Oldham Athletic manager Micky Mellon was sent off on Sunday evening after headbutting Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Callum Slattery during an eventful FA Cup first-round tie at Boundary Park. Despite their manager losing his cool in the closing stages of regulation time, the League Two side managed to claim an impressive victory over their opponents from the division above to ensure their spot in the next phase of the tournament.
The dramatic incident occurred with the scoreline poised at 1-1 as the match approached its final five minutes. Mellon found himself in a touchline confrontation with Slattery, grabbing the Sheffield Wednesday player by the neck and dragging him close as words were traded. The Oldham boss then directed his head towards Slattery, sending him to the floor and instantly sparking a massive touchline brawl involving players and staff from both sides.
As pushing and shoving erupted across the touchline, Mellon was pulled away by members of the coaching staff alongside Owls captain Barry Bannan. Around a minute after the chaos began, referee Martin Woods displayed a straight red card to Mellon, who immediately walked off to watch the remainder of the fixture from the stands. Commentating on the clash for TNT Sports, Tottenham and England legend Glenn Hoddle questioned the manager's discipline, stating: "There's little one-v-one's in there. It's all gone off, everyone's involved. I don't know what on earth the manager is thinking there, I really don't."
Oldham held their nerve on the pitch after the contest finished 1-1 in regular time, with Will Sutton's opening goal having been cancelled out by Wrexham loanee Davis Keillor-Dunn. In extra time, Calum Kavanagh struck the decisive winning goal to eliminate the Owls. Ahead of the FA Cup second round draw taking place on Monday, November 9 at approximately 6:45pm, Mellon will be left hoping that any further disciplinary punishment for his actions does not rule him out of Oldham's upcoming tie in December.
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