Oldham Athletic match-winner revels in Sheffield Wednesday family tie as owner celebrates 'Yorkshire spanking'
Sheffield Wednesday are out of the FA Cup after an extra-time defeat at League Two Oldham Athletic.
The man that scored the goal to put Oldham Athletic on their way to a memorable FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday has revealed a close personal tie with the club.
Calum Kavanagh broke the deadlock in a frustrating outing for the Owls, who lost in Dave Challinor’s first outing as Wednesday boss. Davis Keillor-Dunn equalised to take the match into extra-time before calamitous defending saw homegrown Latic Will Sutton poke home the winner on 110 minutes. Familiar problems reared their head as Wednesday mustered an xG of only 0.68 across the 120 minutes despite having been handed 71% possession.
“We almost knew we weren't going to have a lot of the ball,” Kavanagh told TNT Sports post-match. “They're a good team. They've got good players and we've sort of just got to be patient with them when we've got our chances. Fortunately enough, we took them today.”
Kavanagh’s goal was well-taken and comes as a full-circle moment for the former Bradford City attacker. His father Graham, a full Republic of Ireland international, enjoyed two loan stints with Wednesday towards the back end of his career.
“It's a difficult one to take, really,” Kavanagh junior said on his goal. “I remember it just sort of, it dropped and you can almost feel the whole stadium rise. I remember just thinking, just get my hip over it and hit the target and fortunately nothing went in.
“To be fair, it (Wednesday) is actually the first club I remember watching him (Graham) at. I must have probably won them six or seven, but yeah, I was delighted to get on the score sheet.”
Speaking after the game Oldham owner Frank Rothwell OBE, who helped save the club from dire financial difficulties in recent years and spent the match in the stand with supporters, claimed he wanted local rivals Rochdale in the next round. Failing that, he wanted a White Rose outfit so that his Latics could ‘hand out another Yorkshire spanking’.
“Fantastic,” he said, reflecting on an emotional night for the League Two outfit. “Did you see our supporters tonight? Weren’t they rocking? When we sang ‘stand up if you love Oldham’, everybody in the stadium stood up. Everyone here loves Oldham, just like I do. I’m passionate about Oldham.”