Friends reunited: Ex-Latics Emile Heskey and Charles N'Zogbia (pictured) made token appearances from the bench

Villa completed a comfortable victory over Latics at Villa Park, Agbonlahor and Bent proving the difference between the two sides on the day. In direct comparison to Moses and Di Santo, there was no contest – at least in the way of goals which, after all, are what win you matches and ultimately keep you in the Premier League.

Though Latics showed signs of threatening in the first half, their composure in front of goal was severely lacking. Shay Given saw effort after effort fly past his goal and was only ever called into action to make the odd comfortable clearance.

Villa took a deserved lead, Gabriel Agbonlahor’s 36th minute thunderbolt leaving Al Habsi with no chance whatsoever. This signalled a slightly more positive strategy by Wigan, who looked to pour men forward in an attempt to snatch an equaliser before the 45 minutes were up. They could have snaffled that goal, too — Franco Di Santo had a fantastic chance on 42 minutes, but only succeeded in firing wide of Given’s right hand post.

It was an otherwise nondescript first half. Both teams toiled in front of goal, but it was Villa who found their range first, Darren Bent so very nearly giving the Villans a 25th minute lead. Just yards from goal, he got away a strike which Al Habsi just about managed to keep out via both palms. As far as Latics were concerned, there was a lot of possession and some neat little passes but once again a lack of potency up front. Though Diame initially looked sprightly, his threat was slowly neutralised as Wigan were pushed back. Victor Moses, too, never really got up to speed and could not exploit what defensive weaknesses Villa might have shown. Inexperience was certainly a factor, and you have to wonder how much different things might have been were Hugo Rodallega fit, but one suspects the result might have been just as disappointing.

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Al Habsi, so often Latics' saviour this campaign, played an important part in today's proceedings.

Latics preserved their unbeaten record at Villa Park with a deserved point that could prove so crucial in the Premier League run-in. After a first half which saw both sides enjoy decent spells of possession and pressure, the visitors passed out the second half – but not without the odd scare.

After a cagey opening, Wigan had a dream start when Charles N’Zogbia finished expertly past Brad Friedel in the Villa goal on 10 minutes. Immediately following some good midfield pressing, Latics stole the ball and, through Victor Moses, stormed into the opposition penalty area where the Frenchman was waiting to strike with his left foot for his third goal in as many games. Villa were quick to counter, equalising just 7 minutes later via the boot of Ashley Young after Ben Watson gave away a needless free kick ten metres outside his own penalty area. Al Habsi will be disappointed not to have got to the shot, which was well placed but not with any real power.

The game’s second goal sparked a period of Villa domination, which culminated in an excellent opportunity for ex-Latic Emile Heskey who was unfortunate not to have found the goal on the volley from eight yards out. Not much has changed since he went to Villa, it seems. Ali Al Habsi deserves a vast amount of credit for his save, however, which would ultimately help preserve his side’s point.

Wigan weathered the Villa storm, which turned thundery towards the end of the half as a string of decisions went the way of the relegation battlers. Emile Heskey was incensed by ref Mike Jones’ refusal to penalise Gary Caldwell for what seemed like an elbow, so much in fact that he talked his way into the book and can count himself lucky not to have received a stricter penalty.

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Waiting for the Messiah: No Moses comeback just yet for Whelan

So there we were, one whole month later than originally planned, on a Tuesday evening at the DW. One thing remained the same, however – this was a significant game in Latics’ season. Villa, now with a £24m(?!) Darren Bent on board, found themselves mixing it with us at the foot of the table, but for how long? On the evidence of their most recent performance against Man City, I’d say not very.

The pundits, though praising of Martinez’s ethics, continue to back us for the drop for that very same reason. A sometimes painful insistence on sticking with the 4-5-1 midfield passing game has won Bob as many fans as it’s lost him – a fact evidenced in falling attendances at the DW in the last two years. It’s clear the public are happy to see us hoof the ball up the park every time we get it, Titus Bramble style, if it means Wigan Athletic remain in England’s top division for another year.

For my own part, I’d settle for a happy medium if the results were there to back up our Arsenal-inspired formations. The wins have been hard to come by all season long, and we haven’t seen back-to-back victories since, well, ever. Do you play to win points or friends? Friendly guys rarely succeed. A dilemma indeed, at least for Martinez. On the whole, I couldn’t give a monkey’s unripe banana if we played 11 men up front as long as it meant we got the points.

On the face of it, money and tactics seem so unrelated, but dig a bit deeper and it’s obvious. Steve Bruce, love or hate some of his strategies, guided us to a respectable mid-table finish and signed some of our best players of the last ten years, perhaps even ever. I’m well aware we live in far more austere times, with even Manchester United having to tighten the purse strings of late – I know, who’d have thought it?

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A few snaps from the buildup to the home game with Villa earlier this month. Nothing particularly exciting to note here, except for the fact I used the occasion to experiment with flash settings, which wasn’t entirely (or even moderately) successful – hence the blur in some pics. Blasted poor photography skills/cheapo camera/floodlights. Nevertheless…

Don’t forget to check out the Illarterate Flickr photostream where you can download higher quality versions of a selection of these photos (soon). I intend to catch up on some past photos as well, so that’s well worth checking out, even if I do say so myself.