Roberto Martinez  opted to make one change from the side which capitulated so easily at Tottenham on Tuesday, with Ben Watson dropping to the bench to be replaced by James McArthur and thereby handing a home debut to transfer window signing Jean Beausejour.

The first half was devoid of chances with both midfields in the ascendance with the most noticeable contributors James McArthur for Wigan and returning loanee Stephen Pienaar for Everton.

For all the effort however, both keepers were more at risk of catching hypothermia than conceding a goal, such was the paucity of chances as all too often passes were over hit on the slippery surface.

Ronnie Stam and Jean Beausejour looked to cross into the penalty area but Di Santo and Moses failed to force Howard into a save.

Half time was accompanied by a mass rush to the refreshment stands, the most enthusiasm either set of supporters had shown so far.

The second followed the same pattern as the first, with lots of endeavour and little quality other than a penalty appeal from Wigan for handball which was waved away by the referee . Martinez made a double substitution recalling Rodallega and Jones to the line up for Gomez and Stam and the former made an instant impact linking well with Moses and spreading the Everton defence. The game  seemed to still be heading for a goaless draw when Wigan were gifted the opening goal. Beausejour broke down the left and his cross was partially blocked by Neville the ball spinning back to Howard who mis-judged the spinning ball allowing it to trickle across the line.

Wigan could have made it two shortly after when Moses broke through the middle and with Crusat completely unmarked in the penalty area, he chose to try and go for glory and his shot was blocked.

Almost immediately Everton made Wigan pay for this glaring miss when a poorly cleared corner came back to Baines and the former Wigan man fired a powerful cross back into the penalty area where the Wigan defence, showing all the concentration of a class of four year olds in a quantum physics lecture allowed Anechibe to head the ball unchallenged into the Wigan goal.

The game continued to flow after that as both sides strove to get a winner but in the end a draw was a fair result but the lost two points will weigh the heavier on Wigan as they remain rooted to the bottom of the table , two wins away from safety.

Team Line up and player ratings

Al Habsi….6, the quietest afternoon he will ever have

Stam….6 , unlucky to be substituted

Caldwell….6, put his body on the line and led by example

Boyce….5, not his best game

Figueroa….5, ditto Boyce

Gomez….4, not his best game but not his worth either.

McCarthy….5, steady

McArthur….7, MOM, tried to make the difference.

Beausejour….6, worked hard

Moses….4, poor, too often final pass went astray

Di Santo….5, worked hard no real chances

Subs used

Crusat….5, OK

Rodallega….6 provided the spark lacking in the first half

Jones….5 played out of position but didn’t let the team down

Att…. 18,340

Roberto Martinez opted to revert to the 3 central defence with two wing backs meaning the recall of Stam and the debut of Jean Beausejour. Up front Rodallega was dropped to the bench with Franco Di Santo replacing him in the lone forward’s role.

Tottenham as expected started the brighter and poured forward with Assou-Ekotto and Bale giving the Wigan defence plenty of work to do. The first real chance fell to Spurs when a corner was met unchallenged by Kaboul , Al Habsi once again showing his worth with a reflex parry , allowing the defence to scramble the ball clear.

Wigan looked to catch Spurs on the break and Di Santo narrowly missed scoring from a superb cross from Stam, when his out stretched leg virtually on the goal line missed the ball allowing Friedel to gather the lose ball.

Wigan seemed unable to hold onto the ball and Spurs looked to attack at will, with balls being sprayed all over the pitch and Wigan content to just put men behind the ball and force Spurs to shoot from distance.

Wigan’s forays over the half way line were few and far between and all they had to show for their occasional ventures upfield was a wayward shot from Di Santo.

Kaboul came close again with his head when once again  he rose unchallenged from a corner  and McCarthy did well to clear the ball off the line as Spurs racked up the pressure.

Spurs pressure eventually told off when Bale was found by Modric and Figueroa allowed the mercurial Welshman to fire the ball past Al Habsi in the Wigan goal.

Wigan looked to try and hit back straight away with a long range shot from McCarthy once again not troubling Friedel in the Spurs goal.

Bale nearly made it two nil when once again the Spurs passing opened up the Wigan defence and Al Habsi had top make a snap save. The score line didn’t stay the same for much longer, as once again Wigan’s pitiful defence failed to clear the ball, which deflected off Gomez who seemed not to be concentrating and Modric doubled the lead virtually leaving Wigan to try and limit the ever worsening goal difference.

For Wigan, Di Santo and Moses struggled to receive any quality ball and were too often reduced to chasing lost causes and the half time tally of ten shots on target to Spurs and none to Wigan showed the Latics failing that has befallen them all season.

Half time brought a welcome respite for the bottom side in the league leavingMartinezwith a massive motivational talk if Wigan were to get anything out of this game in the second half.

The second half started much the same as the first with Spurs totally dominating a Wigan midfield who appeared to have forgotten how to tackle and a back three being pulled all over the place by the far superior speed and skills of their opponents. It was nearly three nil within two minutes of the re-start when a cross from Bale was headed narrowly over by Adebayor.

Wigan looked to try and get back into the game but Moses hit a poorly controlled shot well over the bar. Stam was continuing to try and take the game to Spurs and Di Santo constantly tried to make himself available but the rest of the midfield desperately counting down the days to Diame’s return looked totally ineffectual.

Once again Stam was the main creative outlet and in a groundhog day moment his superb cross was narrowly missed by the lunge of Di Santo. Stam’s leadership seemed to spark life into the Wigan side when first Moses and then Gomez tested Brad Friedel from range.

From the very first minute Latics gave scant support to Stam on the right and once againthey were made to pay as  Assou-Ekotto and Bale combined well and the Welshman left Watson standing and hammered an unstoppable shot past Ali Al Habsi into the Wigan goal.

Wigan made their first change replacing the anonymous Gomez with the more industrious and defensive minded James McArthur.

The next issue of note was when Assou-Ekotto committed an absolutely horrendous tackle on Franco Di Santo which went unpunished and forced the Argentinean’s replacement with Conor Sammon.

Wigan didn’t give up and when Moses passed to substitute James McArthur whose shot hit Parker and looped over the stranded keeper Friedel to put a more positive slant on the scoreline.

Wigan brought on Crusat for Watson, Roberto Martinez opting to keep transfer target Hugo Rodallega warming the bench.

McArthur for Wigan and Bale for Spurs almost added to the score but the full time whistle brought to a close a game which only served to increase the pressure onWigan’s survival hopes.

Team

Al Habsi, Stam, Caldwell, Boyce, Figueroa, Gomez ( McArthur), Watson(Crusat), McCarthy, Moses, Beausejour, DiSanto( Sammon)

Man of the Match

Ronnie Stam…only consistent player over the 90 minutes

Att …35,801

Roberto Martinez took his Wigan Athletic team into the relegation battle with Queen Park Rangers knowing that a victory would lift the team above the opposition and possibly out of the bottom three but that a defeat would increase the pressure upon both him and his charges. Martinez opted to change the side that narrowly lost against high flying Manchester City last Monday, welcoming Emerson Boyce back from injury and promoting Gohuri and Watson off the bench instead of Stam and Crusat respectively, employing in a formation more akin to 4-5-1 than the 3-2-4-1 that he has favoured recently.

Wigan started the brighter and from an early free kick from Gomez following a foul on Moses, Boyce wasted a good chance to open the scoring shooting over from close range.Wigan continued to look to take charge and following a good run from Moses, the cross went across the area butWigan’s lone striker Rodallega was unable to reach the ball.

For Rangers, returning captain Joey Barton was looking to control the game with the Wigan midfield looking to close him down at the earliest opportunity with McCarthy paying him close attention.

The wind played a part in the proceedings and Rangers first shot in anger by Helguson was blown away from goal towards the corner flag for a goal kick.

Wigan’s player of the season last year was Al Habsi in the goal and he showed why again when a Luke Young cross was taken by the wind and a scrambling Ali managed to tip the ball away thus preventing a freak goal for a corner which was cleared by McCarthy, the ball falling to Wright Phillips but his shot was well blocked by Caldwell. Rangers continued to exert pressure and a shot from Campbell went wide.

At the other end Rodallega tried to use the elements firing from long range but former Wigan player Hall blocked the shot. This was quickly followed by another long range shot this time from Moses but the shot didn’t trouble Kenny in the home side’s goal.

The game was end to end with both sides shooting on site and QPR had the next couple of chances with first Wright Phillips and then two by Buzsaky having shots blocked and narrowly going wide respectively.

QPR continued to exert their dominance and were rewarded when a corner was handballed by McCarthy, earning the Wigan midfielder a yellow card and Helguson converted the following penalty despite AL Habsi guessing correctly and Rangers had the lead.

Al Habsi continued to earn his money when a goal bound free kick from the dangerous Buzsaky had to be tipped around the post and Rangers continued to dominate proceedings. For Wigan Rodallega was once again the dangerman but all too often he was caught offside.

Shortly before half time Rangers made their dominance pay when Buzsaky gained reward for all his good work with a superb free kick which came hit the post and went into the net with Al Habsi well beaten.

Half time saw Wigan troop off knowing that a much improved second half performance  after the ineffective disjointed first half would be needed to gain anything from this relegation six pointer.

Martinez understandably opted to make a change at half time replace McArthur with Conor Sammon , using the big Irishman as the target man with Rodallega playing off him.

The change seemed to make very little change to game as Wigan struggled to get any positive momentum and Rangers seemed content to keep possession and break down any Wigan play in their own half. In fact it was ten minutes before Wigan got the ball into the opposition penalty area but neither Sammon nor Rodallega could get a shot in and Rangers cleared the ball away. Shortly after Gomez shot from outside the area, the ball going wide of the goal with Kenny again untroubled.

At the other end once again Buzsaky made Al Habsi earn his money when following a comic incident when Gohuri and McCarthy fell over each other his powerful shot had to be tipped over by the Omani international.

Martinez opted to try and inject more pace into the game by replacing Gomez with the diminutive Albert Crusat. Wigan’s substitution bore immediate fruit as a free kick for a foul on  Figueroa by Barton was taken by Rodallega  who left Kenny with no chance with a twenty five yard shot to bring Wigan back into the game.

Wigan made their third substitution replacing the tiring Boyce with the more attacking Stam as Wigan strove for an equaliser. McCarthy and Watson linked well but the angle was too tight for Sammon’s shot to go in  when Moses and Rodallega were better placed..

Wigan seem to have been giving penalties away nearly every week and Caldwell gave another one away when he was perhaps harshly adjudged to have hauled Helguson down to add to McCarthy’s earlier one but this time Helguson’s shot was well saved by Al Habsi . Helguson and Buzsaky continued to pepper theWigan goal with shots as Wigan struggled to break out of their own half.

Following a Wigan attack Rangers broke from their own defence and Wright-Phillips found Tommy Smith and a wonderful shot left Al Habsi with no chance as Rangers increased their lead.

This in effect killed the game and Wigan strove without troubling the Rangers goal in the closing stages. The full time whistle left Wigan languishing at the bottom of the Premier League after sevem league games without a win and  with relegation after seven years in the top flight a very distinct possibility, Roberto Martinez will need to produce a miraculous revival to surpass last seasons’ escape if the media and critics are to be proven wrong once again.

WiganTeam

Al Habsi, Boyce, Gohuri Caldwell, Figueroa, McCarthy, McArthur, Watson, Gomez, Moses and Rodallega

Subs used

Sammon for McArthur (45), Crusat for Gomez (60), Stam for Boyce (69)

Subs not used

Pollitt, Thomas, Lopez, DiSanto

Man of the Match

Once again is Ali Al Habsi, without his saves today it could have been a six or seven drubbing

Att 16,002

Martinez reverted back to his first choice starting line up following the debacle at Swindon with only Diame and Jones missing from his preferred eleven with Crusat operating on the left wing and McArthur in for Diame in a fluid set up which varied between a back three and back four.

The first half was virtually all City with Silva and Nasri dictating play and seemingly trying to pass the ball into the net with the Wigan midfield and defence seemingly defending further and further back without actually putting a challenge in. Whilst this football was pretty to watch it created very little clear cut chances and Wigan actually gave City a couple of anxious moments. First when Crusat fired a bullet of a cross from the left wing and Rodallega was slow to move when a touch would have seen the ball in the next and secondly when Moses broke from his own half but with Rodallega unmarked on his outside chose to cut inside to where the defenders were grouping and allowed himself to be dispossessed.

City for all their neat interplay looked more dangerous in the air where they won virtually every ball and the only goal of the game came as a result of a powerful header from Dzeko following the award of a soft free kick where he outjumped Alcaraz and buried the ball past Al Habsi.

Wigan struggled to build any momentum and all too often this resulted in the ball going backwards to the keeper which caused mutters of disquiet from a long suffering home support which has only seen one home win so far this season.

Wigan started the second half by far the brighter and with Rodallega looking sharper than in the first half of the season and Gomez looking to drive Wigan forward , City were forced onto the back foot. For all this pressure however, Wigan created very few clear cut chances and City looked dangerous on the break withWigan’s three centre halves looking particularly ponderous.

Silva almost scored the goal of the season with intricate dribbling took him past four Wigan defenders, the move only coming to a halt when Dzeko took the ball off his foot as Silva was shaping to shoot , firing a weak shot straight at Al Habsi.

The Wigan keeper once again tonight proved what a bargain buy he was, pulling off several superb saves to deny both Silva and Dzeko.

Wigan’s best chance came when a quick break found McCarthy on the edge of the penalty area, he cut inside and fired a powerful goalbound shot, only to see Joe Hart’s out-stretched left boot deflect the ball away for a corner.

Wigan huffed and puffed but rarely troubled the City keeper after that and the lack of chances created with the even fewer goals this season must raise serious questions about Wigan’s viability as a Premier League club. An interesting talking point was the booking for Figueroa, as the last defender when he committed a handball when not to do so would have allowed the City attacker a clean run through on goal. So blatant was it, many Wigan fans were amazed it didn’t earn the Honduran a  straight red.

WiganTeam

Al Habsi…Man of the match again     8/10

Stam.. Looked to attack at every opportunity but too often caught out of position 6/10

Figueroa..Exposed due to a lack of pace    6/10

Alcaraz… Out jumped for the goal and every other header   5/10

Caldwell..Gives of his best but not good enough   5/10

Crusat…Not tough enough for the Premier League   5/10

Gomez…Looked to take Wigan forwards at every opportunity  7/10

McArthur…  Looked out of his depth , taken off before being sent off   5/10

McCarthy… Worked hard, unlucky not to score     6/10

Moses…All too often takes the wrong option      5/10

Rodallega .. Played well but starved of quality possession   6/10

Subs

Di Santo… Ran around a lot     5/10

Watson… Tried to create an equaliser   6/10

McManaman  N/A

Att…..16,026

Wigan will no doubt point to nine changes to the starting line up from Tuesday but eight of today’s starting line up have been regular first teamers during Martinez’s reign and when they should have used today to press for Premier League starting roles, they turned in a performance that was negative, sterile and soulless and an embarrassment to the Premier League as a whole and their long suffering travelling supportin particular who quite rightly had to endure chants of “Premier League you’re having a laugh “ from the jubilant home support.

As expected Swindon started off like an express train, trying to put Wigan’s defence under pressure and within a minute they had the first corner of the game but Wigan managed to clear the ball comfortably.

For Wigan, Watson appeared to be the fulcrum of every move, unfortunately this wasn’t one of his better days, as his slow methodical approach was knocked off its stride by the enthusiastic way Swindon closed Wigan down. He could not have been helped by the strange decision to play without a player on the right hand side of midfield, with right back/wing back Emerson Boyce the only player on that side of the pitch . This meant most of Wigan’s play was directed to the left hand side of the pitch where youngsters Mustoe and McManaman, who were the best players in a Wigan shirt strived to drive the team forwards, McManaman in particular showing the qualities which give the promise of a bright future in the game.

Swindon were far from over-awed however and had two good chances to take the lead, the first when Al Habsi saved well from Murray and the second when a shot seemed to take a deflection and narrowly miss the far post with Al Habsi stranded.

Wigan as usual tried to pass the ball out of defence and seek a gap in the Swindon defence but these were few and far between and Di Santo cut an increasingly lonely figure up front for Wigan as he was not for the first time this season deprived of any quality ball from a defence minded central midfield.

Wigan surprisingly took the lead when McManaman went on one of several lovely jinking runs, he appeared to go down very easily in the penalty area but Mr Walton had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Wigan had a penalty.

Watson stepped up to take the shot and hit the left hand post, thankfully his blushes were spared by the ever alert McManaman who follwed up and scored the rebound to give Wigan an undeserved lead.

Any thoughts that Swindon would wilt were quickly displaced as they continued to press forwards, passing through the Wigan midfield as if it didn’t exist and they nearly equalised when AL Habsi produced a magnificent save to turn Richie’s goalbound shot around the post for a corner.

The respite was short lived however when Connell stole a march on the Wigan defence producing  a glancing header  which beat Al Habsi to the delight of the partisan and passionate home support.

The second half saw Swindon increase the pressure on Wigan and saw Swindon have a good penalty shout turned down.Wiganlooked ragged with very little cohesive play from the Premeir League club and Thomas who had an absolutely awful game can consider himself lucky not to be sent off for a second bookable offence when Mr Walton decided to wave play on rather than award the free kick.

Martinez opted to remove the Honduran shortly afterwards replacing him with the mercurial Gomez and for a while Wigan looked better, with Gomez linking well with Watson and trying to set Maloney and Di Santo through. Wigan’s attacking prowess was so poor however that they couldn’t produce a single effort on target in the whole of the second half a statistic which will worry the manager whose side are the lowest goalscorers in the Premier League.

This momentum faded and when Maloney collapsed near the half way line in obvious pain,Swindon pressed and a long range shot took a massive deflection , wrong footing Al Habsi and Swindonwere in the lead.

Claims that the deflection was from an offside player may be valid but no one could complain that Swindon didn’t deserve their lead.

Wigan brought Moses on to try and spark some life into their game but the 93^rd minute still found them passing the ball around in their own half totally devoid of ideas in how to break down the home sides gallant defence and Di Canio’s men celebrated a well deserved victory leaving the Wigan fans with a long journey home with once again the inglorious title of being the biggest scalp in the third round of the F.A.Cup.

WiganTeam

Al Habsi…5 one good save some awful kicking, rightly booked

Boyce……5  Looked rusty after so long out

Caldwell…6 Tried hard.

Lopez…….5 Looked off the pace

Mustoe……6 Enthusiastic

McArthur…5 Ineffective

Watson……5.5 tried hard but too slow

Maloney…..5 Ineffective

Thomas……3 Awful, only meaningful contribution was getting booked

McManaman..7 Man of the match for Wiganby a mile

Di Santo……5 starved of possession  once again

Subs

Gomez…..5.5 Didn’t influence the game as hoped

Moses……5 didn’t look fit

Sammon….came on in 89^th minute little chance to do anything

Att   13,238

Wigan’s pitiful run of only one home win this season from ten matches played continued at a windswept DW Stadium leaving Roberto Martinez and his team with a massive task if they are to secure Premier League football for another season.

Martinezalready robbed of his captain Caldwell through suspension surprised the fans  by opting to rest his two most influential players in Diame and Moses replacing them with Watson and Crusat. It was a move that ultimately backfired as Sunderland seemed content to break up Wigan’s passing moves in midfield and after the break seem to break through the midfield and defence of the home side at will.

Wigan statistics show that they had a massive 63% of the possession but its what you do with it that counts and if you can’t score and cannot defend you aren’t going to win football matches and with only 18 games left the clock is surely counting down to the end of Wigan’s Premier League tenure.

And yet it could have been oh so different, Wigan totally dominated the first forty minutes with Stam and Rodallega looking sharp and terrorising the Sunderland back four but as usual the Wigan line up means that there were few bodies in the penalty area when the quality balls came in and Sunderland could clear them easily.

The exception was in the 30^th minute when Wigan hit the same post twice in less than a minute first from Jones and then from Watson leaving theWigan fans sensing that it wasn’t going to be their night.

This view was vindicated when Sunderland were awarded a dubious free kick just outside the area in time added on in the first half and Craig Gardner let fly with a wonderful free kick which left Al Habsi motionless and a Sunderland side which had offered zilch going forward were undeservedly ahead.

The second half started with Wigan pushing forwards in search of an equaliser with Rodallega looking the most likely to score ably supported by substitute Moses but Sunderland looked dangerous on the break and from a Vaughan cross  Al Habsi produced a wonderful save from McLean’s first effort but he made no mistake with the second attempt nodding in the loose ball from close range.

Worryingly most Wigan heads dropped but Rodallega refused to give up and a powerful shot from outside the area gave Mignolet no chance of stopping it thus giving  Wigan hope of snatching an equaliser.

Wigan continued to press however some of the momentum was loss as danger man Stam was replaced by Sammon causing a reshuffle and landing Gohuri with wing back duties.

Wigan’s back four of Gohuri , Alcaraz, Figueroa and Jones looked ragged and time and again Sessegnon broke free. On one occasion however Sessegnon turned finisher when Bentner broke away from Figueroa who was too busy appealing for a foul to chase back, the big Dane crossed and the diminutive Frenchman scored to make it three one and kill the game.

Wigan continued to push forward but all the discipline of the positional play had evaporated and it was no surprise that Sunderland increased their lead with a wonderful goal from former Blackpoolplayer David Vaughan thereby increasingWigan’s goal difference to a massive minus 23.

The full time whistle brought a welcome relief from a performance lacking in fight and quality at both ends against an ordinary Sunderland side who had both these qualities in large quantities.

WiganTeam

Al Habsi…..6, let down by those in front of him

Gohuri…….5  poor

Alcaraz …..4  very poor

Figueroa…..4 very poor

Stam………7 never game up surprised to see him withdrawn

Jones……..5 one good shot and that’s it

McCarthy…6 Kept going

Watson……5.5 too slow

Gomez……5 poor

Crusat…….6 struggles with the physical English game

Rodallega…7.5 never stopped trying, Man of the match with very little competition

Subs

Sammon….4 very poor

Moses…….6 tried hard

Att 15, 871

Roberto Martinez opted to make one change from the side so comprehensively and controversially beaten at Old Trafford last week replacing the industrious Sammon with the more productive Rodallega.

The first forty minutes was soporific with Wigan seemingly intent on passing the ball from one net to the other as befits the side which has completed the fewest long balls in the Premier League against Stoke who have completed the most and sought to put the Wigan back three under pressure from corners, long throw ins and long kicks up field. Stoke’s methods should not detract from their skills however and had they made the most of the pressure from balls all to often gifted to them by Wigan the result could have been much different.

As it was the Wigan defence produced a competent workmanlike defensive display and rarely in the first half did Stoke look dangerous other than a header from Huth which went narrowly wide of the Wigan goal.

Wigan’s best effort in this period followed a lovely run from Stam who cut inside from the right wing and fired a goal bound shot which Sorenson did well to tip over for a corner.

For Wigan the aforementioned Stam, Rodallega and Diame were working hard the latter had a fantastic battle with former Wigan favourite Wilson Palacios in the centre of midfield.

The opening goal when it came was from the first constructive move of the afternoon from Wigan. Once again Stam was the architect when a beautiful through ball from the Dutchman found Rodallega whose wonderful anticipation saw him in space, he swivelled and fired a powerful low cross which was met by Moses for an easy tap in.

The second half followed the same pattern to the first with Wigan seemingly content to sit back and defend the lead which apart from a header from Huth which hit the post and bounced straight into Al Habsi arms they appeared to be going top achieve until a goal bound shot from substitute Cameron Jerome hit the out stretched arm of Gary Caldwell and for the third straight game in succession Wigan had conceded a penalty the second in three games by the Wigan captain Gary Caldwell both ironically awarded by the same referee Mr Oliver. This time it resulted in a red card for Caldwell and penalty being converted by Walters saw Wigan pegged back and down to ten men.

Martinez responded by bringing off    Jordi Gomez and replacing him with defender Steve Gohuri who had to be quick to clear a quick break from Stoke.

He was powerless to repeat the feat a few minutes later however when Jerome beat the offside trap down the left and as Al Habsi narrowed the angle well place the ball with pin-point accuracy into the far corner and Stoke had the lead with Wigan looking dead and buried.

The team spirit in this Wigan team however is far stronger these days and as they pushed forward looking for an equaliser, a six of one half a dozen of the other tug of shirts between Rogallega and Shotton was the Wigan man fall to the floor and Mr Oliver once again pointed to the spot.

Wigan had substituted one penalty taker in Gomez but such wasMartinez’s faith in the other option Ben Watson he brought him off the bench to take the kick and Watson showed his cool composure by converting the chance and Wigan were level.

Full time brought tremendous cheers from the boisterous Wigan following an acknowledgement of the spirit and commitment shown by the players.

Wigan Team and player ratings

Al Habsi….6 Couldn’t be faulted for the goals.

Stam………8 Another excellent performance

Figueroa….7 Back to his best

Alcaraz……7 Immense in the air

Caldwell…7 Led by example

Jones…….5 Struggled

Moses……6 Took his chance well

Gomez…..5 Game passed him by

McCarthy..7 Worked hard

Diame……7 Tremendous tussle with Palacios

Rodallega  8.5 Man of the Match, was involved in everything good aboutWigan

Subs

Gohuri….6 Lit tle chance to shine

Watson…7 Mr cool for his penalty conversion

Att 26,595

Photograph used by kind permission of Bernard Platt and Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic made the short trip down the East Lancs road seeking their first ever point against Manchester United in 15 league meetings between the two sides and following last season’s meeting at Old Trafford also seeking to retain eleven players on the pitch. Again they failed on both accounts and like last season Wigan were left to rue some controversial refereeing decisions

Martinez opted to retain the same starting line up as had performed so admirably against Chelsea and Liverpool, the only change being the return of flu victim Steve Gohuri onto the bench in place of Adrian Lopez.

United as befits of a team of their stature and playing in front of 75,000 fans started brightly andWigan’s defence, placed under pressure  looked competent and continued to attempt to play the ball out from the back.

Wigan’s defence didn’t hang out for too long however and when a cross from Evra wasn’t cleared by the Wigan defence, Park left Al Habsi with no chance as he blasted the ball into the net from inside the area and Wigan were behind.

In previous years,Wigan may have buckled but this side playing with more confidence, continued to try and play their way back into the game. United continued to exert all the pressure and Wigan were forced into many last gasp clearances.

Conor Sammon continued to plough a lone furrow up front and  a tussle on the half way line between the big Irishman and Michael Carrick resulted in a harsh red card for Sammon when referee Phil Dowd who was not Latic’s fans favourite referee prior to the kick off judged that Sammon had used an elbow and Wigan were down to ten men and facing a mountain to climb.

Wigan continued to try and create chances but with no recognised striker on the pitch against a resurgent United it was only a matter of time before United got their second. The goal when it came was from forgotten man Dimitar Berbatov who mis- kicked his first touch from a cross by Gibson but managed to regain control under pressure from Alcaraz and double United’s lead.

Wigan opted to change things around at half time eschewing damage limitation by leaving on Gomez and replacing the more defensive minded Diame with striker Franco Di Santo.

Wigan continued to look at scoring their first goal from open play at Old Trafford but the best they could offer was a free kick from Jones which narrowly went the wrong side of the post.

United are known for taking advantage of other sides failings and increased their lead when former Wigan player Valencia was allowed to run unchallenged from inside his own half and crossed for Berbatov who doubled his tally for the game, turning Caldwell and punting the ball into the net.

United continued to put further dents into Wigan’s goal difference when Valencia got onto the score sheet himself when a Rooney cross eventually found Valencai who shot an unstoppable shot into the net.

If the Wigan fans thought it couldn’t get any worse then they were wrong when Mr Dowd compounded his earlier error awarding Manchester United a penalty when the free kick appeared to be just outside the penalty area. Berbatov completing his hat trick.

United eased up on the pressure then and the result keeps Wigan in the bottom three with the most inferior goal difference in the division.

Wigan Team (3,2,4,1)

Al Habsi

Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa

Stam, Jones

Moses, McCarthy, Diame, Gomez,

Sammon.

Subs used Di Santo, Rodallega, McArthur

Att  75,183

Unsurprisingly Roberto Martinez opted to retain the same line up which performed so well against Chelseaat the weekend the only change to the 18 being Lopez replacing Gohuri on the bench.

Liverpool started the brighter no doubt enthused by the cacophony of support for Luis Suarez. Of course being pantomime season there has to be a villain and for the Wigan fans he fitted the bill perfectly although the skilful Uruguayan didn’t help his cause with some exaggerated histrionics every time he was tackled.

Wigan seemed determined to pass the ball out of their own penalty area but all too often they tried one pass to many allowing Liverpool to steal possession and heap on the pressure on the Wigan defence. To their credit the Wigan backline stood its ground and with the notable support of Diame they were able to break up the away sides attacks.

Such wasLiverpool’s dominance it was ten minutes into the game before Wigan exerted any influence in theLiverpool  half when a break out of defence resulted in a corner which was cleared by theLiverpoo ldefence.

As the half went on Wigan grew in confidence with Diame once again proving his importance to the team, breaking up Liverpool attacks and creating attacking moves for the home side. He was ably supported by Gomez, Stam and McCarthy who sought to push forward. However for all this drive the best Wigan had to show were long range shots from Moses, Diame and Figueroa.

Conor Sammon has been the first choice forward in recent weeks but looks to be struggling with the current formation. His best chance came when a perfect cross from Stam found him in the penalty area but his first touch was poor and in the scramble Liverpool managed to get the ball away from danger.

For Liverpool the ever industrious Kuyt strove to take them forward and his shot forced Al Habsi into a good save. Skrtel and Johnson also forced Al Habsi into action but the big Omani was up to the task

Play ebbed and flowed and from one brilliant break from his own penalty area, Victor Moses beat three men in a sprint up field and fired a wonderful shot goal bound which Reina did well to palm away.

Half time was met by applause from all for corners of the ground for a half that although it lacked goals didn’t lack entertainment.

The second half started in the same way as the first with Wigan too slow at building up momentum from the back and Liverpool exerting their dominance but failing to find the killer touch. Wigan’s back three superbly marshalled by Gary Caldwell looked assured and the reds were forced into long range shooting which resulted in another fine save from Al Habsi.

Liverpool’s best chance of the game came when Caldwell was perhaps harshly adjudged to have handled a shot which gave him little chance to react. Adam came up to take the kick but his shot was superbly saved by Al Habsi who dove to his left pushing the ball out for a corner.

Both sides had chances after that to seal the game withWigan coming close through Rodallega and Moses and Liverpool through Kuyt.

A draw was a fair result from two teams apparently equally matched however the point gained will be more appreciated in the home dressing room tonight

Player ratings

Al Habsi…..9 Some fantastic saves, man of the match

Alcaraz…..8 Another good performance

Caldwell…. 8 Led by example

Stam………8 Wonderful attacking play

Figueroa….7.5 A solid performance

McCarthy…7 Worked hard but gave the ball away too often

Moses…….7 Some good runs but drifts out of the game too often.

Gomez…..7.5 A good performance again

Jones……7 A steady performance

Diame….8.5Wigan’s best outfielder week in week out

Sammon …6.5 First touch lets him down

Rodallega….7 Looked sharp

Di Santo…..7 worked hard created a couple of half chances.

Watson….6.5 too casual at times on the ball

Att  19,230

Roberto Martinez opted to retain the same starting line up that secured three points last week at The Hawthorns with Antolin Alcaraz having made a recovery from his bruised rib.

The game started slowly with Chelsea exerting most of the pressure but being unable to penetrate a superb home defence well marshalled by vocal Wigan captain Gary Caldwell. There has been much criticism of Wigan’s backline but since the switch to a back three with two wing backs and the introduction of Ronnie Stam the defence has look far more secure.

Wigan seemed content to soak up the pressure and look to catch Chelsea on the break with Victor Moses the main outlet for any attacking moves. Most of Wigan’s attacking moves in the first thirty minutes tended to be stimulated by long balls from the back so deep were the Wigan midfield and too often Conor Sammon was left to plough a lone furrow up front.

Wigan’s first real chance was when Gomez found himself in the penalty area but as he moved towards goal he went to ground with Martin Atkinson declining his first of several penalty claims.

For Chelsea, their best efforts were from long range with Romeu having a powerful goal bound shot superbly tipped around the post by Al Habsi.

In midfield there was a tremendous battle betweenChelsea’s playmaker Frank Lampard andWigan’s Momo Diame which the young Senegalese player just shaded

Chelsea’s main attacking threat came from Daniel Sturridge who gave both David Jones and Maynor Figueroa a severe examination of their Premier League credentials.

As the half continued Wigan grew in confidence with McCarthy looking back to his best and Stam providing an attacking foil on the right and on several occasions, Chelsea were forced to make last ditch clearances when under pressure from theWiganattacking force.

From one of these chances a powerful shot from Moses struck Ivanovic on the arm and once again Mr Atkinson waved away the penalty claims although replays show that on this occasion Chelsea should have been penalised.

The half time whistle brought a chorus of boos from the home supporters, not this time because of the home performance but because of some perceived errors by the officials.

Wigan started the second half in the same vein as they had ended the first with McCarthy and Diame driving the team forward ably supported by Figueroa and Stam but all too often the moves petered out with little support in the penalty area.

Chelsea had very few chances to score and unfortunately for the home side when presented with their first clear cut chance they took it. A wonderful ball from Cole found Sturridge unmarked on the right wing, he cut inside Figueroa and blasted the ball past Al Habsi in the Wigan goal.

In the past this would have sparked a Wigan collapse but there is a new found spirit in the Wigan camp and they continued to push forward looking for an equaliser roared on by a vociferous home crowd. Figueroa whose attacking runs caused Chelsea problems all afternoon cut inside and his goal bound shot was well saved by Cech, pushing the ball around the post for a corner.

Chelsea for their part resorted to some time-wasting tactics which only served to spur Wigan on.

Wigan showed their intent taking off the industrious Sammon and defensive Jones replacing them with the attack minded Rodallega and Di Santo and immediately the team had more shape and purpose with the two substitutes linking up well with each other and Moses.

Moses had a great chance when he turned two players but couldn’t control his shot which went high and wide and out for a throw in.

Wigan continued to press forward for the equaliser and a Rodallega shot was parried by a fractious Cech and Ivanovic had to clear the goal bound attempt from Di Santo off the line.

Wigan used this to good effect when Di Santo broke down the right wing and fed Rodallega, his shot was only partially blocked by Cech and the lose ball was blasted into the net by Gomez and Wigan and a deserved equaliser.

Wigan could have won it when in injury time Di Santo was felled on the edge of the area in what was a clear cut foul. Once again Mr Atkinson waved away claims for a penalty and as he blew the full time whistle the cheers around the ground signalled the appreciation from the home fans for what was the best performance of the season so far.

Wigan Line up and ratings

Al Habsi….( 8 ) a couple of good saves

Alcaraz…..( 8 ) excellent performance

Caldwell…. ( 8 ) marshalled the team superbly

Stam………( 9 ) a revelation as a wing back

Figueroa….( 8 ) best performance of the season

McCarthy…( 8 ) outshone his more illustrious opponents

Moses….( 7 ) worked hard , last ball let him down too often

Gomez…( some wonderful touches from the enigmatic Spaniard

Jones…..( 6.5 ) worked hard

Diame….( 9.5) Man of the match performance again

Sammon.. ( 6.5 ) isolated up front but never stopped trying.

Di Santo….( 8 ) turned the game against his former club.

Rodallega…( 8 ) showed his old form when he came on

Att 18,320