The first meeting between the two Lancashire rivals in three years, Oldham Athletic went into the game having never previously won a match at the University of Bolton Stadium - and that record is one which has now been broken.

It was as tight game, and one that the visitors probably should have won, and Zak Dearnley sealed that result in the final minute of extra time.

The match

A relatively even game from the off, Oldham looked the marginally better of the two sides early on. Young midfielder Callum Whelan linked up the defence with the midfield while Congolese forward Dylan Bahamboula's added flair helped to break down the Trotters defence.

The Latics earnt a number of good chances, with top scorer Conor McAleny missing the target twice when he was given opportunities on the left wing. Bolton's defence held out well however and nullified the chances that Oldham couldn't take advantage of.

It was an unlikely hero in Ben Garrity who opened the scoring for the visitors, notching in at the back post after Danny Rowe drilled in a low ball across the box after beating his man. Holding onto their last league lead for less than sixty seconds, Oldham improved on that this time but only by a further three minutes.

Debutant Peter Kioso raced down the right wing and fired a ball into the box in a similar fashion to that played by Rowe, and this time it was met by Nathan Delfouneso who fired into the back of the net to level the scoring.

Bolton went into half time with 63% of the possession, in comparison to Oldham's 37% but it was the visitors who had made the most of the ball when they had it, albeit only scoring the same number of goals.

Second half

Harry Brockbank saw his name written in the referee's book three minutes into the second half after a late tackle on Conor McAleny inside of the Bolton half.

The Trotters immediately looked more impactful in the second half than in the first, having a number of good goalscoring opportunities but not being able to take advantage of any of them. Eoin Doyle came close in the 58th minute when he found himself in acres of space, but his effort from range was fired wide of the far post.

Latics centre-back Sido Jombati departed the pitch in the 54th minute through injury, being replaced by 22-year-old Kyle Jameson who joined from Barrow this summer. With Kewell's side already struggling defensively, they will hope that Jombati's injury is not serious

Conor McAleny found himself with a number of chances but was not able to direct any into the back of the net, being denied by the post after chipping the goalkeeper as well as twice missing the target.

Coming back from international duty with Northern Ireland's U21s, Alfie McCalmont returned in the 75th minute. The youngster had been sorely missed in previous games, the Latics lacking the abilities of the defensive midfielder.

Oldham dominated the latter part of the second half, banging on the door time and time again, and it took a moment of individual brilliance from Zak Dearnley in the 95th minute to run the length of the opposition half before scoring the winner deep into stoppage time.

Takeaways

Oldham's defence needs to improve

With David Wheater currently unavailable due to contractual disputes, Oldham have struggled defensively since the start of the season and that was evident yet again on Saturday. Harry Kewell will be hoping that Harry Clarke can help to nullify the Latics' defensive woes when he is available after joining on loan from Arsenal on deadline day, with his side comparatively much stronger going forwards.

Latics show good spirit

The visitors put on one of their best displays so far this season, creating numerous chances and threatening the Bolton defence. With their first win on the board, the Latics will look forward to their game against a Carlisle side, who they have already beat this season, on Tuesday.

Read: “To get one over them is important" - Harry Kewell’s post-match thoughts