Who needs centre forwards when you have Antolin Alcaraz?

Another fine Latics performance yielded a second straight victory to kept them well in the race for survival. Their last win at home came way back in August, some seven months ago, but recent improved performances seemed to suggest this ‘record’ would not last much longer. Stoke City were the unfortunate victims this afternoon, taking something of a battering in a second half of football that saw Latics dominate proceedings with goals from Antolin Alcaraz and Victor Moses.

Wigan, once again unchanged, faced a bigger challenge from the visitors in the first period. The Potters enjoyed periods of possession, most of which was spent in the midfield area scrutinising the Latics defence for potential cracks. They almost broke through early on, but Al Habsi was alert to danger when Ryan Shawcross flicked a corner goalwards, a great reactionary save from the Omani. This was all the visitors had to shout about, however, as despite a prolonged period of pressure on the Wigan left, they could only muster a Peter Crouch header over the bar (6 minutes) and the odd shot which failed to find the target. Jon Walters almost capitalised on an Emmerson Boyce mistake to nip in for an opportunist goal on 32 minutes, but on this occasion could only find the North Stand behind Al Habsi’s goal.

The hosts were equally culpable, squandering several superb opportunities throughout the half. Franco Di Santo, chasing one of his own charge-downs, found himself through on goal but saw his effort blocked in expert fashion by Asmir Begovic, so we shall let him off on that one. I also won’t blame Boyce who declined the opportunity to volley the ball home at the back post, instead taking a touch, with slightly less exciting results. I’m less inclined to say the same for Jean Beausejour who, when faced with what seemed like an open goal, failed to make decent enough contact with the ball to convert a fantastic Victor Moses cross from the right.

Of equal note was the contest between Beausejour and Jermaine Pennant, the former of whom was forced to play the role of a wing back for large chunks of the half thanks to some canny football from the former England U21 international. The two eventually descended into petty bickering, which resulted in a Beausejour yellow card. The DW temperature further rose less than a minute later when Boyce also entered Mark Clattenberg’s notebook as he wiped out Matthew Etherington with just over ten minutes of the half to play. Stoke’s stalwart soldiered on following an extended period of treatment, but was withdrawn just minutes after the restart to be replaced by Cameron Jerome.

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A real collective effort - the team spirit is back

The gods were shining on Wigan Athletic this afternoon in more ways than one; the start of spring granted us some pleasant weather and equally enjoyable football as Latics blistered their way to a precious three points at a stunned Anfield.

Both sides enjoyed decent spells of control but Latics had the last laugh through Gary Caldwell, who was on hand to slot home the remains of James McCarthy’s deflected shot midway through the second half. Shaun Maloney had put Wigan ahead from the spot on the half hour mark before Luis Suarez’s equaliser shortly after the restart. However, the second Wigan goal visibly shook the hosts, who took a while to recover from the sloppy pass virus (huh, must have caught it from us) and couldn’t muster an answer before the game was out.

Though Liverpool dominated the opening exchanges, and indeed much of the first half, Wigan were happy to play the waiting game and endeavoured to hit their Liverpudlian opponents on the break. This familiar away strategy actually worked for once, at least in terms of the scoreline.

Wigan, sporting an unchanged starting lineup, went into the half time break one goal to the good, but it wasn’t all sunshine and smiles. Victor Moses was a casualty of the goal, which came via a sweetly-struck 30th minute Shaun Maloney penalty. The Scot provided the initial free kick which, after being half cleared by Jon Flanagan, came straight back into the danger zone and the general vicinity of a predatory Moses. As he attempted to bring the ball under some sort of control, he took a blow to the chin from Martin Skrtel’s boot and went down for the count. Referee Lee Mason awarded the spot-kick almost immediately, but it was at least three minutes before the Nigerian could regain his feet and somewhat surprising that he was able to continue. But not for long. After soldiering on for almost a quarter of an hour, it was clear he would be unable to continue and Albert Crusat was called upon to fill the right wing void. It would be a tough ask, for Moses had been the primary cause of concern for The Reds up until the goal, and almost made it onto the scoresheet himself on 10 minutes. Receiving the ball, he sprinted past the defender before entering the penalty area and letting rip, but Skrtel was on hand to provide a vital last-ditch tackle.

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Paul Scharner was almost destined to score, wasn't he?

Remember that Saturday evening television show Gladiators? The one with John Fashanu in a ‘trendy’ deep blue blazer and a bunch of unrealistically muscular types employed specifically to beat up members of the public? Then you may remember The Wall – no, not the Pink Floyd album (though it would have been fantastic for Wolf to have performed a full-costume rendition of ‘In the Flesh’), but that event in which contenders would race to the top of a specially-constructed climbing wall. Well, if the Wigan survival fight were equated to a typical staging of said event, we would be the weedy little guy clinging on valiantly, constantly battling their own deficiencies but determined to make at least some progress. Opponents are faltering and squabbling amongst themselves, winding each other up as they step in each others’ footholds, but Wigan are still there, in with a chance to pounce should the moment arise.

With their nearest competitors not in Premier League action, this weekend posed an opportunity for Latics to pull themselves ahead of the relegation zone and ease some of the pressure of an intense bottom-of-the-table fistfight, at least temporarily. In a bid to inject some attacking impetus, Shaun Maloney was drafted into the first XI ahead of the out-of sorts Jordi Gomez. The Scot’s exemplary second half performance against Norwich was more than enough to oust the Spaniard, and boy did he make an impact on Saturday; Martinez’s change was fully justified as Maloney turned in a sterling man of the match performance. He was instrumental in much of Wigan’s early forward play, and the opening 240 seconds of the game saw three Franco Di Santo attempts on the West Brom goal, while Emmerson Boyce would have two further chances in the next ten minutes – one of which cannoned into Ben Foster’s crossbar.

After an almost relentless first 20 minutes, West Brom had successfully soaked up all pressure and were now able to start making their own in-roads. Gareth McAuley headed wide of Al Habsi’s goal from a Brunt cross, and the visitors looked to be just about settling into the game. But Wigan experienced a second wind towards the back end of the half, unsettling the Baggies defensive line on a further four or five occasions. James McCarthy, battered and bruised from a bit of physical ‘treatment’ (of the truly Gladiatorial kind) throughout the first half, rattled the North Stand bar via Foster’s fingertips, but the West Brom clean sheet remained intact even after wave upon wave of Wigan attacks.

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Victor Moses was back on the scoresheet

Latics launched a spirited comeback to grab what could be a more than useful away point come May 2012. Spearheaded by the introduction of Shaun Maloney ten minutes into the second half, Wigan laid siege to the Canaries goal and secured a deserved equaliser through Victor Moses with just over 20 minutes to play. Mohamed Diame missed an 86th minute opportunity to snatch the game late on before Ali Al Habsi produced an even later heroic save to preserve Wigan’s point.

Following last week’s non-performance against Swansea, it was heartening to see a sprightly Latics outfit that, for periods, looked nothing like one languishing at the bottom of the table. The performance certainly trumped that of Wolverhampton Wanderers who went down by two goals to fellow relegation strugglers Blackburn yesterday afternoon, so draw what you like from that. After going behind to a fantastic Hoolahan flick on 10 minutes, Wigan were always chasing the game but improved as the game progressed and, by the time their goal went in, had chalked up seven shots on target to Norwich’s one.

Latics began the brighter, but were checked by Wes Hoolahan’s strike, which signalled the start of a good spell for the home side. Wigan managed to scramble everything clear, however, and showed signs of getting a foothold as the game approached the half hour mark. Hugo Rodallega smashed a shot right at John Ruddy in the Canaries goal, while an Emmerson Boyce cross grazed his crossbar after taking a wicked deflection on its way into the area. Jordi Gomez also flashed a shot wide, but little else threatened the Norwich goalmouth.

The visitors’ best openings came in the second half. It was imperative for them to come out fighting, which resulted in an very open five minutes or so – that first 60 seconds of the second period saw both sides create decent chances. An unchallenged Grant Holt header failed to find the target and Latics breathed easily once more. The next chance fell to James McCarthy, and what a great opportunity it was – on this occasion, Ruddy effectively closed down the Irishman, whose storming run through the Norwich final third proved a real threat.

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