The Greater Manchester club welcomed in the new year with a 3-1 victory over Leeds on January 1, and the pleasure for their manager and one-time Elland Road employee, John Sheridan, was every bit as intense after he gatecrashed the start of United's new home schedule.

At the turn of the year, Oldham's job was to pick off a woefully under-performing Leeds side and a team who were asking to be beaten, but the result produced in West Yorkshire yesterday was a triumph for sharp finishing in a match they could not claim to have dominated. Gary McAllister's only sensation, and that of his players, was one of simple frustration.

United controlled the first half of their opening home game without allowing Oldham to see the white of Casper Ankergren's eyes, but two goals from Chris Taylor in a 15-minute period after half-time created a deficit that Leeds were unable to overcome. After a convincing win over Scunthorpe last weekend, McAllister did not expect to be addressing a first defeat of the season seven days later.

But for two pieces of lax defending, United would have dragged a goalless draw out of the match, but their unpredictable attacking display was a backwards step from the creative showing which saw off Scunthorpe last Saturday. There have been few stages in McAllister's reign at Elland Road when his side looked as unlikely to score as they did yesterday.

United's manager retained, with good reason, the side which overran Scunthorpe but the make-up of his bench was more of a talking point.
Leeds' 16-man squad had no room for either Bradley Johnson and Lubomir Michalik, both omitted to allow space for Paul Telfer and Jonathan Douglas, and Andrew Hughes was also surplus to Leeds' first home fixture after his short appearance as a substitute at Glanford Park.

With Neil Kilkenny preparing to re-engage at Elland Road after his return from the Olympic Games in China, McAllister's collection of players is swelling to the point where it could scarcely become deeper, at least for a club with a League One budget. As striking as the list of players included was the names of those who were not.

It is a situation that was destined to persist for as long as Leeds continue to move as ominously as they did through the first week of the season. Though five goals were produced at Chester City on Tuesday night, it was victory at Scunthorpe which better demonstrated the quite assurance of McAllister players. Oldham's success in Yorkshire, however, had the opposite effect.

Leeds had chased Scunthorpe's heels during the first half at Glanford Park before running their hosts into the ground, but Oldham's performance was more cautious and their players were easily contained by Leeds for 45 minutes.

Their chances were surprisingly few for a team who had scored four times against Millwall on the first day of the season, though it took just a brief opening after half-time to secure their first goal and open the way to a win which will attract league-wide attention.

Comfortable though Leeds were, the game was a non-spectacle until Taylor's initial strike and another example of the comparative standard that is likely to be evident between so many League One clubs this season.

United's only sniff of a goal before half-time arrived in the ninth minute when a controlled volley from Andy Robinson struck the legs of Reuben Hazell, blocking a path which was leading to the left-hand corner of the net of Mark Crossley, Oldham's seemingly ageless goalkeeper.

Jonathan Howson produced a similar strike and Robert Snodgrass, recovered from a hamstring strain, slashed a half-chance over the crossbar. Oldham, too, were capable of nothing more than an easily-saved shot from Taylor.

Taylor's involvement was more important in front of his own goal, where he appeared to head away a free-kick from Robinson which Jermaine Beckford had cushioned in front of Crossley, but the half was aptly summed up by Frazer Richardson's 35-yard shot that deflected high into the crowd shortly after. Oldham's defence had given up little when pressed.

A late flourish created two further openings for Leeds, the first a shot from Beckford that Taylor threw his body in front of and the second a Snodgrass header which cleared the bar, and the sight of Oldham being briefly stretched may have enthused McAllister. It had taken the same set of players an hour to get Scunthorpe by the throat and under their spell.

But in a repeat of United's fixture at Glanford Park, Oldham manufactured a lead five minutes into the second half.

The visitors worked the ball down the right wing and into the box towards Lee Hughes who, from eight yards out, dinked a lob over Casper Ankergren and against the bar. Richardson had moved to cover the goalline but the angle of the deflection off the woodwork worked against United's captain and allowed Taylor to nudge a gentle header over the line.

The concern for McAllister increased momentarily four minutes later when Lewis Alessandra turned Mark Allott's shot into Ankergren's net, but from a position which was clearly offside and saw the necessary flag raised, and he had as much reason to complain on the hour when Sean Gregan went unpunished for an apparent pull on Showunmi's shirt inside Oldham's box.

Gregan's reaction indicated that United's striker had been the guilty party and Mick Russell, the match referee agreed.

But a second goal arrived in the 65th minute and the fact that it came once again from Taylor confirmed United's defeat.

The winger ran onto a throw-in chested down to him by Hughes and, without a United defender near him on the edge of the box, placed a curling finish past Ankergren's left hand.

It took United's Danish keeper to deny Alessandra a third goal with a timely intervention at the striker's feet on 85 minutes, a save which made no difference to the scoreline but left


LEEDS UNITED: Ankergren, Richardson, Marques, Huntington, Sheehan, Snodgrass, Prutton, Howson (Delph 65), Robinson, Showunmi (Becchio 65), Beckford. Subs (not used): Lucas, Telfer, Douglas.

OLDHAM ATHLETIC: Crossley, Eardley, Hazell, Gregan, Lomax, Liddell (Smalley 79), Allott, Whittaker, Taylor, Alessandra (Maher 89), Hughes (O'Grady 68). Subs (not used): Stam, Fleming.

REFEREE: M Russell (Hertfordshire).

ATTENDANCE: 24,631.