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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Is the sun setting on Premier League football in Wigan?

Two exceptional strikes from Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson, each coming either side of half time, were more than enough to see off a lacklustre Latics. Though the Swans had Nathan Dyer sent off after 60 minutes, some resilient defending prevented the hosts from getting any sort of foothold in the game and by the 85th minute, an increasingly frustrated Latics were out of juice.

Swansea took a 1-0 lead into the interval, and it was just about deserved. The teams had exchanged blows for all of 46 and a half minutes before the Icelander’s perfect shot soared past Al Habsi to the obvious delight of the Swansea team, who orchestrated an impromptu 8-man playground pile-on. I’m surprised Sigurdsson actually walked away from the ‘incident’, which looked a bit of a gutbuster that would have probably floored me for a good half an hour. It would have taken three meat pies before I’d have even thought about moving; who knows, I might have even had to take Monday off work.

The goal, which occurred on the very stroke of half time, was a world away from Wigan’s toils, as shots on target were hard to come by for the hosts. They had their spells, and could have seized a 39th minute opportunity through Emmerson Boyce who, not for the first time, came storming towards the back post to meet Figueroa’s cross, but the Barbadian’s attempt was blocked just feet from goal. Di Santo, too, was inches away from heading home a superb Beausejour cross, but that was pretty much all Latics had to show for their first half endeavours.

The visitors had the more clear cut chances, most notably on the three occasions when Al Habsi managed to prevent Nathan Dyer from finding the net. Admittedly, one of them was a simple, low dribbler, but it was a stat indicative of Swansea’s greater competence in the final third – they looked the more likely goalscorers. Wigan will be left ruing their decision to back off and let their opponents play, the primary reason many disheartened fans chose to boo their team from the field. Of course, the goal can’t have helped either.

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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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