"I think Di Santo should buy a lottery ticket tonight" -- Neil Warnock

Having had a rare chance to review Saturday’s game on that idiot box thing Peter Kay calls television, there are a few things I must mention in addition to that afternoon’s post. Taking into account both my own blatant bias and the BBC’s need to produce ‘entertaining’ television (impartiality, who needs it?), we ought to meet somewhere in the middle and produce a completely false impression of events this weekend. That’s blogs/the mainstream media for you, but I’d best cut the carp and get on with things or I might be accused of Daily Mail-esque hackery.

It was one of those games from which Wigan could easily have come away with no points – the contests you deserve to win on balance, but don’t due to lack of a finishing touch. Queens Park Rangers –and their fans for that matter– gave an extremely good account of themselves and were unlucky not to have scored. But for half an inch and the odd deflection going their way, the visitors might have had something more to cheer about. Of course, they were guilty of wayward shooting in those last ten minutes, but two solid saves from Al Habsi during that period preserved Wigan’s clean sheet wonderfully. What Match of the Day failed to show was an incident that could so easily have led to a penalty for the visitors, but the Omani just managed to palm the ball out for a corner before felling the advancing attacker.

Referee ‘Not Jamie’ Oliver wasn’t all that eager to produce cards in what wasn’t really a dirty contest, but did book both Latics central defenders before the game was over. Nothing much new there, you might think, and you’d be right. If we continue in this vein, I foresee some possible defensive problems further down the line, so it may be wise for Martinez to bring in a defender before the transfer window closes on Wednesday night. Indeed, he has alluded to this more than once over the weekend, but is understandably keeping schtum on exactly who Latics are chasing. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time we had a player stolen from right under our nose at the last minute.

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The Midas touch: Franco Di Santo

Latics hauled themselves into sixth place, albeit for the time being, with a solid victory over their west London opponents in changeable conditions at the DW Stadium. Franco Di Santo warranted his place in the starting line-up, grabbing a brace to take his tally for the club to three, but it wasn’t quite as comfortable a victory as the scoreline might suggest – far from it, in fact.

Wigan were out of the blocks quickly and the returning Hugo Rodallega won a free kick on the edge of the opposition area within two minutes of the kick-off. Jordi Gomez sent the resulting strike just wide of Paddy Kenny’s left hand post, but the hosts continued to exhibit an attacking intent that sent out a message that they weren’t about to defend for their lives, as seemed to be the case at points last week.

This bolder strategy enjoyed a modicum of success, Victor Moses coming closest in the early stages with a cross/shot flashed across the face of goal. It wasn’t without its flaws, however, and allowed the visitors to play some football in the Latics half. Al Habsi was first forced into a save from John Derry, then saw Taarabt rattle his left hand post as QPR began to assert themselves with some gusto.

The game was now settling down into an even contest as Latics continued to pass well in the opposition half, almost carving out some superb chances for Moses and Di Santo. The latter soon found himself on the scoresheet after being fed wonderfully by Rodallega. The Argentine set himself up for a fantastically placed strike into the top right hand corner of the North Stand goal, leaving Kenny with no chance and doubling his competitive tally for the club.

Wigan looked to slow things down and retain some possession, but the half wasn’t over yet. Adel Taarabt crashed an injury time free kick onto Al Habsi’s left hand post –the very same upright he had hit in the tenth minute– via the Omani’s palm. A well-juiced pitch made for a slippery ball, and Wigan’s No. 1 (well, 26 actually) did well to prevent it from crossing the line. Rangers were mere inches away from going into the break level, and will feel unlucky not to have done so.

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The League Trophy adorned with Latics ribbons. Well, not really. (Credit: Angelo Romano)

Tomorrow afternoon, Latics will find out who they shall face in the Carling Cup Third Round, should they manage to beat Crystal Palace on 13 September. But who gives a monkey’s? Certainly not QPR’s Neil Warnock, who this week rubbished the English League Cup after his side were sent crashing out of the competition by League One side Rochdale.

I can fully understand why Warnock would make such comments. The pivotal Bradley Orr, who limped off with a groin injury on the half hour mark, will certainly not play against us this weekend, and may be out for a while longer. Latics faced a (quite) similar situation last year, when a Carling Cup match saw Victor Moses sustain a 38th minute injury from which he never fully recovered until the latter stages of the season. Admittedly, that was in the Quarter Final, and Wigan were actually in with a half decent shout of winning the thing outright if they had won the tie, but it’s a similar principle. The Premier League’s the thing, and for those battling to stay in it, it is easy to assume the view that everything else is an unwanted distraction.

Of course, there are plenty out there that treat the Carling Cup with a modicum of respect. Rochdale, for one, will be pretty pleased at this moment in time, as will Brighton, MK Dons, Shrewsbury Town and Aldershot, who all felled giants to reach the Third Round. Roberto Martinez is another fan, no doubt grateful of the chance to blood some bench-warmers and fringe team players. Of course, he wasn’t afforded that chance this week, and Latics’ wider squad will be all the worse for it.

But then, I suppose many Premier League bosses are secretly pleased to be dumped out of the Carling Cup. Those at the very top have Champions League ties to consider, and fixture congestion can be a real problem – just ask Alex Ferguson. Even the mid-table sides have bigger fish to fry –Stoke and Fulham are currently embroiled in arduous Europa Cup campaigns–, and can view the League Cup as a mere midweek kickabout in comparison.

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Ronnie Stam, who replaced an injured Alcaraz on 37 minutes, was kept busy

In an historic contest, Wigan Athletic were the visitors as a thoroughly modern Liberty Stadium played host to the English Premier League’s first match outside England. If the FA were using it as a gauge for the ‘39th game‘ proposal, I don’t think they would have been too impressed, at least not by the scoreline. Fans of the two clubs were kept reasonably engaged, however, and each will be convinced their side should have secured the full three points in what became a topsy-turvy battle.

The first half really was a nonentity, at least where the visitors were concerned. For the vast majority, Latics found themselves chasing possession and struggling to win the 50—50 balls, and can count themselves lucky not to have conceded. That said, serious shots on target for either side were few and far between, only Al Habsi drawn into the odd half-save and punch clear.

After a period of extended domination by the hosts, during which Wigan were deprived of the ball for the best part of a quarter of an hour, the visiting team finally arrived at the ground on 40 minutes. Luckily for Latics, they were still at 0—0, but now without Antolin Alcaraz who had to depart on 37 minutes with a dodgy leg. Ronnie Stam was his replacement, and took up his position at right back.

But Latics were now looking a bit more likely, and earned themselves a couple of corners which threatened to cause problems — Victor Moses, perhaps predictably, the chief architect. The passes started to reach their destination, and the first half came to a close just as the visitors were working their way back into things.

The pendulum soon swung back in Swansea’s direction, however, as the hosts continued to attack Wigan down the right wing. Somehow, despite increasing pressure in the Latics half, the Swans were kept out. Most shots on Al Habsi’s goal were right at the Omani and relatively easy, only one real strike of note forcing him into a save away to his right.

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