of shocks that can happen.
“It was a tough game because they [Oldham] gave everything. They had some good opportunities but we had we had some good chances ourselves and their keeper made some really good saves.
“They made it really difficult because they just tried to block up the middle.
“The pitch was dry and we had to work hard. The goal came with a slice of fortune, but the delivery from Sorba [Thomas] meant their defender had no choice and it flew into the top corner.
“It became scrappy as we went for a second goal, but it was a competitive game and that’s what we wanted.”
Oldham manager Micky Mellon said: “We’ve shown enough to be optimistically excited.
“We did ourselves justice against a team that has been unbelievably heavily invested in.
“We showed plenty of qualities today that we can build on. We had a go at it, we didn’t sit back and we showed some really good qualities at times.”
