IF THE men in the white coats had heard the wag in the Main Stand predict at half-time that this contest would end up being a six-goal thriller, they would have certified him and carried him away in a straight jacket.

After another dire first-half display from Cherries, it was difficult enough to see them having a shot on target in the second half, never mind sharing in a quite astonishing goal feast.

During the interval, Sean O'Driscoll's troops were described by some members of the north west press pack as "by far and away the worst side to have visited Boundary Park this season".

It was a seriously damning indictment considering previous visitors to Oldham have included Cherries' relegation rivals Northampton, Bury, Notts County and Wrexham.

But even more disturbingly, the fact Oldham have also hosted the mighty Barrow in the FA Cup, gives a further insight into Cherries' dismal showing during the opening 45 minutes.

O'Driscoll's beleaguered boys could have been buried under an Oldham onslaught and can count themselves a tad fortune to have only been trailing to Stuart Balmer's 18th-minute header.

Defensively fragile, consistently overrun in midfield and impotent in attack, Cherries displayed all the alarming hallmarks of a team teetering on the edge of the relegation abyss.

The Latics rarely had to break sweat to expose the vulnerability of the visitors' defence, with Cherries looking particularly susceptible as they were bombarded by a succession of crosses.

But despite being written off as they headed down the tunnel, the 11 men who emerged from the away dressing room after the break redeemed themselves with a feisty second-half display.

It was a remarkable transformation and in parallel with Cherries' second-half fight-back against Huddersfield seven days earlier, although on this occasion, they only had a one-goal deficit to claw back.

Defensively stronger, more combative in midfield and, crucially, ruthless in their finishing, Cherries finally found the cutting edge to fell Oldham's Christmas Tree formation.

O'Driscoll was forced to shuffle his resources due to Brian Stock's one-match suspension and fans' favourite Wade Elliott was restored to the Cherries starting line-up.

Amos Foyewa also made a welcome return and was named on the bench for the first time since breaking his leg on his full league debut at Cardiff in August.

Cherries, looking to build on their excellent midweek display at QPR, went behind in the 18th minute of a dire first half, littered with fouls and punctuated by the whistle of referee Paul Danson.

Balmer rose unchallenged at the far post to head home John Sheridan's free-kick, the 10th awarded by the officious Danson during the early exchanges.

The defender's task was made simple after Cherries goalkeeper Gareth Stewart had come off his line to claim the ball, but had been left clutching nothing more than thin air.

Then, as Cherries' frustrations grew, defender Karl Broadhurst was booked following a heavy challenge on David Eyres.

Stewart partially atoned for his earlier error when he pulled off a splendid save, tipping a fierce drive from Lee Duxbury over the crossbar.

And Cherries were also thankful to skipper Eddie Howe for his flying block after 25 minutes when Paul Murray unleashed a goalbound volley from close range.

With Cherries creating little up front, they almost went further behind after 27 minutes when Duxbury headed wide with the goal at his mercy following a cross from Chris Armstrong.

On the stroke of half-time, Sheridan almost caught Stewart unawares when he tried his luck from a 30-yard free-kick, the ball flying just inches over the crossbar.

And Cherries were also forced to withstand a succession of corners in stoppage time, with referee Danson adding just 60 seconds to the opening period despite irritating both sets of fans by awarding no fewer than 20 free-kicks.

A below-par Elliott was sacrificed for Garreth O'Connor at the interval, and, within eight minutes of coming off the bench, the Irishman played his part in the Cherries equaliser when his persistence and determination earned O'Driscoll's side their first corner.

Hayter dispatched the ball into the danger area where Howe was on hand to outjump the Latics defence, heading home with the help of a deflection off Matty Appleby at the far post.

Amazingly, and after rarely threatening Paul Rachubka in the Latics goal, Cherries then took the lead less than two minutes later from the penalty spot.

Feeney was rugby tackled to the ground by Balmer and after Danson had pointed to the spot, the Northern Ireland under-21 international dusted himself down and sent Rachubka the wrong way to give Cherries the lead.

But their advantage lasted less than 60 seconds when a quite bizarre own goal from Broadhurst saw Oldham restore parity.

The 21-year-old defender, under pressure from Carlo Corazzin, side-footed the ball into the bottom corner of the net and past a bemused Stewart from the edge of the box. Broadhurst's misdemeanor completed a nap of own goals by Cherries this season.

Cherries were again caught napping when Eyres waltzed through and rode three half-hearted challenges before smashing an unstoppable left-foot drive past Stewart to give Oldham the lead for the second time.

But never-say-die Cherries hit back after 66 minutes when a well-worked team goal ended with Hughes drilling a low drive under Rachubka after Holmes had laid the ball into his path following a scintillating run down the right by Feeney.

As play swung from end to end, Balmer was forced to head the ball over his own crossbar after Hughes had met another probing corner sent over by Hayter, who again shone with an industrious display.

Understandably, the closing stages paled into insignificance compared to the pulsating 14-minute goal frenzy earlier in the half when the two sides netted five times between them.

Opportunities were few and far between, while a late flurry of activity in and around the visitors' 18-yard box never looked like depriving enigmatic Cherries of a share of the spoils.