The Wingman & Alcatraz: Wigan are greatly indebted to their central defensive partnership

Latics edged out Blackburn to seal their survival with a game to spare thanks to a powerful 87th minute Antolin Alcaraz header. Though the visitors dominated the first half, they could not make any of their excellent chances count against an insipid Rovers. The hosts, requiring a win to remain in the hunt for a place in next year’s Premier League, launched a spirited second-half effort to grasp control of the game. They were denied a decent penalty shout when Boyce appeared to hack Hoilett to the ground, but referee Mark Clattenberg was unsighted due to the sea of bodies and rapidly deteriorating climactic conditions. Having soaked up the Blackburn onslaught, Wigan came back strongly in the final ten minutes and Alcaraz cropped up with less than four minutes to play to head home Beausejour’s corner at the back post.

Results since Wigan’s last match meant that a draw would effectively see them safe. We are all too aware, however, that there is great danger in playing for a draw, as we have witnessed numerous times this season in countless games throughout the Premier League. Martinez is ever conscious of this, and abandoned any thought of such a strategy long ago, perhaps as far back as his debut season as manager of Wigan. With Rovers also in need of a result, it seemed there was no way the game would finish goalless.

With no injury worries whatsoever, Latics could once again stick to the winning lineup that had served them so well in the past month. Brimming with confidence off the back of a spectacular 4-0 victory over Newcastle, they resumed business as usual, imposing themselves on the game from kick-off. Latics quickly seized control of midfield, harassing and haranguing Blackburn like lions around a carcass. Their first great chance came on 8 minutes, when Franco Di Santo skipped over two defenders before attempting to whip the ball across Paul Robinson, but the ex-England international could pouch the Argentine’s effort with relative ease.

Antony Modeste attempted a not-at-all modest Cisse-esque volley from way outside the area, but it went sailing over Al Habsi’s bar and Wigan were soon back on the attack. Franco Di Santo had a difficult chance just inside the penalty area as the ball came in from the left, but could not prevent his effort from ballooning into the upper tier of the stand behind Robinson’s goal. The visitors continued to come forward, however, and Victor Moses was afforded another Latics shot on target before the half hour was up. Chasing a seemingly lost cause, he cut his way from the sideline into the penalty area, but no Wigan men seemed to anticipate the Nigerian’s marauding run and he had no choice but to go for goal himself. Robinson neutralised the threat, but troubling times abound for Rovers.

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Latics missed yet another golden opportunity –perhaps their best yet– to reignite their ailing season thanks to a mixture of poor defending and even worse officiating at the DW Stadium. For a neutral it was compelling, but for the ones really watching the game, namely fans of the two teams concerned, it was simply excruciating stuff.

In an attempt to galvanise the side, Martinez made five changes to the starting XI that lost to Wolves two weeks ago, perhaps the most notable being Rodallega’s relegation to the bench. Conor Sammon was the direct replacement, while fit-again James McCarthy and Jordi Gomez returned to the midfield. At the back, Steve Gohouri filled the gap left by the banned Alcaraz and Gary Caldwell was reinstated following his own one-match suspension. Stam was drafted in for Boyce and Watson given a stint on the sidelines as a new-look Latics side took to the pitch in search of the club’s first point(s) in two and a half months.

Wigan really went for it in the first half, once again dominating proceedings and, for the first time in a long while, took a lead into the break. The half didn’t start well, however, with Yakubu scoring within two minutes to put the home side on the back foot from the off. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Latics game without a sloppily conceded goal, would it? Ali Al Habsi got a hand to the Nigerian’s strike, which subsequently sailed beyond two scrambling defenders to give Rovers the lead.

The home side were almost handed a chance to get a foothold mere minutes later as the threatening Victor Moses was felled in the area for what looked like a clear-cut penalty. The referee waved it away, and you got the feeling this would be another one of those days.

To Wigan’s credit, they fought back fast. Blackburn’s joy was short lived, as Jordi Gomez soon had Latics back on level terms with a somewhat fortunate mid-range strike on 7 minutes. Rovers keeper Robinson was unsighted as a loitering Conor Sammon blocked his view and the Spaniard’s strike found its way into the net, much to the delight of the home faithful. It must also be noted that Mr Sammon was offside at the time, and you might say Latics were lucky not to have been pulled up for this. However, this team of officials, as we would discover as the game continued, would not be out of place on a Sunday League pitch, so I’m inclined to say it was more a case of incompetence chiefly on behalf of the whistleblower.

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In the spotlight once again: Roberto Martinez

Last time on Jesus Was a Wiganer: this viewer was left in fear of Roberto Martinez’s future at Wigan Athletic following a ninth straight defeat in all competitions. Rumours had started to spread about the Spanish supremo, who was supposedly ‘set to walk out’ based on highly cryptic, Enigma-style clues tucked away in interviews with Dave Whelan.

It was all codswallop, of course. Expert crossword compilers and Mensa quiz book writers have confirmed there was no solid evidence beyond the recent extended run of bad results –which I take no delight in reminding you is now nearing three solid months in length– and the collective will of many a pessimistic Wigan Athletic fan.

You can, however, feel the seam beginning to come apart. I’m not sure if there’ll be as much confidence in Bob’s Latics prospects come Saturday evening, but we shall leave such speculation for, well, tomorrow evening. Continuing with the (tenuous) cricket analogy, we’ll be hoping to put off that mandatory ‘ball change’ for some time, but it all depends on how many wickets we take against Blackburn.

Moving on to strictly footballing matters, I won’t try to second guess Roberto’s choice of starting lineup, merely suggest a potential XI which could help facilitate an end to this results drought. But hey, I ain’t the big boss with authority to make such assumptions reality, so take it all with a pinch of salt; my recent pre-match predictions for how Roberto will configure the Wigan starting XI have been less than accurate, sometimes to the point of being potentially libellous.

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If Tuesday night was a must win game, then I’m not sure what today was. You know that expression, “a real six pointer”? Though this wasn’t one of those in the truest sense of the word, Wigan sure could have used six points, planted firmly in the relegation zone and looking increasingly hopeless as they were, outplayed by most the Premier League has to throw at them and in real danger of being cast adrift. Tellingly, there have been few results against the teams around us, who are all in supreme form when compared to Wigan’s recent run of results, which haven’t seen us win since Boxing Day.

Jason Roberts grabbed his customary DW goal

This downward spiral looked to be continuing with a goal by… guess who? It could only be ex-Latic Jason “always scores against Wigan” Roberts, who put the visitors into a 22nd minute lead. It was just about deserved, too, with Blackburn looking the better in front of goal up to that point. Latics had their own moments, but a string of bad decisions put paid to any chance of real shots on target. When they finally did some 12 minutes later, they actually managed to score from close range via James McCarthy, restoring some confidence and offering hope of a crucial three points. Tantalisingly, things were only just warming up. Though the game didn’t quite live up to the 4-4 thriller at St James’ Park, it came quite close, at least in terms of the scoreline.

Prior to the second half, you sensed Latics had to seize the moment and take back some control of their rapidly deteriorating season – a draw simply would not suffice. As the teams emerged from the tunnel once again, the rain had already started to fall that little bit harder, quickly turning the pitch into something resembling a farmer’s field. There was nothing muddy about the Latics performance, however, as they came out fighting, perhaps already for their Premier League lives.

A combination of Al Habsi, Moses and Rodallega ensured a perfect start to the second half as Hugo stole in behind Rovers’ defence to finish a truly route one move. It can’t have lasted longer than fifteen seconds: Al Habsi’s long clearance found Victor Moses, who headed perfectly into space for Rodallega to run on to and round the keeper. Not exactly the pretty football Martinez would prefer, but it resulted in a goal and that’s all that matters.

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