Simon Grayson's men were rarely troubled in a game dominated by a tight midfield battle, which resulted in a dour contest – though one in which the visitors always had the upper hand.

Oldham tossed away an excellent chance to open the scoring. Former Bradford City winger Joe Colbeck seemed to suffer from stage fright when presented with an excellent chance to open the scoring on 25 minutes.

Having battled his way past Patrick Kisnorbo to earn a run at goal, the Oldham man inexplicably elected to take an extra touch when a shot at the advancing Casper Ankergren was the better option. The ball got away from Colbeck – withdrawn for tactical reasons before half-time – and found its way into the goalkeeper's hands.

From then on it was plain sailing for United, who took the lead 11 minutes later. Robert Snodgrass – pushed forward to provide support for Jermaine Beckford – showed good close control to retain possession and find Howson, 30 yards from goal.

His left-footed shot skimmed off Andy Holdsworth, fizzing on the angle across goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan. The ball crashed into the net off the underside of the crossbar, much to the delight of the 2,671 travelling fans.

Chris Taylor went close to providing an equaliser but was denied by Ankergren.

United wrapped up victory when substitute Aidan White picked out Mike Grella, who cut inside and rifled a shot home.

Oldham Athletic: Flahavan; Holdsworth, Hazell, Gregan, Hills; Colbeck (Whitaker 37), Marrow, Furman (Brooke 80), Taylor; Smalley, Parker (Lee 72). Unused substitutes: Brill, Jacobsen, Black, Eaves.

Leeds United: Ankergren; Bromby, Kisnorbo, Naylor, Hughes; Howson, Doyle (White 90), Kilkenny; Johnson, Beckford (Grella 86), Snodgrass. Unused substitutes: Martin, Prutton, Michalik, Robinson, Showumni.

Referee: G Ward (Surrey).

Man of the match: Michael Doyle (Leeds).

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