It’s old news by now. A sound defensive-minded Latics effort was undone by a lucky deflected Leon Osman strike early in the second half. Wigan’s response was strong — so strong in fact that it posed the question why Roberto didn’t have a more concerted go at Everton in the first place. A crystal clear Shaun Maloney penalty was not given, and soon after Everton had doubled their lead through a Phil Jagielka wonder-header. Arouna Kone scrambled in a consolation goal in the last ten minutes.

The Good:

The defending was good. Martinez’s decision to drop Franco Di Santo in favour of the extra midfield player worked well from a possession and defensive perspective. David Jones was excellent and is really enjoying his extended run in the team. The team performance overall, was favourable. Arouna Kone got a much-needed goal. The league table is still tight — a few points would dramatically change the club’s outlook.

The Bad:

Another narrow defeat down to a bad refereeing decision. Rumours that Liverpool are after Franco Di Santo.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 6 — Had very little to do. No fault on the goals.

Emmerson Boyce: 8 — Very good defensive performance.

Gary Caldwell: 6 — Unlucky to have the ball deflect off him for the first goal but it was nice to have him back.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Defended very well, might have been out of position for Jagielka’s goal.

Jean Beausejour: 6 — Needs to find his form if Wigan are to start scoring goals again.

Ronnie Stam: 6 — Struggled against Baines and Pienaar but offered energy in attack.

James McArthur: 7 — Steady as always.

David Jones: 8 — Excellent shift.

James McCarthy: 7 — As ever.

Shaun Maloney: 7.5 — Very positive, should have been awarded a penalty, and probably would have emerged with the equaliser from it.

Arouna Kone: 6 — Worked very hard but was isolated for most of the match. Hopefully the goal will give him that confidence and composure he had at the beginning of the season but has lost in recent times.

Subs:

Franco Di Santo: Took a few touches to catch up to the pace of the game, but added energy to the attack.

Jordi Gomez: Not enough time.