Although the scoreline might have more than a hint of (as the mainstream rags would term) ‘what might have been’ about it, I prefer to look upon this game as another point accrued in the quest for Premier League survival.

Yes, if Wigan had taken more of their first half chances or had James McCarthy slotted past Craig Gordon when he fortuitously found himself though on goal midway through the second half, it could have been 2-0 and a similar outcome to Wolves or Burnley away: defend what you have like a miser for the remaining 30 minutes or so.

Diame’s cracking run through the opposition half and shot sliced across the Sunderland keeper into the top corner of the goal was a reflection of the good football and chances created by Wigan in the first half. The home crowd had begun to turn against their team, as seems to happen quite a lot at Britain’s very own Stadium of Light these days.

Enter Kenwyne Jones to save the day for The Black Cats, or at least bring some semblance of respectability to the scoreline: they had their eye on three important points against a Wigan side on the rebound after the disappointment of Tuesday night. Bruce’s side showed plenty of promise but, much like the visiting side, could not muster that finishing touch when it mattered.

One each then, and plenty of time for both sides to snaffle all the points in what could prove to be a relegation battle. Unfortunately for Latics, Sunderland simply wanted it more from hereon in, and though both sides had half-opportunities I felt the home team were the more likely.

It didn’t happen, though. The game became scrappy, not at all helped by a referee who seemed to be treating his team lists as a booking checklist akin to those I-Spy books that used to be popular way before my time. Sunderland hadn’t had a win in Gawd knows how long, and Latics hadn’t tasted victory on away soil since… well, Wolves last month. But it felt the game was at a stalemate as neither team knew how, or had the good fortune, to scramble a winner.

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Tesco triumphed over Harrods in a relatively low-key encounter at the DW Stadium. Maybe there was a touch of complacency on behalf of Sunderland, who may have expected an easy ride against a team still reeling from the events of last Sunday.

I’d prefer to say, however, that it was a marked improvement over the Spurs debacle which ensured all three points for the Latics to take them up to thirteenth in the table and put to rest some of the demons of ‘WhiteHartLaneGate’.

As the players took the pitch, a somewhat nervy home crowd were more hopeful than expectant. In stark contrast, a heavily juiced up Sunderland support were baying for Wigan blood to follow up their defeat of Arsenal the previous week.

It was Wigan that had the better of the first half, however, with decent chances falling to Paul Scharner and Jason Scotland. The teams went into the half time at nil apiece, a scoreline The Black Cats would have been slightly the happier with.

Sunderland came out fighting after the half time break, and things looked to be swinging in the visitors’ favour as Hugo Rodallega suffered what initially looked like quite a nasty knock. Scott Sinclair was readied to replace the Colombian, but Latics would not need him.

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Brucey returns to his old club

A bit of a pivotal game this weekend. It isn’t going to be the ‘be all and end all’ cup final match that’ll decide the fate of the club for the whole season, but it is pretty important in the circumstances.

There’s that old saying that if you’re in the relegation zone at Christmas you’ll be fighting to stay out of it come May, but that isn’t one that I necessarily subscribe to, and besides, there’s a whole month before the traditional mid-point reckoning.

The reason I cite this as a (kind of) crucial match is the events of last week. Should we emerge victorious, White Hart Lane shall be forgotten and we can all get on with our lives (at least until the next 9-1 drubbing, which hopefully won’t come within my lifetime).

I dread to think what’ll happen should Wigan lose. It’d probably mean a drop into the bottom three, which will bring out the inevitable moaners ranting on about how our manager isn’t up to the job and we should move back to Springfield Park and get more fixture cards in the club shop or whatever.

I shall ignore all that, though, because today I am going to steer away from the negatives and try to project some positive influence upon the club by way of talking up our chances. First up, the Premier League’s third top goalscorer, one Darren Bent, could well be ruled out with a hamstring injury.

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Brucey wants Fig Roller

It’s being reported once again in this morning’s press that former Latics gaffer Steve Bruce wants Maynor Figueroa to follow him to Sunderland. The whole thing is certainly no secret, as Bruce has been trying to nab the Honduran for a good few months; since he left for the Black Cats, in fact.

Bruce, who first brought Figueroa to the Wigan in December 2008, has already captured former Latics man Lee Cattermole and wants to boost his defensive credentials ahead of what he hopes will be a European-challenging 2009/10 campaign. Sunderland currently lie eighth in the table, two points behind an ailing Liverpool and just four points away from a European cup spot.

Fans of both Wigan and Sunderland will no doubt remember Bruce’s protracted battle for Cattermole, who eventually left Latics for a fee in the region of £8million, only to be injured in just his eighth competitive game for the Black Cats. Many claimed the ‘curse of Wigan’ had struck once again, but in truth, this type of injury is always on the cards with a player such as Catts.

Figueroa faces up to another four weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury during Latics’ 3-1 win over Burnley last month, but is expected to recover in time for the January transfer window. Figures in the region of five or six million are being touted, though you can expect Dave Whelan to scrap for every extra penny.

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