How Good Is This Wigan Team?

Last updated : 21 October 2011 By Footy Mad - Editor

WIGAN - CURRENT FORM
 
Wigan 1 Bolton 3
OCTOBER 15: Barclays Premier League at the DW Stadium. 
 
Aston Villa 2 Wigan 0
OCTOBER 1: Barclays Premier League at Villa Park.
 
Wigan 1 Tottenham 2
SEPTEMBER 24: Barclays Premier League at the DW Stadium.
 
Everton 3 Wigan 1
SEPTEMBER 17: Barclays Premier League at Goodison Park.  
 
Crystal Palace 2 Wigan 1
SEPTEMBER 13: Carling Cup second round at Selhurst Park. 
 
Manchester City 3 Wigan 0
SEPTEMBER 10: Barclays Premier League at the Etihad Stadium. 

 WIGAN - LAST GAME

WIGAN 1 BOLTON 3

WIGAN: Al Habsi, Gohouri (Rodallega 46), Boyce, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Watson (Figueroa 46), McCarthy (Maloney 75), Diame, Jones, Di Santo, Moses.
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Crusat, McArthur, Sammon.

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Wheater, Robinson, Eagles (Mark Davies 90), Reo-Coker, Pratley, Petrov (Gardner 88), Kevin Davies, Ngog (Klasnic 84).
Subs Not Used: Bogdan, Sanli, Knight, Kakuta.

Att: 17, 261

WA

An injury-time strike from Chris Eagles put the seal on a priceless second Barclays Premier League victory of the season for Bolton at the DW Stadium.

Boss Owen Coyle knew nothing more than a win would ease the pressure swirling around his side after a miserable run of 11 losses in 12 league games stretching back to last season.

Nigel Reo-Coker gave the visitors the start they so badly needed when he prodded home in the fourth minute, then David Ngog netted shortly after Mohamed Diame's superb 40th-minute equaliser.

And after Bolton had failed to wrap it up when Ali Al Habsi saved Kevin Davies' 70th- minute penalty, Eagles made sure by firing home after a mistake by Antolin Alcaraz.

Having started the game bottom of the table, Bolton's win suddenly turned the pressure on Roberto Martinez's Wigan, who have now lost five league games in a row.

Wigan never recovered from a fine start by Bolton, with Coyle's men getting a dream start in the fourth minute when Eagles crossed for Reo-Coker to prod home just ahead of the hapless Alcaraz.

Bolton's storming start continued with Pratley finding room in the box and firing a curling shot which was well saved by former Trotters goalkeeper Al Habsi.

Martinez's men gradually started to claw their way back into the the game, but it was still the visitors who had the clear-cut chances with Ngog coming close.

The home side were having to rely on set-pieces and Ben Watson came close to an unlikely equaliser on the half-hour when his dipping corner almost eluded Jussi Jaaskelainen.

But when Wigan's big chance came it was brilliantly executed by Diame, who unleashed a curling right-foot shot from outside the box which blazed past Jaaskelainen on 40 minutes.

It was a superb riposte by Diame, who had also scored for the Latics against Tottenham in their last home game and was beginning to show plenty of promise.

But Bolton went back in front in first-half injury-time when Davies dispossessed Steve Gohouri and fed Ngog, who shot home low to Al Habsi's right.

Martinez threw on Hugo Rodallega at half-time after a month out with a knee injury but Bolton had the first chance of the second period when Petrov forced a save from Al Habsi.

Emmerson Boyce shot into the side netting from a tight angle before Rodallega blasted his first effort which was blocked at close quarters by Wheater.

Rodallega came close in the 53rd minute when Victor Moses fed him at the second attempt from the right and the striker's bobbling shot was gathered well by Jaaskelainen.

Wigan's forward moves were becoming more urgent, with Moses cutting inside and clattering a low shot off the legs of Paul Robinson before narrowly missing the resulting Boyce corner.

Moses won a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the box in the 67th minute after a foul by Dedryck Boyata, but Rodallega spooned his set-piece over the bar.

Boyata should have made the points certain for Bolton in the 70th minute when he met a Petrov free-kick with a low header at point-blank range but diverted it wide.

And moments later Al Habsi was almost guilty of an horrendous blunder when he spilled a harmless shot from Eagles out for a corner.

From the set-piece Caldwell was judged to have hauled down Boyata, but Al Habsi redeemed himself with a brilliant save from Davies, and Boyata blazed the rebound over.

But Bolton wrapped up victory in injury time when Eagles seized on a mistake by Alcaraz to cut inside the Wigan box and drill a low shot past Al Habsi.

LAST TIME WIGAN CAME TO ST JAMES' PARK -

2010/11 NEWCASTLE 2 WIGAN 2

NEWCASTLE: Krul, Perch (Ranger 89), Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Guthrie (Routledge 66), Tiote, Barton, Gutierrez, Lovenkrands (Ameobi 60), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Ryan Taylor, Smith, Kadar.

WIGAN: Al Habsi, Figueroa, Steven Caldwell, Alcaraz, Boyce, Stam (Cleverley 79), McCarthy, Thomas, N'Zogbia (Diame 90), Gomez, Di Santo (Rodallega 65).
Subs Not Used: Kirkland, Watson, Boselli, Moses.

Att: 44,415

FC

Skipper Fabricio Coloccini struck deep into injury time to deny Charles N'Zogbia the headlines as Newcastle only just avoided a third successive Barclays Premier League defeat.

The Argentinian headed home in the fourth minute of stoppage time to snatch a precious point after Magpies old boy N'Zogbia had silenced the St James' Park boo boys.

The 24-year-old Frenchman put the visitors in front with a 22nd-minute header and then added a second with a superb left-foot rocket to answer the cat-calls from fans still bristling at the manner of his departure from the club.

N'Zogbia, who was once mistakenly referred to as "Charles Insomnia", tormented right-back James Perch throughout, and with a little more composure, could have killed the game off long before the final whistle.

But substitute Shola Ameobi's 72nd-minute header gave the Magpies hope as a crowd of 44,415 finally had something to shout about, and Coloccini completed the job in the nick of time.

The game started with boos for owner Mike Ashley over his decision to sell the naming rights to the stadium, and N'Zogbia as a result of his extended campaign of agitation for a move away from the club, which finally paid off in February last year.

But the boos on the half-time whistle were all for the club the Frenchman had left behind as the Magpies capitulated all too easily in the face of a not particularly special performance by the visitors.

Newcastle were simply awful for all but a few minutes of the opening period.

They lacked ideas in midfield, where Wigan boss Roberto Martinez had ordered his players to close down space, and toothless in attack on the rare occasions when striker Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands, preferred to Ameobi and Kevin Nolan, saw anything of the ball.

But more alarmingly, they were horribly porous at the back as right-back Perch's education in top-flight football took an ugly turn up an ever steeper hill.

His main job was to try to keep N'Zogbia quiet with a helping hand from Danny Guthrie, making his first appearance of the season after recovering from a knee injury.

But the former Magpie gave him a torrid time throughout and capped his afternoon with a quick-fire double which put the Latics in the driving seat with barely a quarter of the game gone.

There was an element of good fortune about N'Zogbia's first goal when Franco di Santo's cross looped up off Jose Enrique and dropped invitingly for the winger to head across goalkeeper Tim Krul and into the bottom corner.

However, his second less a minute later oozed class as he brought down Di Santo's cross on his chest before smashing a shot past Krul from a tight angle.

Newcastle were laboured in their attempts to get back into the game, although they came close twice within seconds as clock ticked past the 40-minute mark.

First Maynor Figueroa had to head over his own crossbar after Carroll had turned Guthrie's free-kick across goal towards Lovenkrands, and then Emmerson Boyce cleared the striker's header off the line from the resulting corner.

It could have been even worse for the Magpies had N'Zogbia opted to cross early to the unmarked Di Santo in injury time, and the home manager headed for the dressing room with chants of "Hughton, sort it out" ringing in his ears with his side starring down the barrel of a third successive home defeat.

What Hughton needed was a swift response, but there was little sign of it in the opening minutes of the second half as his side continued to squander possession and make little of it when they had it.

The Magpies pinned the visitors back inside their own half, but were unable to find anything like the quality of final ball they needed to break Wigan down, although Carroll headed wide from Enrique's looping 56th-minute ball in.

Lovenkrands found himself in a promising position on the hour as Perch prepared to cross, but although the Dane controlled well, Newcastle old boy Steve Caldwell intervened before he could shoot.

Guthrie drilled a 65th-minute free-kick harmlessly over the bar with little sign of the fightback the Magpies so desperately required.

However, Ameobi, a 60th-minute replacement for Lovenkrands, gave his side hope with 18 minutes gone when he powered home a header from Jonas Gutierrez's cross to spark a belated onslaught.

Carroll headed just wide seconds later, but substitute Hugo Rodallega perhaps should have made sure five minutes from time after being played in by N'Zogbia.

His side were made to pay at the death when Carroll flicked on Gutierrez's cross and Coloccini headed home from close range to cap a spirited comeback.