It was Wabara’s slip after five minutes that had allowed the visitors to take the lead but the on-loan defender was to have a sweet dose of redemption before the half was out.
Wabara struck just before the break with a header from a Jose Baxter cross that left the keeper with no chance before Matt Derbyshire added a brace to put the game beyond the visitor’s reach.
Oldham fans were glued to their TV sets on Sunday afternoon to learn their fate and they discovered that a trip to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest awaits them in the first week of January.
Jeremy Helan was deployed on the left wing for Sheffield Wednesday for their trip to the Welsh capital to take on Cardiff City but the Frenchman could do nothing to prevent the Owls from suffering a sixth successive defeat.
Dave Jones’s side are now in deep trouble at the foot on the Championship, lying in 23rd position, just two points ahead of Peterborough United.
Elsewhere, Roque Santa Cruz came off the bench for high flying La Liga outfit Malaga but the Paraguayan striker couldn’t help his side claw back a 1-0 deficit away at Getafe.
Los Boqueneros, who are enjoying a fairytale season, are still within striking distance of the final Champions League berth, just three points behind fourth place Real Betis.
One man who enjoyed better fortunes at the weekend was Ryan McGivern, who helped his Hibernian side to a clean sheet in their 1-0 Scottish Cup win over fierce rivals Hearts.
After the match, McGivern took the opportunity to reminisce over his last derby win from his time at his parent club in Manchester.
“I’ve played youth derbies and reserves – there’s an edge to them all,” McGivern said.
“The year we won the youth cup and league double at Man City, our first game against United had been called off early in the season and it came late.
“We ended up beating them 8-0 - that’s probably the most memorable game I had with them.
“We kept the ball for about five minutes without them touching it at one point.”
...Ryan McGivern...
Mohammed Abu made his first start for three months for Rayo Vallecano in their 0-0 draw with Las Palmas in the Copa Del Rey.
The Madrid side had lost the first leg 1-0, so unfortunately bow out of the competition.
Due to a combination of their sides not contesting matches, being unused substitutes or being left out of their squads, Emyr Huws, Omar Elabdelloui, Dedryck Boyata and Wayne Bridge all played no competitive football last weekend.
