The County Ground (photo by Martin A Haisley via Twitter)

Swindon brushed aside a tepid Wigan to breeze into the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Latics, to all intents and purposes fielding a reserve side, failed to capitalise on Callum McManaman’s 35th minute goal as a lively Swindon outplayed their Premier League visitors on their way to a more than deserved win.

As expected, a drastically modified Latics took to the pitch at the County Ground. Though Al Habsi and Watson retained their places and Gary Caldwell made a welcome return to the centre of defence, this was a new lineup containing, amongst others, the out-of-favour Hendry Thomas and Shaun Maloney. Jordan Mustoe, who played his last senior game precisely one year ago against Hull in the equivalent cup tie, was handed his first start for the club and took up position alongside Adrian Lopez and the returning Emmerson Boyce at the back. The pacey Callum McManaman is back in South Lancs after his his loan spell at Blackpool (during which he played 12 games and scored 2 goals) and joined McArthur and Di Santo at the other end of the field this afternoon. Daniel Redmond and Nouha Dicko were handed places on the bench alongside regular first-teamers Sammon, Gomez, Moses, Gohouri and Pollitt.

Latics began by playing things at their own pace –a rather slow pace–, and though Adrian Lopez made a bit of a howler when his misplaced pass gifted the hosts a decent opportunity, this altered back four managed to repel most, if not all, attacks. Swindon weren’t without their dodgy moments at the back, either, but also managed to keep their opponents out with relative ease.

A long range shot from Hendry Thomas was Wigan’s first attempt of the game, but it flew way over the bar and into the packed stand behind Foderingham’s goal. In fact, said Robins keeper was largely untested up until the 35th minute, when the dangerous Callum McManaman sprinted his way into the area only to be brought down by defender Aden Flint. Yet another penalty to Latics, and Ben Watson, who’d been rather quiet up to this point, stepped up to take it. Unfortunately he slipped and the ball cannoned into the post, but McManaman was on hand to finish what he started and put Latics 1-0 ahead.

Ben Watson, who scored on his last cup appearance against Palace, missed a pen this afternoon.

As usual, however, the Wigan lead did not last long. The hosts were back on level terms less than five minutes later, following a string of superb high balls into the Latics penalty area. This spell of possession had earlier forced Al Habsi into a fantastic save from Matt Ritchie, but it wasn’t long before the pressure finally told. Alan Connell’s delightful flick header left the Wigan keeper with no chance, and the home side went into half time on level terms. It wasn’t undeserved, either.

Swindon took this momentum into the second half, and though Wigan experienced their own patches of dominance, the hosts were more than willing to watch their opponents pass the ball among themselves. And eventually out of play. To be fair, you can’t place too much blame on the likes of Jordan Mustoe, who gave it his best but probably isn’t cut out for first team football just yet. Not even the introduction of Jordi Gomez, who replaced Thomas on 56, could do much to change fortunes.

As Wigan faded, the Robins took over and it soon became apparent they had a lot more substance going forward, especially with those crosses. Almost every ball coming into the Latics area was an absolute peach, and it’s a wonder Adrian Lopez managed to scramble away as many as he did. As time passed, the Wigan wide men saw less and less of the ball, and I swear that by the end of the game Emmerson Boyce had reverted to central defence to defuse those bombs.

Latics had a reprieve when Caldwell seemed to pull down a Swindon attacker right in front of goal, clearly denying him a scoring opportunity. Referee Peter Walton waved it away, but under constant threat, one felt it was now a matter of time before the visiting defence cracked. Worse, Wigan were now almost devoid of attacking ideas, and a sloppiness had crept into their passing game to such an extent they struggled to make it into the opposition area.

The turning point came on 75 minutes. Paul Benson redirected a long-distance shot past Al Habsi and the Robins were deservedly in front. The linesman simply didn’t have the heart to tell him he was offside when the ball rebounded off his legs, but it mattered not – Swindon deserved some luck.

Victor Moses wasn't too impressive in his fifteen minutes of play.

What would Wigan do now? Well, nothing much. Though Victor Moses came on almost immediately, this was a forced change as Maloney had taken a knock in the run-up to the goal. The Anglo-Nigerian almost handed the game to Swindon there and then by blocking off a Swindon player in his own area, but for some strange reason Walton didn’t want to give the penalty. What’s this, a ref favouring ‘bigger’ teams? Never!

Let off once again, Wigan tried to get the ball forward but it was no use – Moses and Di Santo had a go, but Wigan would finish the half with a big fat zero shots on target. As the full time whistle blew, there was not a single person in the County Ground, perhaps even the UK, that would have begrudged Swindon their victory.

As for strategy, well it was more of the same, really, and one may well point to this as a primary reason for Wigan’s ineffectiveness. Obviously there’s also the fact half our starting lineup have played little to no first team football of late (save for reserve games), but take absolutely nothing away from Swindon. They went and grabbed the game with open arms, showing far more desire than the visitors, who at times looked to have all but given up. There was no urgency, a problem that seems to be permeating any side Martinez fields of late.

Most damning for Wigan, however, was a lack of quality – the strategy employed by Roberto often relies on pieces of individual brilliance to function correctly, and without Diame, Moses and Rodallega, I’m not sure it was the right thing to do. Only McManaman, who was probably Latics’ most effective and attractive player, offered anything close to incisiveness. Di Santo and Maloney made some headway, and always remained a nagging threat (as you should expect against a League Two side, no offence) but on the whole it was decidedly average.

To raise spirits on a disappointing afternoon, it’s worth remembering that the FA Cup is not for teams like Wigan, who’re embroiled in the battle to stay in the seemingly inexhaustible cash cow that is the Premier League. It’s for teams like Swindon, those a little bit farther down the Football League pyramid that can really benefit from a good cup run. Hang on, I feel a cliché coming on… If anything, it’s probably better that Wigan have gone out so we can… Nah, I won’t say it – it’s too obvious, but it certainly rings true in this instance.

Good on ya, Swindon.

Thanks again to Martin A Haisley for the photo.

Weekend off: A win-win situation for Bobby?

Bit of a fractured week, this, with FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League and Europa games all thrown into the mix spanning a seven day period. For Latics, however, the equation was rather simple: win tonight and face another Cup match against Fulham on Sunday. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Though Martinez was keeping his usual straight-laced, straight-faced perspective on a potential week of FA Cup ties, you just know that, deep down, he would have preferred to give his players a two week rest in preparation for the Premier League battles to come. I mean, come on. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t see this week as even a little bit of a hindrance to Latics’ survival aspirations.

Of course, it offered yet another opportunity for the likes of Adrian Lopez, Daniel Redmond and Callum McManaman to get some first team action against Premier League opposition, and by itself you’d think that’s a good thing. Perhaps it may turn out to be, who knows? Maybe Macca will be sticking a hat trick past Stoke on the final day of the season to keep us in the Prem for another season. Maybe Conor Sammon is the 600,000 Dollar Man to replace a radically off-the-pace Mauro Boselli and will grab ten goals between now and May? Perhaps, but he was ineligible for today so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see him.

However, with our league position looking rather precarious –to the point your heart begins to sink when you see the league table– one can’t help but view tonight’s game as a mildly unwelcome distraction. A bit like Michael McIntyre, only much less irritating and, most of the time, infinitely more humorous. Well, maybe less so now Titus Bramble has left, but I suppose that cat mascot thing is always good for a laugh – looks like he learned his moves from JJ.

It’s going to take something special, a winning run the likes of which we haven’t seen under Martinez thus far, for us to emerge from this pickle with our heads intact. Forget all that just now, though. Tonight was about the regular bench-warmers and eager second-teamers getting a good run out, which they certainly did. Gary Caldwell and Momo Diame were the only survivors from the starting XI that ground out a 1–1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday with Watson, Moses and McCarthy taking their seats on the subs bench. The rest would receive a well-earned rest, which will be vital for the difficult run of fixtures to come… yeesh, I don’t even want to think about them.

Wanderers, too, sported changes: they made six alterations to the team that conquered Everton on Sunday afternoon, though admittedly two were enforced. Still, they started the stronger and had the ball in the Latics net on three minutes, only for Johann Elmander to be ruled offside, much to the relief of Mike Pollitt. It was a good indication of the run of play, however. Klasnic and Petrov both had opportunities within the first ten minutes of kickoff as the penned the Latics in their own half, dominating possession on a less than perfect playing surface.

Off target: Jordi Gomez

It took them 25 minutes, but the hosts finally started to find their feet. Well, kind of, because nothing of note would transpire. Jordi Gomez did have a pop at a 30-odd yard free kick… with hilarious (predictable?) consequences, prompting jeers from a vociferous Bolton faithful in the North Stand (and no doubt groans from one or two Wigan fans). At the very least Wigan were clawing back some possession, and threatening to cause the odd problem for Cahill and Robinson, Franco Di Santo and Callum McManaman in the wars as they put themselves about in the Bolton third. Unfortunately, Mac would have to be withdrawn as Fabrice Muamba drew claret, paving the way for another Victor Moses substitute appearance.

Both teams were equally guilty of lacking that finishing touch in much the same manner as their previous cup tie, and indeed all encounters this season. Ivan Klasnic did his best to break this run of three draws between the sides when one-on-one with Mike Pollitt in the 29th minute, only to see his shot blocked by the Bolton-born Latics stalwart.

After another failed Gomez free kick, Pollitt was forced into another save, this time from Petrov, but it wasn’t anything too difficult. Minutes later, though, Bolton were unlucky not go 1–0 ahead as Elmander hit the post from distance: his free kick somehow evaded all in its path to deflect off the keeper’s left hand upright and run almost adjacent to the Wigan goal line on its way out of play. This –along with Klasnic’s 29th minute chance– represented the best of the game’s opportunities as the players consumed their half time satsumas in the safety of the dressing rooms.

Seemingly content with knocking chunks out of each other rather than taking control of this contest, the sides traded blows – figuratively, of course, though Sam Ricketts would beg to differ. He had to be stretchered off on 56 minutes after falling awkwardly whilst chasing Victor Moses.

Victor Moses: Tie your bootlaces, son!

Soon after, however, the game would be shook to life, albeit briefly, by Ivan Klasnic on 66 as Bolton’s pressure finally told. At 1–0 to Bolton, Latics would have to conjure something if they were to avoid defeat here, and almost did just two minutes later when Jordi Gomez hit the bar. It was the closest Wigan had come and provided hope that this contest wouldn’t simply peter out in Wanderers’ favour.

Victor Moses was looking lively as usual, but was guilty of falling over his own feet on more than one occasion, proving a substantial stumbling block as his side pushed for the equaliser. They tried their best, but for the most part could not find that extra something to put pressure on Adam Bogdan, and the Trotters would see out the remaining time with relative ease. Too much ease, perhaps?

On the plus side, we were spared the potential torture of extra time in a game dominated by Bolton, and earned ourselves a weekend off. Something of a bittersweet deal, maybe, as it’s a pity we won’t see much more of Callum McManaman for the remainder of this season. Ultimately, it was likely this second string Latics side would come away worse off in this tie, and perhaps Martinez, ever the clever Trevor, knew it all along. Sunday afternoon on Blackpool beach, anyone?

Emmerson Boyce helped his team to a clean sheet

With the Premier League (quite obviously) a massive priority, Latics made eight changes to the starting lineup for this ‘big’ local derby (as the Wigan Evening Post termed it), and they don’t come much bigger than Bolton. Well, maybe Preston. Or any of the Manchester Clubs. In terms of match practice, anyway, today’s game was a useful opportunity to blood some youngsters and new boys.

Most notably, Callum McManaman assumed the centre forward position, reprising his role from the Third Round tie at Hull. Diame, too, returned in the centre of midfield, as did James McArthur, who this week hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. You could say he was lucky not to hit anything else, but that would be somewhat irrelevant to today’s tie. McCarthy, Rodallega, N’Zogbia and a whole host of others were rested for the even bigger game against West Brom at the Hawthorns on Tuesday evening.

Wigan were slow to get off the mark and came under immediate pressure, Johan Elmander putting the ball over the bar via a Gary Caldwell –returning after a one-match ban– block after just ten seconds of the game. Very soon after, Victor Moses, also back in the side after a lengthy injury layoff, found himself through with a superb chance but only succeeded in finding the side netting. Bit of a dodgy moment for the Trotters, but a slightly rusty Moses was always going to struggle to put the ball in from such a narrow angle.

The visitors were looking a bit nervy, especially Adrian Lopez, facing Premier League opposition for the first time. But things settled down at the back as Victor Moses set about looking to make inroads, creating a couple of good chances and squeezing out the odd corner. In a good spell of pressure from Latics, Momo Diame won his side a free kick just yards from the Bolton area, the resulting Jordi Gomez shot easily saved by Jaaskelainen. Just seconds later, McManaman found himself with a superb chance created by Moses, but a fantastic last-ditch Robinson block thwarted his efforts to keep the score at 0-0.

At the other end, Bolton had chances of their own but Farnworth-born Mike Pollitt, deputising in the forced absence of Al Habsi, claimed all with relative comfort. On other occasions, Caldwell managed to get the big boot in and command the centre of defence with authority. Well, as much as Caldwell can, anyway. The hosts’ own defensive partnership, débutante Wheater and Zat Knight, looked to be struggling against a very lively Moses in what was becoming an open contest. The only thing preventing a goal was that finishing touch, which both sides were guilty of at various points of the half.

Diame and Moses continued to trouble, the latter in particular offering a dimension we could well have done with in the last month or two. As the half enetered its later stages, the full backs looked to push Bolton towards their own goal in a similar fashion to the last ten minutes against Villa in midweek. At times this proved risky, with the hosts looking to break from most set pieces, but on the whole it served Latics well despite the lack of a goal.

Mike Pollitt wasn't really tested all afternoon

You could sense frustration creeping into the Bolton faithful as the second half began. A booking for David Wheater did nothing to prevent this, and for the first time the Latics supporters began to find their voice, belting out the odd ‘Blue White Army’ and rendition of You Are my Sunshine. Their side won a couple of free kicks around the Bolton area, the first leading to a comfortable save, but Watson had Jaaskelainen scrambling for the second. Wigan were starting to boss possession, and drew a string of fouls, but the resultant free kicks largely petered out.

In an attempt to turn things around, Coyle made a double change, 19 year old Rodrigo Moreno –who scored against us earlier this month– and Robbie Blake replacing Matthew Taylor and Martin Petrov on 61 minutes. It seemed to have some effect, with the hosts enjoying a good spell around the 70 minute mark, but once again cutting edge in the final third proved a problem.

Latics made their own changes, the ‘rested’ Di Santo and McCarthy introduced to the piece for a still not fully fit(?) Moses and McArthur. Their first task was to help defend a Robbie Blake free kick, which went wide of Pollitt’s right hand post. Mr Graham Lovett of Latics Official assures me he had it covered all the way, and I have to take his word for it.

With no Victor Moses to threaten, the tables were now turned and it was Bolton’s turn to press, Caldwell and Lopez creeping further and further back. Up to this point Mike Pollitt had never really been challenged, testament to the Latics defence but also the hosts’ finishing as David Wheater missed the target from a Blake corner.

With but seconds of the game remaining, Latics won a free kick just on the edge of the area. Jordi Gomez drew a save from Jasskelainen, the resultant corner, which was easily cleared, proving the final action of the game.

And so we see a replay on Wednesday 16 February at the DW, perhaps always the most likely outcome of this game on the evidence of recent results, coming to fruition. A definite plus point will be Moses’ performance on the left wing, where he caused problems throughout the first half. It is true that this threat died out somewhat, but then it was his first game for a couple of months. Callum McManaman was also promising once again, and could possibly have grabbed a goal for his troubles. Adrian Lopez and Gary Caldwell had decent games, whilst Diame was instrumental to most Wigan did right in the first 45.

Much to ponder, but I shouldn’t think it’d have too much impact on Martinez’ starting XI for Tuesday. I think Moses will make the bench and no doubt see some action at some point in the 90, but there’s a question over who will populate the midfield with many stating their case. Watch this space.

Match action(?)

In a season such as this, managers are caught between two rather large, and in some cases expensive, stools when it comes to the FA Cup. It’s the oft-touted story; to use the competition as an opportunity for fringe team players to gain much needed match practice in preparation for challenges to come, or treat it as you would a Premier League match and go out all guns blazing in an attempt to win the thing outright?

Whilst the latter might not apply in the case of Wigan Athletic, especially in the 2010–11 season, it is somewhat tempting to get caught up in the hype and emotion surrounding the competition. On this occasion, I think it would be foolish to plump for all out attack and somewhat unusual considering the sides fielded by Martinez in the Carling Cup earlier this season. In the event, fringe players were enough to overcome Hartlepool, Preston and Swansea, but not Arsenal. Still, a decent run, you would say, especially because it wasn’t all plain sailing even if Latics might have seemed the slightest bit clinical for the first time under Big Rob.

These occasions tend to boil down to the ‘glass half full/empty’ situation. If you’re the positive type, then you’d be pleased with either a win or a loss. Whilst you can’t ever really be happy with a losing team, especially against Championship opposition, a win would mean more distraction from the real prize this season, namely retaining our place in the Premier League. I’m not entirely sure in which camp I would pitch a tent, though I’m the old fashioned type that revels in a Latics win no matter what competition in which it may come. One thing’s for sure, though – nobody concerned wants a replay.

Thankfully, neither team will be subjected to such an ordeal for the time being, as Latics completed a relatively comfortable win over their Yorkshire opponents at the KC Stadium. They didn’t half make it difficult at times, however.

Widespread changes were the order of the day for this repeat of last year’s Third Round tie. Adrian Lopez, Steve Caldwell and Emmerson Boyce were drafted into defence, whilst Daniel de Ridder and Callum McManaman would enter the midfield and attack line respectively. With Chris Kirkland still a bit stodgy (not to mention dodgy), Ali Al Habsi returned between the sticks, with Figueroa, Thomas, Gomez, McArthur and Diame making up the rest of the starting XI.

The latter would provide Latics’ first goal on 21 minutes, with new boy McManaman supplying the cross. From then on Wigan were in control but Hull, boasting ex-Latic Jimmy Bullard, would have the odd attack. In general, however, Al Habsi and this fresh-looking back four would deal with everything with a certain amount of competence… for now.

The next three goals came in a period spanning 20 minutes, at the start of which 19-year old McManaman would grab his very first for the club on 56. Fellow youngster Jordan Robinson replaced Adrian Lopez in the centre of defence only to see Hull snatch one back via Nick Barmby 18 minutes later. The showboating Latics would have to pull themselves together in anticipation of a potential comeback.

They needed not fear for long, though, as Diame bagged his second on 77 minutes, restoring the visitors’ two-goal advantage less than 240 seconds after the former Everton man’s strike. From thereon in it was a case of repelling all the Tigers could offer, which Latics –now with  Jordan Mustoe and Daniel Redmond in tow– tried their best to do. By the time Barmby slotted in his second on 89 minutes, the more inexperienced Wigan representatives must have been sweating as the fourth official signalled for an additional four minutes.

Thanks to a bit of time wasting from Daniel de Ridder, the visitors managed to see out those final seconds to hang on for a deserved 3–2 victory and with plenty of first team experience for our reserve team contingent. It could have been a bit more comfortable, but any win on the road must count as a plus, even in the cup.

Next up is Fulham at the DW, but many will be grateful of a week’s rest after a packed Christmas calendar which had its fair share of ups and downs. Let’s hope we don’t see too many of the latter in the next few months, at least not at Wigan Athletic.

It wouldn’t have been too bad had we managed to scrape through and got beaten by Fulham in the Fifth Round, at least there wouldn’t have been the shame of everyone coming up to you saying “haha, you’re that incompetent bunch that lost to the fifth division team aren’t you?”

Still, it was far less embarrassing than losing 9-1 to Tottenham: on that occasion we actually had a full strength team out and somehow contrived to concede that avalanche of goals, PES style, in the second half. Today’s result was more disappointing than anything.

You know how Wigan’s season has gone: it often takes a goal or spark of inspiration to get the lads playing to a decent standard. It’s a simple fact that was missing this evening – I daresay an early goal would have probably led to a 3-1 or 4-1 Wigan win as the confidence flowed, with probably even Jason Scotland getting on the scoresheet. It easily could have been, were it not for the lack of finishing instinct – oh so very close on so many occasions, but not enough experience or even luck to get the ball in the back of the net.

In fairness to County, they did and we didn’t. Simple as that. For all their shots on target and making Kasper Schmeichel work for his money on numerous occasions, Latics just could not get that crucial goal. Remind you of any other games this season? Sad to say it’s becoming all to regular.

Wigan seemed to be controlling the game, even dominating it, for the most part. The turning point came on 75 minutes when somehow the ball scraped over Stojkovic’s goal line, and like so many other matches this campaign, that truly was that. Wigan were completely shot and never really looked like scoring, a world apart from twenty minutes earlier when they laid siege to the County goalmouth, shots raining in like coins at Craig Bellamy (did anyone see that last weekend?).

But as has been mentioned, there was nobody in the Wigan lineup who could land that killer punch. For all their neat passing and tidy defending (well, for 65 minutes, anyway), Wigan just lacked someone to put the ball into the net. Someone like… Hugo Rodallega, who only came on when it was waaaaay too late and the tie was all but settled. At least he’ll be well rested for Saturday’s (more important) match against Sunderland, I suppose.

Jason Scotland, Paul Scharner and Scott Sinclair all had excellent chances but to nobody’s surprise, they only succeeded in finding the empty — well, save for a large replica kit flag type thing draped across the seats — South Stand on each and every occasion. A plucky Notts County held on and rode Wigan’s inability to find the onion bag, and even had a decent chance or two of their own, Lee Hughes’ well placed shot that forced Stojkovic into a decent save probably being the most memorable. Their best spell of pressure came around the 75 minute mark when Wigan capitulated — again succumbing to corners — but by this time the game really should have been put to bed.

Could Roberto Martinez’ twin signings of Moses and Moreno have made that difference? Maybe, if only they had the chance to play this evening. Still, there are no excuses – the team fielded should have been more than good enough to beat Notts County, and then some.

Positive note: Wigan got further than Manchester United and Liverpool in this year’s FA Cup. Negative note: nobody will give a monkey’s about that. What now? Well, time to continue rebuilding the club and try to quietly chalk this up as a failure… though I get the feeling we haven’t heard the last of this result.

Update 3/2: thankfully the press is more interested in John Terry, so we may be saved further national embarrassment on this one.

Pull yourself together, people, we have a league to stay in here! Notts County would be way more grateful of the cash generated by a cup tie, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Only problem is, I get the feeling we need to turn up the heat if we want to continue competing in this league.

[Is shot for finishing on the worst joke, if you could call it that, in the history of man]

Antonio Amaya: have we seen the last of him?

Somehow, Latics are still in this season’s FA Cup, despite the best efforts of one of the most pedestrian first half Latics sides to grace the pitch this season, certainly in 2010.

I dunno about Notts County 2-2 Wigan Athletic, you might say Tim Gudgeon should have read Antonio Amaya 2-2 Wigan, because from a Latics point of view his, shall we say, slightly iffy performance all but gifted County with two goals. Well, maybe I do the Nottinghamshire side a disservice: those goals still needed sticking away, and the second in particular — a cracking free kick even David Beckham would have been proud of from Ben Davies — left Stojkovic with no chance.

In fact, Notts County punched well above their weight today, albeit against a first-half Latics side that weren’t even at the races. But a below average turn out from the Spanish centre back left fans wondering whether they would ever see him in a Wigan shirt again. Sure, there was undeniably a collective failure to repel the spirited efforts of a club in the midsts of financial insecurity — which this tie, of course, will go some way to easing — but a man with an ulterior motive would single out Amaya for toilet duties first thing on Monday morning.

Or, at least another lengthy spell in the reserves. Not that I would make the guy a scapegoat for any of Latics’ failings, with Gohouri and Caldwell waiting in the wings, you get the feeling old Antonio’s days as a first team player could well be numbered, at least for this season.

What of the aforementioned début boy, then? Well, his attacking prowess could come in handy for Martinez’s grand plan, but the necessity for Wigan to push forward in the second half this afternoon meant he was either putting it about in the opposition half or stuck at the back marking the whippet-like (!) Lee Hughes. I reckon we should see how he fares in the Premier League before passing judgement.

Whether it was lack of match practice leading to tired legs on behalf of the hosts or just a whopping great kick up the backside from Bob, Latics played more like the Premier League team from the 40 minute mark onwards. James McCarthy managed to find the outside half of Kasper Schmeichel’s left hand post from the edge of the 6-yard box, forcing County into a ‘hoof it clear’ mentality they never really escaped from for the remainder of the game.

Doesn’t it just show the steps we’ve made under Martinez when it comes to criticising the other team for their route one tactics? Not to devalue it as a method, but I feel we’ve had our fair share of that under Steve Bruce so please forgive me for being sick of it.

Scotland finally breaks his duck

2-0 down at the break, Roberto had to somehow drag Latics from the depths of despair, for at that time they were crashing out of the competition to a side more than sixty places below them in the league ladder. Whatever he did or said, it seemed to work: Wigan re-emerged a changed side, looking positive and generally exhibiting some (gasp!) Premier League quality. Look no further than a Jason Scotland goal for evidence of this. Yep, you heard me right – Jason Scotland actually scored, and it was a decent one-two with Rodallega that brought the chance.

I think the world is about to explode or something. This earth shattering point is so important it needs its own paragraph – Jason Scotland scored for Wigan.

(Voice in distance, eminating from somewhere roundabout the DW Stadium’s East Stand: About bloody time!)

Latics would continue in much the same vein, pushing hard for that second goal. County sat back, allowing the visiting side to play their natural passing game, which eventually led to a Ben Watson equaliser with seven minutes left on the clock. This set up an end-to-end, grandstand finish which saw both sides go close as they pressed for the win, but the papers will have to wait a little longer to see if Little Wigan will be knocked out by Big Notts County. I can just see it in the Daily Mail: Little County hammer Tiny Wigan.

Now, I missed the first 35 minutes of the game due to technical difficulties with the wonderful Latics Player, but from some retrospective comments from Graham Lovett,  it sounded as though Wigan were soundly outplayed in that period. From what I witnessed (or heard, or whatever), some sort of miraculous change must have taken place, because they weren’t exactly performing as badly as the 2-0 scoreline might have suggested.

In the end it was probably a fair reflection of the match, as although Latics did more than enough to actually win the tie on the day, Notts County certainly had their fair share of chances. This is where Wigan’s second debutant of the afternoon came into his own: keeper Vladimir Stojkovic did all that was asked of him and his second half performance impressed this Latics fan at the very least. In my opinion, he couldn’t do much to stop the two goals he conceded, but expertly handled everything else that was thrown at him… but then, you could say he ought to against a League Two side.

That would be cruel, though, because we all know there are no easy ties in the FA Cup… oh wait, isn’t that the Premier League? Well, mainstream media, I’m borrowing your quote for another competition altogether.

A replay back in Wigan then, and I’ll eat my hat if there are less than 6,000 at the DW for that tie, even though it’ll be a Tuesday or Wednesday night. I’ll bet you now, though, the media will have a field day taking pot shots at Little Wigan with their paltry attendances, as you can bet ticket uptake won’t come near to Premier League standards.

Still, we ought to roll ‘em over back here in Lancashire. Well, you have to take a positive attitude towards these games, eh? It might come as some consolation to you that it wasn’t exactly a first choice line-up that conceded those two goals, and you can’t deny it’s been another learning experience for Martinez and his growing Latics squad.

The 'sparse' West Stand

A rare successful foray into first team experimentation for Roberto got the decade off to an excellent start for the club, but it was a familiar face that helped turn the tide for the Latics. Care to guess, though, how the BBC reported this match? I’ll give you one try.

The mainstream media outlets had a good old-fashioned field day, hauling out the tried and tested ‘Little Wigan, paltry attendances’ angle just because many fans decided they’d rather be in the pub or something. As a result, a little over 5,000 witnessed Latics’ biggest win of the campaign thus far, even if it wasn’t in the Prem.

The ten thousand-odd ‘missing’ people that decided not to brave the bitterly cold weather may wish they’d made the trip to the DW to see perhaps Wigan’s best performance of the season. Goal wise, it was certainly so, but with a hint of good fortune thrown in there as well. But was it really worth getting frozen feet for? Well yes, actually, but only really in the second 45.

Scott Sinclair made much of Wigan’s early running, causing Hull many problems on the wing and pressing his case for a first team start in Mohamed Diame’s continued absence from the midfield. For all their sprightliness in the first 20 minutes, however, the closest Wigan would come in the first half was a shot-come-cross courtesy of the aforementioned Sinclair pretty early on in the piece.

The remaining 30 minutes weren’t exactly vintage Latics, and a lineup that saw many serial bench-warmers get their chance looked to be slowly crumpling under the pressure of first team football. A string of Hull free kicks in shooting vicinity around the 35 minute mark saw Geovanni slot a decent free kick past stand-in ‘keeper Mike Pollitt to send the Tigers into the half time interval with a deserved one-goal cushion.

A somewhat frosty reception for a clearly miserable Latics faithful saw Martinez’s men booed off at half time (but not from myself, you understand) and I’ll bet a bunch of them wish they’d decided to stay at home in front of a warm fire.

The Hull supporters didn't have much to shout about after Geovanni's first half strike

It took Charles N’Zogbia, who entered the fray for the start of the second period, to get Wigan on the scoresheet with what was his first foray into enemy territory on 47. This reshuffle, which saw Sinclair switch to left wing, worked wonders as pretty soon Wigan were swarming all over the Hull goalmouth like Gary Megson at a free all-you-can-eat buffet. Two goals in three minutes, first from James McCarthy — who required a bit of a deflection for his shot to beat Boaz Myhill — and N’Zogbia once again, all but killed the game off with half an hour to play.

A fine (and fully deserved) strike from Scotty Sinclair placed the glazing on the cherry on the icing on the pavements of Wigan town centre. Incidentally, it really was rather slippery out there, and evidently we were the only ones that decided to utilise public transport for this game. Still, we agreed it was worth the £15 we each parted company with for an afternoon in Wigan’s largest freezer.

One thing, however, would have made the afternoon even better: a strike for the goal-starved Jason Scotland. His best opportunity came on 84 minutes, which saw him in a two-on-one situation with the last Hull defender and goalkeeper. Unfortunately, much like each of his previous attempts this season, the attack simply petered out and not even the full backing of the northern end of the East Stand could will him on to stick the ball int’ onion bag. Scotland’s frustration continues, and it’s now anybody’s guess whether he’ll make the starting lineup against Aston Villa at the DW in a week’s time.

James McCarthy had a decent game

What of Bob’s first team fringe players? Well, six changes were made to the side that got spanked at Old Trafford, giving a chance to the likes of Antonio Amaya, Jason Koumas and James McCarthy. The latter had a decent game, and didn’t look entirely out of place in the centre of midfield – a goal ensured he would have something to remember from this tie.

Koumas was largely ineffective, and understandably subbed at half time – to a round of applause no less. Antonio Amaya looked solid in defence and dealt with pretty much everything that was thrown his way alongside Titus Bramble at the back. He even got a half chance to flick one into the Hull net from a second half corner.

Ben Watson came off the bench late in the piece and as a result didn’t really have enough time to make much of an impact, but it was nice to see him return to action for the Latics having spent a spell on loan at QPR for the past few months.

Of the first-team mainstays, Hugo Rodallega was his usual busy self and could easily have had himself a goal if it weren’t for Boaz Myhill preventing his backheel from finding the back of the net. Mario Melchiot and Titus Bramble both made some forging runs and important defensive tackles, but it seemed to take that first Wigan goal for things to really click into gear.