James McArthur netted his first goal for two years

A late, late resurgence from a generally tepid Latics wasn’t enough to make up for a weak first half as Tottenham chalked up another relatively comfortable three points at White Hart Lane. The hosts dominated much of the game, and by the time of Wigan’s pseudo-comeback in the final fifteen minutes, the match was effectively over as a contest but James McArthur’s 80th minute strike provided some consolation for Bob’s basement battlers.

Come 7pm, attention centred on the Wigan starting lineup amid rumours of a possible last-minute Hugo Rodallega exit. David Jones returned to the squad but had to settle for a place on the bench alongside the much-discussed Rodallega, who would possibly be used as an impact player later on. In a mainly defensive starting setup, Martinez’s packed the backline and looked to erect an impregnable wall which would at least provide a firm base from which to perhaps launch a late raid. Note that I said ‘looked to’ there, for things would be rather tough without the still-injured Antolin Alcaraz. Actually, it would have been an arduous task for the best of defences, let alone our own under-strength backline.

Following the trend established of late, it wasn’t a great first 45 minutes for Wigan, who were under pressure right from the off. Tottenham could have been two, maybe three ahead by the half hour but for the odd piece of Al Habsi excellence and superb McCarthy goal-line clearance. The Latics defence could not hold out for much longer, however, and the hosts finally took a well-earned lead as Latics finally crumbled to let Gareth Bale in for a simple goal at the back post bang on the half-hour mark. Just four minutes later, Tottenham doubled their lead through Modric to tighten their already solid grip on the game and leave Wigan with the proverbial Ben Nevis to scale.

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Rodallega's rasper wasn't enough to salvage even a point

Latics were outdone by a resurgent Queens Park Rangers side, who produced two superb goals and a well-placed penalty to see off their fellow relegation battlers.

Wigan looked every inch a bottom-of-the-table side in the first half. After the initial ten minutes, during which Steve Gohouri and Victor Moses both flashed the ball across the face of goal, the visitors were outplayed by an increasingly dominant Rangers.

The hosts fully deserved the two goal lead they took into the half time interval, but Latics were all too eager to help their cause. Helguson put them ahead from the penalty spot on 33 minutes thanks to a clumsy handball from James McCarthy, and it was only to get worse. With all but sixty seconds of the first half played, Wigan gave away yet another free kick around their own area. Though Al Habsi had earlier repelled a similar attempt, he was absolutely powerless to keep Buszaky’s thunderbolt strike from hitting both posts on its way into the goal. We’ve conceded some corkers of late, but this one must rank among the best.

It was a huge blow for Wigan, their passes inaccurate and confidence low. They did experience a hint of success late on with the long ball, but there was more than a whiff of desperation about Caldwell’s heaves up to Rodallega and Moses. The intricate passing play simply was not working and Latics looked a shadow of their former selves in the centre of the park.

It would certainly take a mammoth effort to turn things around now, but there was some hope – Wigan had finally discovered the value of getting the ball up to front man Rodallega. Sure, it hadn’t produced too many successful forays forward up until this point, but it was their best hope, a crumb for the visitors to salvage from what was an ultimately dismal 45 minutes of football.

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Al Habsi can be credited with limiting the visitors to just the one goal

I know I say this pretty much every time Latics play on a day other than Saturday, but it just feels weird. All the weekend’s footballing drama is normally washed away by our return to the daily grind at 8AM on Monday morning, and the whole day is ordinarily something of a sedate affair. The last thing I expect to see is more frantic Premier League action when I return from work, but once or twice a year we get these anomalies, these freaks of nature. Last night could have been unusual in more ways than one – there was a possibility that champions elect Manchester City could drop points at bottom-of-the-table Wigan, and the little guys certainly gave Mancini’s Fantasticos a run for their (no doubt Balotelli-donated) Monday roast.

Latics rode their luck and did just about enough in that second half to warrant a more even result. In the end, however, Antolin Alcaraz’s needless challenge on the left of defence led to a Dzeko goal that ultimately decided the contest. Wigan came back strong, increasing in confidence as the game progressed, but just didn’t have that extra bit of quality up front. Though City had their chances, really good ones at that, they consistently failed to double their lead and Latics were always in with an excellent chance of at least a point. Certainly by the final fifteen minutes, the visitors opted to go defensive and always left themselves open to that equaliser and, of course, a potential winning goal from Latics.

The problem was getting that goal, and Wigan just couldn’t do it. Guess that’s why we’re still rooted to the bottom of the table – harsh but fair, I’d say. Perhaps the best chance fell to James McCarthy, who benefited from Hugo Rodallega’s willingness to chase lost causes, but saw his shot blocked by Joe Hart. Had that hit the net, Wigan would have smelled more than just a drop of blood and that shock of all shocks would have still been possible. At the very least, we’d certainly have been in for a very interesting 20 minutes or so. That was it for clear-cut chances, however, and though Latics were a side revitalised in the second stanza, those shots on target deserted them once more.

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The County Ground (photo by Martin A Haisley via Twitter)

Swindon brushed aside a tepid Wigan to breeze into the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Latics, to all intents and purposes fielding a reserve side, failed to capitalise on Callum McManaman’s 35th minute goal as a lively Swindon outplayed their Premier League visitors on their way to a more than deserved win.

As expected, a drastically modified Latics took to the pitch at the County Ground. Though Al Habsi and Watson retained their places and Gary Caldwell made a welcome return to the centre of defence, this was a new lineup containing, amongst others, the out-of-favour Hendry Thomas and Shaun Maloney. Jordan Mustoe, who played his last senior game precisely one year ago against Hull in the equivalent cup tie, was handed his first start for the club and took up position alongside Adrian Lopez and the returning Emmerson Boyce at the back. The pacey Callum McManaman is back in South Lancs after his his loan spell at Blackpool (during which he played 12 games and scored 2 goals) and joined McArthur and Di Santo at the other end of the field this afternoon. Daniel Redmond and Nouha Dicko were handed places on the bench alongside regular first-teamers Sammon, Gomez, Moses, Gohouri and Pollitt.

Latics began by playing things at their own pace –a rather slow pace–, and though Adrian Lopez made a bit of a howler when his misplaced pass gifted the hosts a decent opportunity, this altered back four managed to repel most, if not all, attacks. Swindon weren’t without their dodgy moments at the back, either, but also managed to keep their opponents out with relative ease.

A long range shot from Hendry Thomas was Wigan’s first attempt of the game, but it flew way over the bar and into the packed stand behind Foderingham’s goal. In fact, said Robins keeper was largely untested up until the 35th minute, when the dangerous Callum McManaman sprinted his way into the area only to be brought down by defender Aden Flint. Yet another penalty to Latics, and Ben Watson, who’d been rather quiet up to this point, stepped up to take it. Unfortunately he slipped and the ball cannoned into the post, but McManaman was on hand to finish what he started and put Latics 1-0 ahead.

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