I didn’t want to mention the Notts County game for fear of tempting fate, but I guess now it’s all over I can reference said tie as much as I like. I won’t, though, because I will only end up repeating myself.

You know those days where nothing goes right? Where every shot goes inches wide, where every attempt at breaking down a resolute 11-man defensive line comes to naught? Well, this was one of those nights. A night you just wanted to be over as quickly as possible so you could expunge the memory to make way for forthcoming victories over Man United and Chelsea. (Wishful thinking?)

A night you don’t want to relive by writing reports the evening after. But I have to do it, because this stuff must be documented – mark this low point, for you’d expect anything that follows to be magnificent in comparison. Ooh, now that’s a positive and a half for you.

Wigan proceeded to play their expected deliberate, patient game, and for 20 minutes it seemed to be working well. Ivan Ramis had the ball in the net within nine minutes only to see his thumping header ruled out for offside. Latics looked as if they might score any minute now, and you thought it was only a matter of time.

Later that half, Mauro Boselli squandered a couple of fantastic opportunities to get the Wigan ball rolling, a ball that would probably have found the opposition net a few more times had either of those chances resulted in a (legal) goal. But neither did, and as the game wore on, Wigan would only become increasingly frustrated.

Bradford were happy to let the hosts knock the ball around midfield as it was evident this posed no real threat. Wigan were passing themselves to death while the visitors looked on, a knowing grin on their faces.

Read the rest of this entry »

Al Habsi pulled off a couple of top saves, but was mostly powerless

Wigan suffered a miserable defeat in even worse conditions at the DW Stadium, partly due to their own defensive frailties but also because of Sunderland’s sheer excellence in front of goal. Though the hosts enjoyed a great first half, they would go into the break 1-0 down and failed to find an answer to the Black Cats’ immense finishing as 2012 got off to the worst possible start.

Latics really went for it in the first stanza, and could so easily have taken the lead as early as the tenth minute when Steve Gohouri forced a goal line clearance from Craig Gardner. The home side settled down to boss the game, getting the ball on the turf and keeping some possession. The undoubted chance(s) of the half fell first to David Jones, who cut his way superbly through the penalty area and beat Mignolet, only to see his strike hit the post. From the resulting rebound, Ronnie Stam played a fantastic ball through to Watson, who emulated Jones’ effort by almost immediately hitting the other post.

The lively Albert Crusat, starting in place of a rested Victor Moses, impressed in his 38 minutes on the field of play. He would have to be replaced by said Anglo-Nigerian when he suffered a somewhat innocuous knock in the back, but it didn’t stop the Latics pressure. Opportunities would also fall to Gomez and the dangerous Jones before the half was out, but the Black Cats keeper was equal to both. Wigan did not want this half to end… or did they? Conditions had become almost unplayable by this point as what seemed like a hurricane swept across the DW Stadium. All sensible football went out the window as both teams humped the ball around, evidently waiting for the half time whistle.

Under cloak of heavy rain, Sunderland delivered the sucker punch, a real telling blow from which Wigan never really recovered. Bendtner won a slightly suspect free kick on the edge of the area, which Gardner struck home with immense power and placement. A cracking free kick, but Wigan really did not deserve it after dominating the half, and if climactic conditions continued the same way, it would be difficult to see any sort of goals, or even anything. Though the weather cleared to restore visibility, many will be wishing it did not.

Read the rest of this entry »

Who needs Rooney when you have Berbatov?

Before today’s game, it had been precisely five years since Wigan’s last goal at Old Trafford. A Leighton Baines penalty on Boxing Day 2006 had no effect on that match’s final outcome, as Latics went on to lose the game 3-1. Still, it was the closest Wigan have ever come to tasting any sort of success in Salford. Actually, in their Premier League lives, Wigan have beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, but have never taken a single point from Manchester United. One would have thought our Mancunian cousins might have slipped up at least once in that time, but on each occasion, without fail, fortune has deserted Latics.

It transpired to be another difficult afternoon for Wigan, with a bit of bad defending and bad luck contributing to an on-song United’s often sublime football to ensure an expected defeat for Latics. It wasn’t entirely embarrassing, however – when one has lost 9-1 and 8-0 in recent seasons, 5-0 is almost nothing, especially when you’ve been reduced to ten men with over a half of football to play.

The hosts were initially happy for their opponents to keep the ball, as if to say “show us what you’ve got”. But any headway Latics might have made with one or two early charges forward were soon put into perspective with a rather soft 5th minute Ji-Sung Park goal. Well, at least that was the obligatory early goal against out of the way. Still shaken, the Wigan back line was being breached all too easily by Park, Giggs and Nani to name but a few. Alex Ferguson’s four pre-match changes seemed to have no negative effect on his side’s attacking threat, which Wigan would have to endure plenty of in the first twenty minutes.

The visitors had their best chance to date on 24 minutes via a free kick in dangerous territory, but it came to nothing as Gomez’s shot cannoned straight into the wall. Soon after, Victor Moses showed a little of what he can do by earning his side a corner, but this second set piece in the space of three minutes would also be successfully defended by the hosts.

Latics were finding some confidence going forward, Ronnie Stam in particular having a good time on the right hand side. His 30th minute ball across the face of goal could have yielded an equaliser, had Moses or Sammon been in the right position to slot it away. It wasn’t an isolated incident, either, as the Dutchman often found himself in the position to deliver a telling cross towards the back end of the half. Still no goals, however, and you felt they would be rather precious for the visitors this afternoon.

Read the rest of this entry »

Victor Moses would provide Wigan's best attempt of the game on 86 minutes

Well, what do you say after an afternoon like that? As little as possible, hopefully, which is why I’ll keep this assessment of the encounter at Stamford Bridge relatively brief.

After all, there isn’t really that much to talk about in the way of Wigan positives: this was, to all intents and purposes, Chelsea’s day. I think we’ll leave it at that.

And so it transpired that a season of dizzy heights and demoralising lows (wait, haven’t I used that phrase, like, ten times in the last week?) would run true to form and conclude with one of the latter, another crushing defeat to add to the spankings at White Hart Lane, Fratton Park, Old Trafford and Bloomfield Road. Yep, a real afternoon to completely wipe from your memory with one of those flashy light things out of Men In Black.

In truth, nobody really expected a result in the favour of Wigan. Many in the North West hoped things might go their way, but in the land of Realism you could count those anticipating a draw or Wigan win on one hand. Even though it turned out to be yet another horrible, horrible hammering you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy (well, maybe Preston), there is significantly less shame (though blame might well be a different matter) to be attributed in this particular case. After all, these were the Premier League champions we came up against.

There was some pre-match hope, swiflty extinguished by the impartial Sky Sports pundits. Quick to state the obvious and stamp the mockers on Latics from the off, the ever-alert Glenn Hoddle so kindly reminded us all — as if we needed to be — of WhiteHartLaneGate. Cheers, Glenn. You don’t need to be a faith healer to count up to ten.

Read the rest of this entry »