Vimal Yoganathan’s 85th-minute header rescued a point for Oldham Athletic in a heated derby clash against Rochdale at Boundary Park, capping a dramatic comeback that had the 8,611-strong crowd erupting in relief.

The 19-year-old Barnsley loanee’s late strike cancelled out Jay Bird’s fifth-minute opener, which had slipped past goalkeeper Tom Donaghy despite his full-stretch dive. Oldham, fielding the same lineup that defeated Eastleigh 2-0 on Tuesday, struggled to find their rhythm as Mike Fondop and Billy Waters saw repeated attacks snuffed out by former Latics defender Liam Hogan’s organized back line.

Manager Micky Mellon rang the changes at halftime, bringing on Shaun Hobson for injured Reagan Ogle and Kian Harratt for Tom Pett, before later introducing Jes Uchegbulam, James Norwood and ultimately Yoganathan for Tom Conlon. The tactical shuffle paid dividends when Yoganathan rose to head home the equalizer, sending the home support into raptures while silencing Rochdale’s 1,484 traveling fans.

“The first half was disappointing; we didn’t do our jobs,” Mellon admitted afterward. “We were too deep. It was far too passive for a derby. In the second half we played a lot more in the Rochdale half, battled away and we had to make a lot of changes because we weren’t quite getting what we wanted.”

The draw keeps Oldham in the playoff positions with eight matches remaining, setting up another local derby next Saturday against Halifax Town at Boundary Park.

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