Oldham Athletic 1 Doncaster Rovers 2: Syers strikes late on to give Rovers reason for festive cheer on the road

The game, which lost its earlier sparkle in the second half, looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw before Syers’s dramatic intervention.

Rovers took the lead after just three minutes.

David Cotterill picked out striker Billy Paynter at the far post from a 25 yard free-kick and the striker saw his header come back off the post.

Fortunately for Rovers, captain Rob Jones was well placed to drill home the rebound from about 10 yards out.

Rovers failed to build on their flying start and Oldam’s leading scorer Jose Baxter tested goalkeeper Gary Woods from the edge of the box on 15 minutes.

The Latics belied their place in the table and played some nice football and deservedly drew level with a cracking 20-yard shot from Youssouf M’Chamgama.

They went close on another couple of occasions before the break despite playing the last 10 minutes or so a man down.

Cotterill should have scored after getting clear for Rovers. Paynter then had a shot cleared off the line before Syers struck.

Syers said: “It was a great result and absolutely buzzing about getting the winner.”

Meanwhile, Rovers will not be offering midfielder Sammy Clingan a contract.

The club have, though, extended Iain Hume’s loan deal until the end of the season. He is unavailable to play against Preston on Saturday.

Oldham: Bouzanis, Wabara, M’Voto, Byrne, Grounds, Croft, Furman, Wesolowski, M’Changama (Montano 83), Smith, Baxter. Unused substitutes: Cisak, Brown, Taylor, Millar, Hughes, Winchester.

Doncaster: G Woods, Quinn, Jones, McCombe, Spurr, Cotterill, Keegan (Syers 63), Harper, Bennett (Husband 83), Hume, Paynter (Brown 79). Unused substitutes: Martis, Blake, Maxted, Griffin.

Referee: R Lewis (Shropshire).