Oldham boss Dave Penney admitted his injury-hit side got what they expected at Carrow Road on Saturday. "This is a really tough place to come to, there's no doubt about that, and we were hanging on at times," he admitted.

Oldham boss Dave Penney admitted his injury-hit side got what they expected at Carrow Road on Saturday.

"This is a really tough place to come to, there's no doubt about that, and we were hanging on at times," he admitted. "Even with our top players, the likes of (Chris) Taylor, (Pawel) Abbott and (Jonathan) Worthington it's going to be a tough ask.

"We tried to match them up and stop (Wes) Hoolahan playing, but they're a good footballing side and you can see why they're up there and they'll be up there come the end of the season too."

Although Oldham were rarely in it, City needed a couple of smart saves by keeper Fraser Forster to deny Keigan Parker and Danny Whitaker in the closing stages.

"It was tough going first half, but second half we've made three good chances - one for Parker and one for Whitaker that could have changed things," Penney added.

"Keigan's chance - is it a good save or a bad miss? It hit his elbow and spun round the post. Danny has had a good one-on-one chance too, and you don't get many of those chances against teams like this and you have to take them.

"However, that's not to say we'd have deserved a draw, but they change the game and the underlying fact is they're a better team. Against these big teams it is important to keep it tight and we did that for 20 minutes.

"But then we get caught as (Deane) Smalley is offside and it's a quick free kick and before you know it the ball's in our net, but we should still be dealing with the ball as it comes in.

"And the second is our free-kick and we give it away softly and it's another quick break and goal. We're very disappointed in that."