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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This was one of those games you wish you’d brought a cap for, especially if you’re towards the back of the East Stand. I did not and spent 3/4 of the game shielding my eyes from the sun, as it was a surprisingly clement afternoon for Wigan in October. It kind of made up for the lack of positive on-pitch action, but not really. Still, here are some photos from the warmup for this South Lancastrian clash.

A bumper selection of pics for you today. High quality images will be made available on the Flickr Illarterate stream under the Creative Commons Attribution license. This means you are free to repost them wherever you wish, provided some credit is applied.

No laughing matter: A defensive disaster for Wigan

Hmm… how to dissect this one? Best to start with good news and build up to the disappointing parts, otherwise one might become too depressed to even hit the ‘read more’ link. Yep, positive points are always a good hook. Happily, the ‘preview‘ I posted two days ago transpired to be a tad erroneous: both Antolin Alcaraz and Hugo Rodallega, who many expected to be sidelined for at least a month, returned to the first team this afternoon. Home fans were cheered by the return of Alcaraz to his familiar position in the centre of defence, while Hugo occupied the bench as the tried-and-tested 4-5-1 was once again how Latics lined up.

In other changes, Steve Gohouri was reinstated to the left hand side of defence in favour of Patrick van Aanholt and Maynor Figueroa. David Jones also made the starting lineup ahead of an injured(?) Ronnie Stam while Mike Pollitt took up the role of sub keeper in the absence of an on-loan Chris Kirkland. I’d rather not speak of his Doncaster début, which saw him concede three goals at home to Leeds, but I guess I already have so we shall switch subjects to today’s game as soon as possible.

Wigan picked up where they left off before the international break and conceded on 4 minutes, Nigel Reo Coker just beating Caldwell to tap the ball past Al Habsi for a relatively soft opener. This characterised the early stages, when Latics could not gain any sort of foothold whatsoever and a nervy backline were forced to pass in and around their own penalty area. Bolton gleefully capitalised upon this defensive lapse and any confidence regained in two weeks’ break was quickly eroded as Wanderers fans simply kicked back, lit up a cigar and ordered the Port. Well, I think that’s what they must drink up Horwich way. For the hosts, it certainly was not the best of starts.

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Omani shot-stopper and former Bolton 'mon' Ali Al-Habsi will face his previous employers for the first time

Welcome back, Latic fanatics, to the weekly grind of domestic football. I sincerely hope you’ve had a good two weeks’ recuperation because you’re gonna need all your energy for this weekend’s absolutely massive north west derby.

No, I’m not talking about that Liverpool-Man United TV programme thingy Sky seem to be promoting incessantly, because an even bigger Lancashire rivalry is back for another instalment of biting, spitting and general loutish behaviour, at least if historical encounters are anything to go by. Not that I would condone such actions, of course. Well, at least not when the referee’s looking.

In terms of recent meetings between Latics and the Trotters, things have been fairly even:

Wigan v Bolton in the 2010-11 Season

• Feb 2011: Wigan 0-1 Bolton (FA Cup)
• Jan 2011: Wigan 0-0 Bolton (FA Cup)
• Jan 2011: Bolton 1-1 Wigan (Prem)
• Oct 2010: Wigan 1-1 Bolton (Prem)

Wigan and Bolton will probably be sick of the sight of each other after a whopping four meetings last season, despite the luxury(?) of an eight-month break. Though a similar outcome this weekend would not be hugely surprising,  a Latics hammering is always a possibility. This was borne out in Bolton’s 4-0 thrashing of Latics back in March 2010, a day I’m sure we’d all rather forget.

In terms of more recent form, both sides have been toiling at the bottom of the table with just one win apiece. Wanderers in particular have suffered – six straight losses just about trumps Wigan’s four while our 11 goals conceded pales in comparison to poor old Bolton’s 21. And we thought we had it bad. It must be noted, however, that four of the Trotters’ first seven Prem clashes have been against Liverpool, Man City, Man United and Chelsea, whereas Latics have only faced Man City and Tottenham in the same period. Quite obviously, this clash represents the ideal opportunity for both sides to kick-start their ailing season with three more than useful Premier League points.

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