Ten-man Oldham left it late to snatch a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw against Carlisle.
Eardley nets in 89th minute to secure 1-1 draw
Ten-man Oldham left it late to snatch a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw against a Carlisle side who remain in relegation trouble.
Oldham had Daniel Jones sent off for his part in conceding the penalty. But they never gave up the fight and full-back Neal Eardley smashed home a 35-yard free-kick in the 89th minute to deny the Cumbrians a precious win.
There was an escape for Carlisle in just the third minute when Steve Kabba provided a perfect first-time cross for the unmarked Chris Taylor whose header thumped against the woodwork with goalkeeper Ben Williams left helpless.
Richard Keogh was lucky to get away with just a yellow card for bringing down Kabba as the Latics striker threatened to break clear.
And Oldham's sense of injustice was heightened in the 43rd minute when Michael Bridges slipped the ball through to Cleveland Taylor cutting in from the right-hand side of the box.
Taylor was hauled down by Jones and the Oldham player was red-carded as Bridges stepped up to send Shane Supple the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Guilty
Bridges was a key figure in attack for Carlisle although he was guilty of missing a sitter after Taylor had set him up with just the keeper to beat 10 yards out.
Bridges again had a great chance to extend Carlisle's lead in the 63rd minute after good work by Jeff Smith and Danny Graham but his shot from 12 yards was blocked by the Oldham defence.
Danny Whitaker wasted a great chance for the visitors after 75 minutes, glancing Eardley's cross wide from six yards when he looked certain to hit the target.
But Latics, with one win in their last seven, snatched a draw a couple of minutes from time when Eardley hammered a free-kick low past the Carlisle defensive wall beating Williams low down to the keeper's left.
