A Franco Di Santo double for Wigan gave home manager Roberto Martinez against a spirited but limited Queens Park Rangers.
Wigan were forced to change the starting line up from the from the side that secured a draw at Swansea last week, the injured Alcaraz replaced by the returning Lopez and talismanic striker Rodallega occupying the left wing position in a midfield re shuffle that saw McCarthy relegated to the bench and Gomez moved from the wing to an attacking midfield role
Rangers made their intentions clear from the off, when in the first minute, former Wigan centre half Fitz Hall came through the back of Di Santo, which if later in the game would have earned him a booking. Within another minute Hall had commited a second foul. From the resultant free kick Gomez beat the wall, but Paddy Kenny had the shot comfortably in sight and the ball went harmlessly past the post.
Wihgan looked a more balanced side with Rodallega on the wing and with Di Santo playing with increased confidence. Rangers were under pressure for large parts of the first half. Watson was his usual effective self in midfield and with Boyce looking to push up the right hand side to provide the overlap at every opportunity it seemed only a metter of time before Wigan scored.
All too often however the final ball went astray and when Wigan did shoot out target they were thwarted by the woodwork. This week it was Moses who cut in from the right wing, turning the Rangers defence inside out and shooting across goal when a cross to the supporting Rodallega or Di Santo was the better option. However the ball flew across the goal, hit the post and bounced towards freedom.
For the away side their best player was the coveted Taarabt who forced Al-Habsi into a good save onto the post with a deflected shot. A second deflected shot by Shaun Derry was also dealt with by the alert home goalkeeper.
Rangers’ best chance of scoring appeared to be from mistakes by the home side, two casual passes by Caldwell and Diame in particular almost teed up Agyemang. Fortunately fior Wigan the striker was too slow to take advantage before Watson cleared the danger.
Wigan’s opening goal came at the end of a period of sustained pressure. Moses played a good ball in from the wing, Di Santo controlled the ball superbly and fired an unstoppable shot past Kenny’s flailing arms. Rangers tried to secure a goal befopre half time and when Caldwell committed a foul on the edge of the area Taarabt once again forced Al-Habsi into a good save.
Both sides emerged unchanged in the second half and Wigan continued their dominance with Gomez growing into the game with some beat flicks enabling Diame to push forward. At the back Lopez was an assured replacement fror Alcaraz and produced two fair but bone rattling tackles on the Rangers forwards.
Wigan’s second goal came just as Martinez was readying a couple of substitutions, a loose ball on the edge of the area fell between Rodallega and Di Santo with the former seemingly best placed. Di Santo had other ideas and almost stealing the ball from the Colombians foot he swivelled and hit a powerful shot that took a deflection and left Kenny stranded.
Di Santo and the tiring Moses were then substituted by McArthur and Sammon and Wigan opted to defend deeper, allowing Rangers to ehert their first real pressure of the game. Their lack of quality fit strikers was exposed as when they did beat the resolute back line of Wigan, they were incapable of putting the ball in the net.
Wigan opted to try and catch Rangers on the break wasted a few good breaks with eithe poor ball control or missed passes. Rodallega continued his excellent game, giving the Rangers defence a torrid time but he was unable to open his account for the season.
The full time whistle brought a resounding roar of approval from the home fans and Martinex can be well satisfied with the teams performance today.
Att 17,225
PLAYER RATINGS,
Al-Habsi 7, Boyce 7, Lopez 7, Caldwell 6.5, Figueroa 6, Moses 6.5, Diame 6.5, Watson 7.5, Rodallega 8.5
Di Santo 8. Subsm Sammon 6.5, McArthur 6, Stam 6.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Hugo Rodallega – his evident class was there for all to see today, provided excellent support to Di Santo and was a constant threat all afternoon.
