There’s an old adage in football that on any given day a good little ‘un can beat a good big ‘un. Yesterday that happened as Wigan Athletic  with a  team that cost eleven million pounds and due to injury virtually picked itself beat a Manchester City team valued at 0ne hundred and fifty million and sporting a bench where a fee of ten million could probably be justified for any of the outfield players warming the seats.

Much will be made of the fantastic team performance which it was but the game was won with the tactics both managers employed both before and during the game with Martinez the worthy winner

Wigan manager opted to bring back Antolin Alcaraz into the centre of defence with captian Gary Callwell who is suffering from a chronic hip problem having to be content with a place on the bench. Martinez also opted to recall Jordi Gomez in place of Ben Watson.

Wigan lined up with a fluid formation, defending with a 5-2-2-1 and 3-4-2-1 when in possession but it was City who had the first chance when Tevez broke down the Wigan left past Espinoza who seemed to have been dragged inside out of position but thankfully the ball was overhit and Wigan had the opportunity to settle.

Wigan started to play their open passing game with no signs of nerves and once again the controlling influence in midfield was James McCarthy who outshone Toure , Nasri and Silva, his ball distribution freeing up Espinoza to attack on the left with McManaman providing Clichy an afternoon that the young Frenchman will have nightmares about.

It  was McManaman who had Wigan’s first chance when following a lovely though ball from Kone found the young Liverpudlian cut inside and tried to curl the ball around Nastasic but the ball went narrowly past the far post.

City attacked at pace and Robles had to save well from Silva,  Espinoza clearing the loose ball. City then won a free kick at the edge of the area when Boyce was adjudged to have fouled Aguero, the shot hit the wall and the rebound shot by Toure was well saved by Robles.

Statistics show Wigan score a high percentage of goals from set pieces and City concede a high percentage of goals from set pieces and Wigan’s set piece expert Maloney put in a good corner which Scharner headed over.

City continued to attack down Wigan’s left targeting the out of position Espinoza and put in a goal bound shot which was magnificently saved by the feet of six foot five Robles in the Wigan goal.

At the other end a lovely run by Espinoza who grew in stature as the game went on saw the defender fall under the tackle of Zabaleta in the penalty area but Mr Marriner waved away the muted Wigan penalty appeals.

Back came City again and Robles was forced into a  smart save from Barry.

Alcaraz had an immense game at the back and from a rare foray forwards a lovely pass found McManaman who beat three men including Hart but in trying to create a good angle for the shot at goal he took too long and Zabaleta made a good block .

The half time whistle came with both teams at deadlock but with Wigan no doubt the happier in a game where the majority of the pundits believed that City merely had to turn up to win the cup.

The second half started with no changes on the team sheet  and the game ebbed and flowed with both teams looking to utilise the wide open spaces that the Wembley pitch affords. Aguero had the first real chance when he found space on the right following a slip by Scharner but Boyce made a good block the ball going out for a corner, with Kompany heading over from the corner.

Aguero then had a penalty appeal for a foul by Scharner waved away Mr Marrienr ruling that he had slipped although had it been awarded it would have been a  travesty of justice as the Argentinean was offside anyway.

Man of the match McManaman once again caused heart rates to increase with another good run into the City half but was brought down by Zabaleta earning the Argentinean a booking. This had been preceded by another mazey run in the area which was only halted by a block by City’s best player on the pitch Kompany

Wigan continued to grow in confidence and roared on by a passionate support pushed forwards and once again looked dangerous at set pieces, the best being a free kick from Maloney as the result of yet another foul on McManaman by which bounced clear off the cross bar.

Again Wigan pressed forwards and following a loose ball from Barry, Kone intercepted the ball and fed McManaman with a beautiful ball who when through the middle with a real goal scoring chance Zabaleta scythed down the attacking player , leaving Mr Marriner with no option but to award the second yellow and leave City with ten men.

Wigan made the numerical advantage cound, another wonderful run from McManamn saw claims of a penalty for a foul by Clichy waved away by Mr Marriner who awarded a corner instead but City’s respite was short lived when substitute Watson rose magnificently to ehad the ball unchallenged intot he City net to give Wigan the lead.

Wigan then endured a nervy four minutes of time added on but the full time whistle brought to an end an enthralling cup final and ensured that Wigan’s name was not only on the cup but on the lips of a global TV audience of over half a billion people.

Team Line up and ratings

Robles.......8, pulled off some fine saves.

McArthur.......7, played out of position but let no one down.

Alcaraz.......8.5, magnificent cool and composed

Scharner......8, the usual passionate performance from Wigan’s adopted Austrian.

Boyce.......8, a captian’s role.

Espinoza.......7.5, grew in stature as the game went on, attacked well.

McCarthy......8.5, bossed midfield.

Gomez.......7, confident and assured, withdrawn.

Maloney.......7.5, worked hard , unlucky not to score.

Kone.........8, his battle with Kompany was worth the admission fee alone.

McManaman......9.5, fantastic performance from the man of the match, did everything bar score.

Subs Used

Watson for Gomez......9, his goal won us the F.A.Cup, what more can I say?

Att      86,254

A poor performance with too many players performing below their normal levels saw Wigan lose at home to Swansea and lose the opportunity to move out of the bottom three.

Roberto Martinez made three changes from the side which performed credibly at West Bromwich, Espinoza replacing the injured Beausejour and two tactical changes the re-introduction of captain Caldwell and McArthur for Stam and Gomez.

Wigan started brightly with McCarthy controlling midfield and both teams looking to pass the ball around seeking an opening for the first goal. Both sides cancelled each other out with too many passes going astray and for Wigan too many passes backwards when on the few opccasions the ball did go forward to Kone and McManaman , Swansea looked vulnerable. Wigan’s best early chance was a long range shot comfortable saved by Vorm.

Swansea’s best chance was from one of many calamitous errors by Wigan, when Gary Caldwell under pressure passed back to Robles who picked the ball up in the penalty area. After what seemed an eternity all eleven Wigan players lined up on the line and as Swansea shot seven sprinted out leaving four covering the line. Fortunately the ball flew high over the bar.

With half time looming Wigan secured an unlikely lead, an aimless cross from Watson was punched clear by Vorm straight to Espinoza at the edge of the area. He appeared to mis hit his shot into the ground but this deceived the Swansea defence and the power of the shot took it into the net and Wigan had the lead.

Wigan started the second half on the back foot with ten men sitting deep in front of their own goal inviting Swansea onto them. The Swans wasted no time in accepting the opportunity and a Routledge pass found Rangel out wide and with Espinoza trailing in his wake, his powerful shot went across Robles , hit the post and went in the ner.

Within five minutes Wigan were level, Caldwell who had a difficult evening in defence played a lovely through ball to McCarthy and the young midfielder finished well and once again Wigan were ahead.

Wigan pushed forwards in search of a third and McArthur should have done better from a beautiful through ball from Kone.

Swansea continued to dominate midfield and a howler of a pass from Caldwell gifted the ball to Hernandez who passed to Schecter and his shot deflected in off the post to level the scores.

Swansea continued to exert their dominance and all too often Wigan’s midfield seemed content to pass backwards much to the ire of the home crowd. Swansea’s pressure eventually told when Maloney and McArthur managed to commit football suicide in front of goal by both attempting to clear a nothing cross from Hernandez, the ball fell to Tiendelli whose poorly hit shot did just enough to cross the line.

Wigan huffed and puffed but little creativity meant that chances were few and far between. A collision of heads between Vorm and one of his defenders saw the young keeper stretchered off .

For Wigan the game went from the sublime to the ridiculous when Stam probably set the record for the shortest substitution of ten seconds before being injured and leaving Wigan with ten men.

Wigan showed little in the nine minutes added on and the full time whistle brought the realisation to many fans that this season an escape may be too much for a gallant but small squad.

Team Line up and ratings

Robles......5, poor, should have done better for the goals

Boyce.....6 one of the better players, mysteriously withdrawn

Scharner.....5.5 not his best game

Caldwell......4, very poor

Espinoza.....5 , weak in defence ineffective in attack apart from one shot.

McArthur....6, should have scored, worked hard.  

McCarthy....6, good first half and a good goal, tired visibly.

Watson....5.5 too keen to apss backwards, surrendered midfield.

Maloney....6, looked tired but never stopped trying

McManaman....6, good first half mysteriously withdrawn

Kone.....6.5, best of a poor bunch

Subs used

Di Santo for McManaman....5, anonymous.

Gomez for Watson.....5, didn’t notice him.

Stam.....0, surely set a record for the shortest substitution ever.

Att..... 18,550

A rollercoaster of a game saw Wigan come back twice to secure a late winner from Callum McManaman to give fresh impetus to Wigan’s perennial battle to escape relegation

A potentially season ending injury to Maynor Figueroa marred what was a superb team performance from Wigan who must be wondering how they didn’t leave the DW Stadium the winners  against high flying Tottenham.

Injury forced Antolin Alcaraz to leave the field after 15 minutes. Up to that point Wigan Athletic had taken the game to the home team and looked confident and composed.  The psychology changed after the Paraguayan went off. Once again, playing the better football, Wigan were to come  home pointless.

Roberto Martinez had brought back Gary Caldwell in defence and Callum McManaman in attack. Maynor Figueroa was moved to left wing back and Franco Di Santo  was  left on the bench.

The result hinged on crucial moments, Alcaraz' injury foremost.  Early in the first half Shaun Maloney had been put through with a one on one with Jussi Jaaskelainan, but the goalkeeper blocked his shot. West Ham were to score a scrappy goal after 30 minutes when Matt Jarvis put in a centre that eluded everybody, including Robles in the Wigan goal. It went in somehow.

Following Alcaraz’ exit Wigan’s defence were all at sea and West Ham could have scored more goals before the half time whistle blew. Jean Beausejour had come on for Alcaraz, with Maynor Figueroa reverting to central defence from wing back. Wigan supporters would have been glad to hear the half time whistle, with their team just one behind.

Wigan came out with resolve after the break, taking the game to the home team. The second  crucial moment of the match was to come  came after 70 minutes.  James McArthur’s shot was parried by Jaaskelainan but somehow eluding Arouna Kone at the far post.

No matter how much Wigan dominated the second half goals eluded them, with West Ham packed in defence. The Hammers were to score their second goal when Carroll’s speculative volley found Kevin Nolan, rather than the defenders around him, to deflect it home. Another “Bolton goal", well taken, if fortuitous.

West Ham were to seal the game with another goal of the same ilk. Somehow Andy Carroll’s speculative volley  found Kevin Nolan who deflected the ball in. Wigan attacked constantly but could not score. They had 63% of the possession in the match.

The Good

These matches are always set on a knife-edge. Latics had attacked the hosts from the start. They  were there to win the game. Had Maloney’s shot gone in it would have been a different ball game. Then if McArthur’s effort in the second half had been put away, who knows what might have happened?

In the second half West Ham had dropped deep, to protect their lead. Wigan’s effort could not be faulted. They tried hard but could not scale that brick-wall West Ham defence.

The Bad

Antolin Alcaraz has proved to be the cornerstone of Latics’ revival in recent weeks.  He has been superb since he came back, making a huge difference to the defence. When he went off today, Wigan visibly wilted. It was to be the turning point of the match.

One hopes Alcaraz will be back. Otherwise Wigan’s central defence will be lacking its best player. It could be the key factor that determines their status in the Premier League.

Player Ratings

Joel Robles: 7 – could be faulted with that scrappy opening goal, but so could the defence. Looks a very good young goalkeeper.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 – cannot be faulted for effort and commitment.

Antolin Alcaraz: injured and substituted aftger 15 minutes.

Paul Scharner: 6 –could not stamp his mark on the game.

Gary Caldwell: 5 – a less than auspicious return for the captain.

Maynor Figueroa: 5 – his poor final pass or shooting killed a number of promising moves.

James McCarthy: 6 – not up to his usual level, but worked hard as always.

Jordi Gomez: 5 – ineffective. Should have been substituted at half time when McManaman went off.

Callum McManaman: 5 – peripheral. Taken off at half time.

Arouna Kone: 6 – hard to understand how he was not in place to slot McArthur’s effort home after Jaaskelainan’s parry. Worked hard, but found the Hammers defence tough.

Shaun Maloney: 7 – tried to get things moving in the second half. Lots of good touches, but with no end result.

Substitutes:

Jean Beausejour: 5 – came on for Alcaraz after 15 minutes, but not at his best.

James McArthur: 7– came on after half time. Helped Wigan gain the midfield.

Franco Di Santo: - brought on too late after 86 minutes.

thanks to jakarta jack @ www.threeamigoswigan.com