Woooo! Well done

The beginning of the New Year marked the return of Paul Scholes to first-team management following two months of Ryan Giggs' leadership. It began slowly with two draws with Southampton and Rotherham United but have not lost a single game in 156 days since our 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in late September. Obviously our 3-1 win over Crystal Palace which earned us the Capital One Cup title is a standout showpiece, but the unbeaten run is really something else. Nobody can top that unlike the Capital One Cup.

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Fixtures

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F.A. CUP 3RD ROUND
SOUTHAMPTON 1 (Pellé 5), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 1 (Fierro 29).

SFC: Forster, Clyne, Fonte, Garay, Bertrand, Wanyama, Bentaleb (Davis 45), Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Mané (Ramírez 62), Pellé (Long 77)

OAFC: Leali, Douglas, Vallejo, Walsh, Bittencourt, Guthrie, Jones, Dombaxe, Arango, King, Fierro

Referee: M. Atkinson

Booked: Douglas (Oldham)

Attendance: 16,451

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 2 (Arango 29 Fierro 63), ROTHERHAM UNITED 2 (Taylor pen 89 Kelly 90+1).

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Bittencourt, Jones, Palacios (Guidetti 45), Dombaxe, Arango, Bakkali, Fierro

RUFC: Collin, O'Brien, Morgan, Wood, Taylor (Broadfoot 90), Kelly, Smallwood, Barton (Moussi 90), Segolela, Ward, Cole

Referee: M. Naylor

Booked: Vallejo (Oldham)

Attendance: 11,374

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F.A. CUP 3RD ROUND REPLAY
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 5 (Fierro 4, 45+1 Parkin 20, 66, 81), SOUTHAMPTON 1 (Tadic 72).

OAFC: Leali, Mandora, Vallejo, Walsh, Bittencourt, Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe, Arango (Parkin 15), King, Fierro

SFC: Forster, Clyne, Fonte, Garay, Bertrand, Wanyama (Tadic 56), Bentaleb (Davis 45), Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez, Long

Referee: L. Probert

Booked: None.

Attendance: 13,500

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
BRISTOL CITY 0, OLDHAM ATHLETIC 1 (Fierro 22).

BCFC: Fielding, Little, Hall, Osborne, Cunningham, Keegan, Smith, Perkins, Martin, Freeman, Blackstock

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Bittencourt, Jones, Palacios, Dombaxe, Arango (Sharples 45), King (Bakkali 66), Fierro

Referee: M. Oliver

Booked: Hall, Keegan (Bristol), Fisher (Oldham)

Attendance: 14,999

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CAPITAL ONE CUP SEMI-FINAL LEG 1
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 (Nkoulou 47 Eriksen 87), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 3 (Fierro 66 Walsh 83 Dombaxe 85).

THFC: Vorm, Wood, Nkoulou, Ball, Lloyd, Mason, Carroll (Moutinho 59), Gokhan Tore (Lamela 61), Eriksen, Lennon, Zahovic

OAFC: Leali, Mandora, Vallejo, Walsh, Bittencourt, Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe, Arango, King, Fierro

Referee: K. Friend

Booked: Mason, Lloyd (Spurs)

Attendance: 34,607

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F.A. CUP 4TH ROUND
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 4 (King 39, 71 Dombaxe 63 Fierro 72), AFC BOURNEMOUTH 1 (Rantie 25).

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford, Jones (Sharples 81), Palacios, Dombaxe, Arango, King (Bakkali 81), Fierro

AFCB: Forde, Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels, Ritchie, Gosling, O'Kane, Surman, Fraser (Quintana 45), Rantie

Referee: A. Marriner

Booked: Walsh, Vallejo (Oldham), Daniels (Bournemouth)

Attendance: 7,406

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CAPITAL ONE CUP SEMI-FINAL LEG 2
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 4 (Fierro 7, 16 King 45+1 Vallejo 83), TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 (Adebayor 10, pen 12 Gokhan Tore 77).

OAFC: Leali, Mandora, Vallejo, Pearce, Walsh, Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe, Arango, King, Fierro

THFC: Lloris, Walker, Nkoulou, Emmanuel, Rose, Biglia (Paulinho 51), Dembélé, Lamela (Gokhan Tore 74), Eriksen, Townsend, Adebayor

Referee: L. Mason

Booked: Mandora (Oldham), Gokhan Tore (Spurs)

Attendance: 13,500

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
SWINDON TOWN 1 (Thompson 69), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 5 (King 26, 29, pen 45+1 Foderingham og 57 Fierro 90+1).

STFC: Foderingham, Cranie, Thompson, Dunne, Byrne, Alcock, Kasim, Luongo, Bostock, Riera, Williams

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford (Pearce 45), Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe (Parkin 63), Arango, King, Fierro

Referee: D. Drysdale

Booked: Kasim (Swindon), Walsh (Oldham)

Attendance: 10,341

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 2 (Fisher 7 Guidetti pen 26), NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0.

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford (Pearce 45), Jones, Sharples (Palacios 59), Dombaxe, Arango, King, Guidetti

NFFC: Steele, Richards, Hobbs, Wilson, Cohen, Burke, Alli, Lansbury, Osborn, Weimann, Helenius

Referee: C. Kavanagh

Booked: Sharples (Oldham), Lansbury (Forest)

Attendance: 10,500

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OLDHAM ATHLETIC 2 (Jones 7 Fierro pen 83), LEEDS UNITED 2 (Zuculini 90 Iheanacho 90+2).

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford, Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe, Arango, King, Fierro

LUFC: Neto, Byram, Wisdom, Mulgrew (Ilori 84), Fuchs, Cook, Gradel, Skjelbred (McEachran 64), Zuculini, Young, Athanasiadis (Iheanacho 45)

Referee: D. Coote

Booked: Vallejo (Oldham)

Attendance: 12,632

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1 (Sigurdarson pen 35), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 2 (Vallejo 4 Fierro 9).

WWFC: Lewis, Zaccardo, Batth, Stearman, Golbourne, O'Neil, Saville, McDonald, Sako, Sigurdarson, Dicko

OAFC: Leali, Mandora, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford (Fisher 77), Jones, Palacios, Dombaxe, Arango, King, Fierro

Referee: T. Kettle

Booked: Dicko (Wolves), Mandora, Walsh, Ford, Vallejo (Oldham)

Attendance: 21,735

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F.A. CUP 5TH ROUND
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 1 (Pope 72), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 9 (Dombaxe 5, 79 Fierro 13, 23 Walsh 39, 41, 67 Sharples 70 King 73).

PAFC: McCormick, Doyley, M'voto, McHugh, Mellor, Purrington, O'Connor, Rose, Cox, Reid, Pope

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford, Jones, Sharples (Palacios 83), Dombaxe (Parkin 83), Arango, King, Fierro

Referee: M. Clattenburg

Booked: Purrington, Cox (Plymouth), Fisher, Vallejo, Ford (Oldham)

Attendance: 16,388

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 3 (Bikey-Amougou og 49 King 54 Fierro 74), CHARLTON ATHLETIC 0.

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo, Walsh, Ford, Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe (Parkin 65), Arango, King, Fierro

CAFC: Henderson, Wilson, Ben-Haim, Bikey-Amougou, Stevens, Stanislas, Cousins, Jackson, Gudmondsson, Lepoint, Vetokele

Referee: A. Taylor

Booked: Fisher, Ford (Oldham), Bikey-Amougou (Charlton)

Attendance: 9,728

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Clayton 71), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 1 (Fierro 45).

BORO: Bunn, Kelly, Ayala, Gibson, Friend, Damiá, Lowe (Clayton 62), Leadbitter, Reach, Karimi, Delort

OAFC: Leali, Mandora (Pearce 82), Vallejo, Walsh, Ford, Jones, Sharples, Dombaxe (Fisher 76), Arango, King, Fierro

Referee: M. Haywood

Booked: Jones, Ford (Oldham)

Attendance: 16,775

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SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 2 (Fierro pen 52 Vallejo 82), NORWICH CITY 0.

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Pearce, Vallejo, Walsh, Jones, Palacios (Sharples 63), Dombaxe, Arango, King (Bakkali 83), Fierro

NCFC: Ruddy, Efete, Bennett, Burgess, Toffolo, Evans (Howson 45), Johnson (Tettey 63), Redmond, Murphy, Murphy, van Wolfswinkel

Referee: M. Heywood

Booked: Palacios (Oldham)

Attendance: 9,904

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CAPITAL ONE CUP FINAL
CRYSTAL PALACE 1 (Gayle 26), OLDHAM ATHLETIC 3 (Arango 45 Dombaxe 82 Fierro 84).

CPFC: Hennessey, Hunt (Souaré 75), Dann, Hangeland, Ward, Puncheon (Bolasie 62), McArthur, Guédioura (Ledley 45), Lucas Piazón, Chung-Yong, Gayle

OAFC: Leali, Fisher, Vallejo (Pearce 73), Walsh, Ford, Jones (Palacios 89), Sharples, Dombaxe, Arango, King (Bakkali 58), Fierro

Referee: C. Pawson

Booked: Hangeland (Palace), Sharples, Vallejo, Fisher (Oldham)

Attendance: 90,000

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Transfers

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In January we didn't sign a single player, but we let go of nine, totaling fees up to £23.95 MILLION. Yes, you heard that right. Our net spend this month was £23.95 million pounds. It really must be some sort of record for a Championship side? The departure of Douglas to Southampton was our greatest earner, selling to the Premier League side for £6.5m - a record club sale.

In this years youth intake, we bring in four stand-out players to the team - Febian Parsonage, Gari Rother, Mark Cook and Mick Park. Although we know they won't develop into world beaters, they will play for the first team at some stage in their careers - should they keep progressing at the rate they are at this moment in time.

They join an under-18's side that have yet to lose a game under Ryan Giggs' leadership in Group 6. The Under-18's have won all 24 games they have played in their league, whilst still competing in the Under-18's Cup - currently at the semi-final stage as they come up against Manchester United at Trafford Training Centre this coming Tuesday. Unfortunately for the youngsters, the first-team have a game against Wigan Athletic on the same day so manager Paul Scholes - the man who took the youth team for eleven games during his alcoholic recovery period will not be available to make the game. It would be a game he would love to make as it is the under-18's first proper challenge against a real team, along with the fact Scholes was once in their shoes in the Manchester United youth team, having spent his career there.

The new youth intakes will be going into a side containing the likes of Ghanaian hitman Anthony Asamoah - who has bagged 61 goals in the youth team since joining in October, left-back Xabi Negredo, who has a monster of a free-kick and finally, Joe Boden, who joined the club for £250,000 in the Summer and has proven his worth by netting 34 goals in 34 youth team games whilst being deployed at left-wing despite him being a natural striker.

Mick Park

The left-winger has everything you need in a winger and more. He has the dribbling, the ability to cross, the pace, the determination, the agility - everything. If he continues to develop at the rate he's going at the boy will definitely be Premier League standard within a few years of coaching, and with the experience of fellow former left-winger Ryan Giggs, anything is possible. The Welshman will tell Park everything he needs to do to be a success at Oldham and maybe beyond.

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Febian Personage

Although nothing particularly 'stands out', Febian has qualities across the board that will come in handy for progression - for example, determination. His determination is one of the best in the club, that along with his work rate compliment each other immensely. Despite saying nothing stands out, he has pace required to develop as he gets older which is already excellent for such a young lad. His finishing is questionable at times but mostly, Personage can finish 80% of good chances from what our coaches have seen.

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Gari Rother

The white hair and the unique spelling of Gari [Gary] makes him stand out enough for the coaches - you can't miss him! But thankfully, the midfielder has talent so the eyes watching him can enjoy themselves. He has been operating as a ball-winning midfielder in recent matches apparently and has earned himself praise from supporters for his tackling and passing qualities. A questionable quality is his aggression, the boy no doubt has it - but whether he can use it to his advantage will be the key factor as to if he makes it here.

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Mark Cook

With Cook I have a slight issue. He is quite small for the position he is meant to be playing. This gives him a significant disadvantage, but then again, I've seen plenty of small centre-backs like Cook himself become some of the world's greatest. His defensive ability has made up for his height disadvantage, however when he starts playing at the top level, he will be up against many big strikers, which is all I'm worried about - so I hope he can start growing sooner rather than later otherwise there's a small possibility he may be left behind by others.

2015-04-05 17:16#211241 Tallery : Woooo! Well done

Thanks Tom

After confirming their title win six games early, and winning the Capital One Cup at the end of February, Oldham are going hunting for their third trophy in one season as they go up against Premier League leaders Manchester United for the third time in two years.

The Latics have had the luxury of many great cup ties under the leadership of Man United legend Paul Scholes, such as Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in recent years - but ties against Manchester United only come around every so often, and when they do, you have to make the most of it.

Oldham have made the most of it recently, with the first tie under Scholes coming last year as a last-minute Andy Johnson penalty put Oldham through to the F.A. Cup 6th Round. This was followed the corresponding season - this season, in the Capital One Cup 3rd Round as a Carlos Fierro goal in the 120th minute decided the game as Oldham went onto win that cup.

For Louis van Gaal, he will be wanting revenge on a manager that he admitted he 'admired' before the game. The past two results has caused serious embarrassment for him and his club, but as they won the title last year, the embarrassment is spared for another time, and with the Red Devils top of the league in the top-flight you can't see them being too embarrassed should they lose today.

Just three days ago van Gaal's men were in Spain playing for a Champions League semi-final place against Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón. They had lost the first leg at Old Trafford 2-1, with goals coming from Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann of Atlético, and Falcao from Man United. The next fixture ended in tears for van Gaal's men as his players could not manage an all important win in Spain as the game finished 1-1, with Phil Jones scoring a late goal for United.

Scholes will be hoping his former team will not only be demoralised, but jet lagged also. The other fixture at this stage of the cup is the Brighton & Hove Albion vs Newcastle United game which will take place tomorrow at Wembley.

In his pre-match interview, Scholes offered his opinion ahead of the game, the Oldham/United rivalry and Louis van Gaal. Being asked which would be the bigger prize out of achieving the final or beating Manchester United, Paul replied "Getting to the final would be a wonderful achievement - but I know the fans would love to get another one over our rivals so it would be even sweeter to win tomorrow."

He was then asked about Louis van Gaal's comments about Oldham being 'lucky' to win the other two fixtures between the two sides. "I've got to say I am finding it pretty funny to be honest, it's history to me, we won, they lost, but it looks like Louis is still angry about it."

This fuelled a war of words between the Dutchman and the England international, with van Gaal coming out in the press the next day, proclaiming 'Scholes has no right to talk about me like that'.



The mind-games will definitely make today's game more exciting, with both teams going out with sheer determination, fronted by their manager's comments.

William Oakes of TEAMtalk.com believes that Oldham might scrape a win against United, with the absence injured stars Ángel Di María, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and the suspended Daley Blind giving a huge advantage in favour of Oldham. However, match odds from Sky Bet declare Louis van Gaal's side the favourites, coming in at 4-6 odds, a draw being 9-4, and an Oldham win at 7-2.

Oldham boast the cups top scorer in their ranks today, as Carlos Fierro starts up front for Oldham. The Mexican wonderkid has scored seven goals throughout this tournament and he has no doubt caught the eyes of scouts across the world with his exploits this season. It's not the only threat Oldham have in the striking department, as Swedish international John Guidetti is on the bench ahead of this fixture. The former Man City man has netted 24 goals in 25 games in all competitions this season.

The line-ups have been handed in to the referee's and here they are:

Man Utd XI: 13 De Gea, 4 Jones, 12 Smalling, 15 Vertonghen, 43 Borthwick-Jackson, 24 Mavuba, 21 Ander Herrera, 50 Bonfield, 14 Sneijder, 41 Henríquez, 49 Wilson

Oldham XI: 25 Leali, 22 Fisher, 5 Vallejo, 12 Walsh, 23 Ford, 16 Jones, 42 Sharples, 7 Dombaxe, 20 Arango, 17 King, 9 Fierro

Man Utd Subs: 1 Valdes, 5 Rojo, 8 Mata, 9 Falcao, 16 Nani, 45 Varela, 10 Rooney

Oldham subs: 10 Guidetti, 27 Mandora, 39 Parkin, 11 Bakkali, 4 Pearce, 15 Palacios

Now the teams are lining up in the famous Wembley tunnel, with both managers having made no eye-contact as of yet at the front of the line of famous names. They're out! This is the F.A. Cup Semi-Final on ITV, and now we will head out to our commentary team, Martin Tyler and Alan Smith.

0': Yes, thank you and welcome to Wembley the two managers HAVE shaken hands contrary to discussion that they wouldn't so that's that over, now it's time to get on with the game here! Oldham might see this fixture as a warm-up as well as a semi-final as they will be in the Premier League next year no matter how the next few results pan out from here.

1': Manchester United's Angelo Henríquez kicks off the game for us here, passing to strike partner James Wilson to start the clock.

3': Borthwick-Jackson takes the throw-in in Oldham's half here, Herrera lays it back down the line for Borthwick-Jackson to run onto. It's a cross headed away by Jesús Vallejo, but only finds Bonfield who heads it onto Henríquez's head! Held by Leali. Good start by Man United. Leali boots the ball up to the free Laste Dombaxe in United's half, he gets down the line, his cross his blocked but falls back to the feet of Darnell Fisher, his cross is blocked now and Wesley Sneijder takes control. Vallejo wins the ball and passes to Dominic Sharples. Now it's Carlos Fierro, he turns to run at the Man United defence, plays in Arango! Great sliding tackle from Smalling there!

9': De Gea to take the goal kick for United. Walsh gets above Wilson to win the header here, Arango takes the ball down on his knee and gives it to former Man United winger Joshua King, who'll be hoping to make an impact against his old team today. It's Sharples now. He runs across the width of the box and shoots! De Gea handles it with ease.

18': Leali takes the goal kick for Oldham, floats the ball just above the grass to Darnell Fisher. He's made a massive punt upfield that Fierro may win here! He's got ahead of Vertonghen, Fierro's one-on-one! Brilliant save from David De Gea! Superb stuff from the Spaniard!

20': Phil Jones takes the free-kick for United. Short to Mavuba, Chris Smalling finds his partner Jan Vertonghen here, great ball across to Borthwick-Jackson, who's making his first-team debut today, covering for the injured Luke Shaw. He skips past Fisher's challenge and he's got acres of space to run into here, Sneijder plays in Wilson! Great save by Nicola Leali! Both keepers on top form at Wembley today! Sneijder will take the corner. Walsh heads away and King pounces on the loose ball, but it's out for a throw-in.

22': Ford throws it to Sharples. Mavuba makes the tackle, Sneijder now. Henríquez receives it before giving it back to Jones. Sneijder is tackled by Jones now. Joe Walsh has time to study his options here, he picks Sharples who is immediately tackled by Henríquez. Poor decision by Walsh there. Sneijder has it, plays in Wilson! Goal! Wilson has put Manchester United one up against Oldham! Is the Oldham hoodoo over?! It's Manchester United who have broken the deadlock here at Wembley!

22': Man United 1 - 0 Oldham Athletic

26': Vertonghen wins the ball from Dombaxe, tries to find Henríquez but only finds Joe Walsh who heads it to Fierro in the United half. First time volleyed pass to Joshua King here, back to Fierro! Blasts it over the bar! Awful effort there! De Gea boots it long from the goal-kick. Headed away by Walsh, Arango has it now. King on the left, a pass is cleared by Smalling, Vallejo brings it down superbly, then passes centrally to Mike Jones. Dombaxe turns to run down the right flank, laid off for Fisher, passed back to Dombaxe, gives it inside to Arango! Goal! That's the equaliser! Oldham hit straight back with a goal! Poor effort by De Gea to get low for the shot but it doesn't matter! It's 1-1 at Wembley Stadium! Jhon Arango!

26': Man United 1 - 1 Oldham Athletic

28': Arango takes the corner for Oldham now, straight back on the attack after their equaliser. Smalling heads softly away, with the ball still inside the box. Arango finds Dombaxe who hits a first time shot, blocked by Vertonghen and it's at the feet of Henríquez, booted up for Sneijder, headed away by Simon Ford. Fisher takes a heavy first touch but still has possession, the cross is blocked for a throw-in.

29': Borthwick-Jackson throws it down the line, straight to Fisher. Herrera heads the clearance to Mavuba. Hits it all the way back to De Gea now, hits a low pass for Phil Jones, who is immediately under pressure from Fierro and King. Smalling passes back to De Gea yet again. This time Vertonghen receives it. Bonfield, Sneijder here. Wilson hits a shot well wide of the goal. Paul Scholes looks over to van Gaal, who ignores his presence. Leali passes to Ford out on the left, finds Mike Jones in the middle in space, Fierro has it now, swivels and finds Joshua King excellently, King has a shot deflected and cleared by Borthwick-Jackson.

35': Jones takes the throw-in. Herrera to Bonfield. Walsh stops a pass to Henríquez getting through, Fisher hoofs a ball forward towards Dombaxe, great pass there. He's stopped it at the byline, the cross goes too far but King brings it down. Mavuba clears but only to Walsh. Ford skips past Rio Mavuba. He's put a teasing cross into the middle! Cleared by Borthwick-Jackson.

37': Ford lines up a long throw into the box, De Gea catches. Shocking punt forwards though, only finds Fisher in yards of space. Jones lays off Sharples. Oh but Vallejo has lost it in a bad area, Wilson's tackled him! Oh dear, oh dear. That is absolutely shocking from Wilson, he's taken a shot from 40 yards out and almost hits the corner flag!

45+2': The referee blows the whistle for half-time at Wembley, the teams go in level 1-1 at the break.

HT: Man United 1 - 1 Oldham Athletic

46': Oldham kick off the second 45 at Wembley here.

49': Arango swings a corner into the box, Jones volleys it away to Darnell Fisher. Ford accelerates forward before finding Arango on the edge of the box. He's hit a shot! Saved by De Gea! Corner for Oldham. Arango swings another cross in, Smalling attempts to clear but it's gone back, thankfully though Borthwick-Jackson is there to clear it.

51': Fisher has a throw-in in United's half here. Dombaxe has received it. Fisher has it, back to Dombaxe, back to Fisher again. Short pass to Mike Jones in the box, tackled by Bonfield, it's back at Dombaxe's feet now. He's laid off Sharples, his shot hits a few bodies before finding its way to Arango, but Herrera tackles and clears.

53': Fisher throws it to Arango. Herrera tackles now, Bonfield receives the pass. A long ball is headed away by Vallejo. Sneijder passes to Wilson, back to Sneijder who hits it way wide of the post.

54': Walsh to Ford. Ford to Sharples. Sharples finds Arango on the edge of the box, Dombaxe hits it first time on his weaker foot! Way, way over from the Angolan. He won't want to see that effort again.

57': Ford intercepts a Phil Jones pass, he's given it to Sharples. Mavuba makes the tackle, Sneijder plays it into James Wilson who's one-on-one! Surely! It's straight at the keeper! Awful attempt on goal!

60': Arango will cross from this free-kick here. It's gone high and Walsh has won the aerial battle, but Vertonghen volleys it out. Fisher beats Wilson to the loose ball. He motors down the right channel. Sends a cross in... It's heading to the back post... It's on target! It's just tipped over by De Gea! Fisher almost got lucky there! Arango hits a corner into the box, Smalling heads it away. Arango just reaches the ball and it's with Simon Ford now.

62': United make a double substitution here, Juan Mata replaces Ander Herrera, Falcao replaces Angelo Henríquez. Oldham are making a change too - John Guidetti replaces Mike Jones, as Scholes switches the formation to a 4-4-2 formation.

66': Fisher takes the throw-in for Oldham. Dombaxe here, turns to send a cross in, Guidetti flicks it on for King who's skied it! Another poor effort from King.

67': Wayne Rooney comes on for the injured James Wilson. For Oldham, Zakaria Bakkali replaces the poor performing Joshua King.

72': Man United have got heavy numbers in the box ahead of this free-kick here. Mata swings a ball in, Jones heads it high up in the air, teasing Nicola Leali, but he's taken it excellently and caught it. He launches a throw out to Simon Ford. He's made about 15 yards from that run and now it's with the substitute Zakaria Bakkali. Plays it to John Guidetti, knocks it back to Arango who is now operating as a central midfielder now. Laste Dombaxe has it, Borthwick-Jackson makes a wonderful challenge. Mata plays a superb ball to Falcao who is in on goal now! Easy save for Leali! Awful effort from Falcao.

74': Arango to take another corner for Oldham now. Jones wins the header, Bakkali finds Jhon Arango in space here on the left. He's found Dominic Sharples centrally. Smalling tackles and Bonfield clears. Mata to Falcao, United on the counter attack here. Mavuba is tackled by Simon Ford, but Sharples loses out to Smalling and Vertonghen finds Rooney with a long, central ball. Mata's got it in the box! Fires wide! Some awful finishing on show today!

81': Rooney has a free-kick in very, very dangerous territory. He runs up, hits it miles over! Shocking free-kick from England's top scorer! The goal kick is taken and it's Simon Ford on the ball now. Smalling heads the long ball down for Bonfield, given to Sneijder. Mata has found Falcao's feet, he's taken a very powerful shot which is tipped over by Nicola Leali! The corner is hoofed away by Joe Walsh, it's found Fierro brilliantly and now he can work with Dombaxe, but he's tackled and De Gea has the ball now.

90': Phil Jones throws it to Sneijder. A poor pass has only found Simon Ford. Jones regains United's possession and gives it to De Gea. Borthwick-Jackson's pass can't beat Vallejo, its Arango now. Sharples can only find Borthwick-Jackson, who's booted it up to Mata. Falcao's one-on-one now! It's in! Falcao has put Man United through to the F.A. Cup Final! He's powered it past Leali! Great goal! Manchester United lead 2-1 in the 90th minute!

90': Man United 2 - 1 Oldham Athletic

90+4': A Guidetti free-kick is swung into the box, Vallejo just misses the ball and it's all over! Manchester United have finally beaten Paul Scholes' Oldham Athletic! Thanks to a last-gasp winner by Falcao, Man United are going through to the final! Van Gaal is jubilant on the touchline, while Scholes pays his respects to his former team Man United. It's been a good adventure for the club, but they just couldn't get over the final hurdle.

FT: Man United 2 - 1 Oldham Athletic

Just caught back up well done on promotion to the skybet and amazing signings already at the club

Oldham's first ever adventure into the heights of European football will begin with a third qualifying round tie with Danish Superliga side Aalborg Boldspilklub at Boundary Park on the 28th of July. The corresponding fixture will take place at Nordjyske Arena in Denmark. The fixtures are scheduled to take place midway through the pre-season campaign campaign between games such as Anderlecht, Lokeren and AA Gent.

This will be Oldham's first ever European campaign in their history and will be led by manager of three years Paul Scholes, who has key experience in Europe, after spending every season of his playing career including a European campaign under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United. He had a lot to say about the awaiting European challenge set before him and his team. "Oh it's absolutely brilliant, I miss being part of them European nights and now I've achieved it as a manager it's lovely stuff - honestly.

"With the players I've acquired in the summer so far, almost all of them have some form of European experience, players such as Smalling, Jones, Walcott, Rafinha and all that, they've all played in European competitions before with top, top sides like your Man United's, your Arsenal's, your Barcelona's. I have a wealth of experience at my disposal here.

"I'm hoping that experience will rub off onto first-timers like Bhavin [Mandora], Walshy [Joe Walsh] and Laste [Dombaxe]. This squad has come along a massive amount, like Dombaxe, he was released by Spurs after not showing enough potential - this season he'll be playing against them! Joe Walsh is another, a season ago he'd be in League Two with Crawley had he not joined our force, and now he'll be playing abroad instead of grounds like The Crown Ground in Accrington!"

Joe Walsh also spoke of his development as well as his 'mentor' Paul Scholes. "These past two years have been the making of me as not only a player, but a person. I was relegated with the Crawley team in 2016, and that gave me the lows and that experience of relegation made me a better player because I never want to feel that low ever again.

"Then Scholes snapped me up to play here at Boundary Park and I was just expecting a standard mid-table finish before a push for the play-offs possibly, I never thought I'd reach this height of the game when I was relegated. I was fearing my own ability, as I thought I was a good player and could've kept Crawley up, but I didn't and I was doubting myself in football. That was when I received that phone call from Scholesy.

"He asked me to come up to their training ground and help them get promoted. I was thinking 'Promotion? Is this man mad?! He's just been promoted from League One he's not getting promoted to the Premier League Jesus!'

"I was forgetting who the man who just called me was, this was Paul Scholes. As in the Manchester United legend Paul Scholes. And how wrong was I. I'm now picked in a 25-man squad and I can only thank Scholes and the coaching staff here for helping me prepare for this level."

The 25-man squad picked for the third qualifying round of the Europa League contains new signings Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Daniele Rugani, Pablo Piatti, Leandro Paredes, Rafinha, Claudio Marchisio, Theo Walcott, Séko Fofana, Marko Rog and Alexandr Kokorin.


Phil Jones and Chris Smalling will hold a main role in Oldham's defence this year

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It includes youth team players who have yet to make an appearance for the first-team as well, such as Jack Woolley, Ben Harrop, Xabi Negredo, Michael Stopforth, Jim Duffy and Anthony Asamoah, who were all part of an invincible under-18's campaign, where they maintained a 100% win record in every competition throughout their season. They were controlled by three different managers over that period, Dean Holden, then Paul Scholes who was recovering from his alcoholism and then Ryan Giggs - who takes them this year.