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.

Not to be making excuses for the recent general lack of updates, but the absence of league action makes you kind of unenthusiastic, even lackadaisical at times. Besides, it’s close season and I wanted a rest, you hear? Expect to be fully updated on arrangements for JWAW in 2010/11 sometime in the near future. Meanwhile, enjoy these snaps from the Latics-Hull encounter back in May.

As ever, a selection of the best of these is available in higher quality on the Illarterate Flickr channel. 100kb-plus versions of most of my photos from last season can also be obtained by contacting me.

Still to come is media from the Arsenal game, though considering my recent workload I wouldn’t hold your breath for anything in the next few days. Still, I may surprise you.

Stojkovic takes the phrase 'Jesus Was a Wiganer' a bit too literally

With Latics’ survival sealed prior to this afternoon’s engagement, it only remained to be seen whether Hull would absolutely trounce them to carry a sliver of hope into the final week of the season.

Well, this didn’t happen and, if we’re being honest, wasn’t really likely to, but thanks to the antics of a certain Serbian, it may well have been. In terms of possession and control of the game, the visitors never really outplayed a Latics side missing N’Zogbia, Bramble, Kirkland, Moreno and Thomas. But stand-in keeper Vladimir Stojkovic, who looked very shaky in the Wigan goal, could be blamed for at least one of the goals the Tigers would claw from the very hands of Wigan’s backline; in truth, had Hull challenged the opposition goalmouth more often, things could have been far worse.

In the cold light of day, a draw against a pretty-much-relegated side also with their fair share of absentees –most notably a particular Londonite who can’t stand the North (just joking Jimmy)–, was an average result played out by, some might say, an average team. It certainly wasn’t a sparkling performance from the Latics, and had there been more weight on this game things would have been far past ‘squeaky bum time’ (for which I daren’t print an analogy) midway through the second half as Wigan somehow contrived to concede two goals.

There is a small excuse – and it is quite a small one – for the first: a slightly overzealous linesman flagging offside before changing his mind after the ball was nestling in the Wigan net, which he had every right to do. He was proven to be right in his error correction, but there’s no doubt it caused an element of confusion amongst Caldwell, Gohouri et al as for a moment Latics were guilty of playing to the whistle.

When the dust settled, it became clear that a couple of slightly dodgy decisions from Stojkovic were more to blame for the concession, which levelled the scores at 1-1 with just a few minutes to play in the first half. Firstly, the Serb chose to punch clear a shot when perhaps a tip round the post or even two-handed save looked relatively comfortable to pull off. I dunno, maybe the fact he’s lacking match practice and thus confidence was playing on his mind so he went for the safety first option, which in this case involved returning possession to Hull.

Secondly, from the resultant second bite of the cherry, we saw the trademark starjump which so famously gifted Carlos Tevez a goal just weeks ago. It might work in the Spanish leagues, but unfortunately for Stoj it hasn’t this season. Though he made up for this indiscretion with a couple of decent stabs away earlier in the piece, and he at least got a hand to the ball before it hit the net, I am far from convinced with the ‘punch at all costs’ technique he’s so fond of.

Roberto Martinez was hampered by injuries to first team players

As someone (I think it might have been Les) so eloquently mentioned in the current edition of the Mudhutter Football Express, I would play a one-armed Mike Pollitt ahead of Vlad, my dislike for him has become so strong. You can just imagine the collective joy in the concourse when he was announced as starting the game – in fact there were some whispers we might already be doomed. They may have been a little bit extreme, but I think we can say he hasn’t exactly been a fan favourite since he arrived in Wigan. Once again, Latics fans can thank their stars this game wasn’t as vital as it could have been, relegation-wise.

But there was still a Premier League game to win, and a possible 14^th place in the Premier League at stake for Wigan. Earlier, they had drawn first blood as Moses jinked in from the wings, passed three defenders and slid the ball in off Duke’s left hand post. It was a perfectly placed shot that would have troubled the best of keepers and gave Latics a just about deserved lead.

Minutes later, Victor ‘Du du du duh’ Moses (yeah, I think we need a new chant writer) had an almost equally wonderful, if not better opportunity to put the home side 2-0 ahead. The ball fell to him just eight yards from goal, and with nobody in the immediate vicinity he miskicked by a fraction. It was, however, enough to make him look a bit silly as he had just missed perhaps the best chance of the half. We’ll let him off, though, because the finish for his first Latics goal was so good.

As far as Hull were concerned, Kilbane had also gone close with a snorter which, if it hit the target, would certainly have caused the Wigan keeper some real problems. They weren’t without their own periods of pressure, but undoubtedly the Tigers’ best moment came on 42 minutes as Atkinson converted a Kilbane cross.

Whelan remembers he's left the oven on

One apiece was the half time score, with Latics emerging the more dominant. This trend continued for the early part of the second stanza as Rodallega started to cause the Hull defence some real problems, but only emerged with a couple of speculative efforts for his troubles.

Somewhat predictably (on the evidence of this season, anyway), the inevitable Hull counter attack yielded a goal as soon as the ball was placed into a vaguely dangerous area. In fact, it wasn’t all that dangerous a ball yet it somehow found the North Stand net as the defence lay static and Cullen’s cross sailed into Stojkovic’s net. Whoops.

Suddenly, from a relatively comfortable situation, Wigan found themselves in the position of having to chase the game just as they had for the previous two weeks. Well, at least the ball is finding the onion bag now, and the luck which seemed to desert us throughout February is returning with a vengeance.

Sucking lemons: not recommended

Just as the result looked settled, and with another disappointing defeat on the cards, up popped Steve Gohouri to overhead kick Wigan to a point and officially seal the visitors’ relegation from the Premier League. It would have been last gasp, if referee Phil Dowd hadn’t somehow found what seemed like a couple of minutes of extra added time from somewhere. But there really was no time for any more heroics, as the official timing of the goal was 93 minutes – the final minute of added time.

Stevie G’s close range scissor was a nice way to finish the season. Sure, we would have loved to win the game, but then that would be bordering on predictable, a word you couldn’t ever use to describe Wigan Athletic in the 2009/10 campaign. So we’d best enjoy it for what it is: another glimmer in a season peppered with dizzy heights and demoralising lows.

KTHXBYE: Scharner said goodbye with a trademark bizarre haircut

Just one game left to play now, and it’s the biggest of them all: champions elect Chelski Abramograd CF at the Stan Ford Bridge. As has been the case on numerous occasions this season, nobody expects us to get anything from that encounter. Manchester United fans need not order their consolation beer just yet, however, because the way things have gone this year we’ll most likely beat them 3-2.

Well, why not? Our last three games have been 3-2, 3-2 and 2-2, so maybe Little Wigan will have a say in the destination of the Premier League title. We couldn’t quite manage it against Man United a couple of seasons ago, but I’m sure we’ll put up a good fight and attempt to do it again.

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.

Paul Scharner was as guilty as anyone

Was today’s result penance for last week, or simply another indicator that anything can happen in a game involving Wigan this season? I’d vouch for the latter, though some typically poor Latics defending at some crucial points didn’t really help.

The first half went well, Wigan looking comfortable and carving out some good openings: in fact, it looked a little bit too easy at times. For all their domination, though, they couldn’t manage to stick the ball in the back of the net… and were made to pay, big style.

Wigan never really troubled the Hull goalkeeper, Paul Scharner in particular guilty of missing crucial passes and smacking the ball into row Z – Martinez finally saw the error of his ways and brought Jordi Gomez into the fray for the last half an hour. By then, it was a bit too late for him to make much of an impact, Latics already trailing by two goals. Scharner wasn’t the only one to have an off-day, though, as Charles N’Zogbia never quite fired despite some marauding runs, and was also subbed for Sinclair with ten minutes to play.

Same goes for Scotland, who did better than most but still managed not to trouble Boaz Myhill, the man who conceded five in the same fixture last season and six last week. And there was the root of the problem: they never got enough shots on target. When they finally did get a decent effort in they scraped one back, but with just a few minutes left it was all too late.

Had the match been ten minutes longer, Latics would most likely have gone on to win, undoubtedly finishing the stronger of the two sides. Hmm, where have we seen that already this season?  It was definitely a case of points dropped, as on balance Wigan really should have put this lot away in the first half… but knowing Latics this season, they’ll probably go out and batter Man City in two weeks’ time to make up for it.

International matches to come next week, and somehow Paul ‘Big Shot’ Scharner has managed to wrangle the Austrian captaincy. I don’t know what’s more of a mystery, that or Wigan’s disappointing loss today.

Now, please excuse me while I batter my housemate for playing ‘That’s Life’ at full blast. Never much liked that song…

Latics for mid-table – keep the faith.