Al Habsi pulled off a great early save to preserve his clean sheet

Wigan inched closer to their rivals at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League with another point, but once again missed out on a great opportunity to lift themselves out of the relegation zone with a win against an uncertain Aston Villa. Both sides had their moments in a largely insipid contest, but by the 98th minute, neither had done enough to deserve that all-important winning goal.

An unchanged Latics looked to attack their opponents early, and managed to get away couple of efforts through Caldwell and Gomez. None were particularly challenging, and Villa very nearly made Wigan pay within the first quarter of an hour. Robbie Keane drew a fingertip save from an unsure Al Habsi, who must have been spooked by the somewhat uneven surface because the shot was simply placed towards the corner of the South Stand goal and caused him a modicum of trouble. There was also an edginess in the Wigan passing game, and the odd innocuous sidefoot took a wild bobble to fox members of both sides, but particularly Latics. That said, it was the home side that bossed possession, even if the best chances fell to the Villans.

The closest any side came to breaking the deadlock was on 13 minutes, when Darren Bent so nearly jabbed the ball past a charging Al Habsi. The Omani made himself big enough to get a block on the shot, and how crucial it was – the ball bounced away for a corner. After a long period of Wigan domination –well, in terms of possession– the visitors experienced a second wind with a few minutes of the half remaining. Much like Wigan’s, this good spell would not yield much in the way of chances, though Carlos Cuellar may have headed his side ahead on 38 minutes had he reacted to Albrighton’s deflected corner a little quicker.

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Thirst for action: Alcaraz returned to action while Caldwell notched up his second of the season

Wigan chalked up a well-earned first win of 2012 to close the gap to their local rivals and stay in touch at the bottom of the table. Gary Caldwell rose to head home Jean Beausejour’s corner and give his side the lead towards the end of a first half they largely controlled. Though Mark Davies pulled the Trotters level with a 67th minute screamer, Latics never lost heart and were back in front through James McArthur less than ten minutes later. The visitors saw through a tense final fifteen minutes and have Ali Al Habsi to thank for a wonderful fingertip save from Ryo Miyaichi’s strike with mere minutes to play.

Latics began nervously in the face of some lively Bolton interplay, and would be forced into some anxious fumbled clearances at the back. The hosts managed three early shots on target, but none of them even got through to Al Habsi as they were intercepted in the first instance by charging defenders. Wigan were always right in there, however, and almost had a breakthrough on 13 minutes through Victor Moses, who cut into the penalty area and sliced his shot wide of Bogdan’s right hand post. Beausejour, too, found success in running at the defence, and flashed a couple of balls across the face of goal but sadly there were no men present to finish the job and put Latics ahead.

As the half progressed, Wigan saw more and more of the ball and won a good proportion of 50:50 challenges as the midfield began to impose themselves on the game. This dominance provided Di Santo with two chances, one a powerful strike that flew not far over the bar, and a second that had the keeper diving low to repel his shot destined for the bottom corner. Caldwell’s goal was the pinnacle of Latics’ endeavours, a well-placed header past Adam Bogdan from just outside the six-yard area to convert Beausejour’s corner kick.

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Phil Neville took a break from his comm box duties to score from the bench for Latics

Latics missed out on a chance to snatch three potentially profitable points in a largely even contest at a bleak DW Stadium. After Tim Howard’s howler resulted in a Philip Neville own goal, Latics went too defensive for their own good and soon conceded, super sub Victor Anichebe doing the business for the Toffees once again. A frantic final ten minutes saw no more goals and both teams will be disappointed not to have come away from this clash with anything more than a point.

Wigan looked to pick up from where they left off against Tottenham, and experienced at least some success with James McArthur at the heart of midfield. They certainly had their share of attacking play, resulting in one or two clear-cut chances for Franco Di Santo. His first was borne out of a superb ball from Figueroa, which found its way to the Argentine’s feet at the edge of the area via Sylvain Distin’s shoulder. Tim Howard was equal to Di Santo’s scuffed shot, pulling off a great reaction save at short range to preserve his clean sheet. Di Santo’s second chance came later in the half from a challenging Stam cross, but he was adjudged to have fouled Distin as he scrambled to get a shot on target just feet from goal.

At the other end, Darron Gibson could have given the visitors a useful lead on 40 minutes as gold shirts poured forward, but only succeeded in firing the ball yards over Al Habsi’s crossbar, much to the relief of a shivering home crowd. It wasn’t the best of halves for the Irishman, who had earlier miscued a strike so badly that it went out for a throw in some 20 yards from the corner flag. The Toffees looked threatening on the break, and managed to trouble the keeper more times than their opponents.

Wigan enjoyed slightly more possession and were keen on getting the ball to an energetic Jean Beausejour on the left wing. The Chilean was responsible for two or three wonderful runs into the penalty area which could easily have yielded success, but neither side did enough to take a lead into the half time break.

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