Momo Diame: a solution to the finishing problem?

Wigan were mere moments away from hauling themselves out of the relegation zone, but Juan Mata popped up on 92 minutes to rob the Latics of a draw. Controversy reigned as an offside Branislav Ivanović goal was inexplicably allowed to stand by the linesman, but a cracking strike from MoMo Diame put Wigan back on level terms with six minutes to play. The visitors, chasing a late winner, left themselves a little light at the back and Juan Mata scrambled the ball over the goal line deep into injury time to steal the points.

Latics more than held their own in the first period, causing problems principally through Victor Moses. Prowling in the opposition half, he fed on the odd Chelsea mis-kick and battled for the ball well. Franco Di Santo, too, did some great hold-up work to support the midfield which enjoyed a decent percentage of possession. Indeed, it was just over a minute of the game before Wigan had their first attempt at goal- a Shaun Maloney strike that sailed well wide of Cech’s right hand post, but it was a signal of intent from the visitors.

The sides exchanged shots, and although Chelsea’s time on the ball was spent mostly in Wigan territory, they trailed in terms of strikes on target going into the latter part of the half. Victor Moses and Maynor Figueroa had long-range shots, but both were comfortably saved by Petr Cech. Al Habsi, by contrast, had a bit more work to do with his saves, and was drawn into three superb stops before the half was out. Cahill, Mata, Sturridge and Drogba all tried, but could not breach the impenetrable Omani wall.

The second half continued in much the same vain as the first had ended with the Pensioners in the ascendancy. Al Habsi was drawn into yet another fantastic save from Drogba, but Chelsea’s finishing would only deteriorate from this point onwards. The 62 minute mark saw the game’s first real talking point. Ivanović converted Meireles’ cross from short range, but was stood two yards offside when the ball was crossed. The linesman, seemingly unsighted, would not budge despite the entire Latics backline sticking their arms in the air as soon as Meireles made contact with the ball. Upon a ‘gentle’ suggestion by pretty much the entire Wigan team, referee Mike Jones re-consulted with his assistant before ruling his indecision final.

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