OLDHAM Athletic boss Dino Maamria questioned the officiating but acknowledged his side lacked discipline as they were trounced 6-1 away at Mansfield Town.

A first half horror show saw Latics trailing 2-0 after a Nicky Maynard double before they had Tomas Egert and Filipe Morais sent off within two minutes of one another.

The visitors pulled a goal back through Tom Hamer, before Maynard completed a first-half hat-trick but Mansfield sealed the result with three further goals and Maamria believes the ill-discipline was the turning point of the match.

“To have two players sent off so early is always going to lead to a heavy scoreline,” Maamria said.

“We did well getting back to 2-1 but gave a silly goal before half time and that has changed things.

“The red cards were bemusing to say the least. Sometimes you get a wrong red card decision, but to get two inside the same minute is bizarre.

“I hope the referee will look back on that and get questioned because it is a huge decision.

“The moment of madness has changed the game.

“We are not winning games, we are lacking in many areas. Our discipline is poor. Like any team in the bottom four or five, we lack discipline.

“The top teams have discipline, they have fitness, they do the basics well and they have a togetherness.”

Oldham were put on the back foot straight from the kick off with Danny Rose twice going close and Otis Khan narrowly shooting wide, but the visitors’ defence finally cracked when an unmarked Maynard headed Kellan Gordon’s cross home in the 31st minute.

It got even worse for Latics three minutes later when Maynard tapped home from a yard out following a surging run from Khan.

A frustrated Oldham lost their heads moments after, as the game dramatically swung against them with two quick dismissals when Egert was given a straight red card for a late lunging tackle on Mal Benning on 37 minutes. 

Seconds later, Morais was shown a second booking for hacking down Neal Bishop in the build up to Egert’s foul.

The nine-men gave themselves brief hope when Hamer pulled a goal back after Conrad Logan flapped at a cross on 43 minutes.

But Mansfield restored their two-goal cushion when Maynard completed his hat-trick in stoppage time after Connor Shaughnessy played him in.

Oldham came out after the break with damage limitation in mind and set up with a 4-3-1 formation with Christopher Missilou the lone man up front.

But they were breached again when David Wheater turned Benning’s cross past Gary Woods on 56 minutes, Oladapo Afolayan then tapped into an empty net on 66 minutes after Mansfield cruelly exposed Oldham’s lack of numbers with a brilliant counter-attack.

Dylan Fage was stretchered off on 73 minutes to compound Oldham’s woes, just 12 minutes after coming on as a sub, after picking up an injury in the build up to the fifth goal.

Jimmy Knowles completed the scoring from the spot on 83 minutes after Hamer was harshly ruled to have tripped Afolayan.

Oldham still sit 21st in League Two with 11 points and the boss declared the support of the fans motivates him to keep improving the team.

Maamria added: “Oldham is a big club with history, the supporters were brilliant today and we have a duty to give them something to shout about.

“The fans have inspired me from day one, the way they support the players and get behind the team is second to none.

“It is a big responsibility for me, and I have to build a team for them to be proud of.”

Mansfield Town (3-5-2): Conrad Logan, Conor Shaughnessy, Krystian Pearce, Ryan Sweeney, Kellan Gordon, Alex MacDonald (Oladapo Afolayan 60), Neal Bishop, Mal Benning, Otis Khan, Nicky Maynard (Jimmy Knowles 69), Danny Rose (Andy Cook 55).

Subs not used: Willem Tomlinson, CJ Hamilton, Alistair Smith, Aidan Stone

Oldham Athletic (4-4-2): Gary Woods 6, Tom Hamer 7, Tomas Egert 5, David Wheater 6, Alex Iacovitti 7, Mohammed Maouche 6 (Dylan Fage 61 5, Ashley Smith-Brown 73 5), Mohamad Sylla 6, Christopher Missilou 6, Filipe Morais 5, Urko Vera 4 (Jamie Stott 39 6), Jonny Smith 5

Subs not used: Scott Wilson, Kielen Adams, Chris Eagles, Gregor Zabret

Referee: Lee Swabey

Attendance: 4,368 (441 away)