Category Archives: Match Reports

Wigan Athletic 3 Reading 2 — Gomez to the rescue

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with ,

Who would have thought that Jordi Gomez would come to Wigan Athletic’s rescue, winning this game for the Latics with a brilliant hat trick? Even the most fair and open-minded of Latics supporters had been getting to the point where they would wince to see Gomez’ name on the team sheet. The same happened yesterday when Franco Di Santo was relegated to the bench, Gomez taking his place in the starting lineup.

The first half went true to recent form as Wigan conceded another headed goal from a long cross to the far post, to put them in a losing situation at half time. Gomez was booed early on following misplaced passes and poor finishing. In contrast Jean Beausejour was having an excellent game and in the 26th minute he put in a brilliant cross that had “goal” written all over it. However, Arouna Kone somehow managed to head it wide. A few minutes later Gomez slipped an incisive short pass through to Kone, who was blocked by the goalkeeper but managed to keep his footing sufficiently to jab the ball towards goal. The end result was the ball being blocked by a defender, rather than Kone going down for the penalty he would surely have got. Gomez was back to showing us his frustrating side just before half time, showing considerable skill in manoevering past defenders before shooting wide. Wigan went into half time trailing to the giant Morrison’s free header, their own profligacy in front of goal preventing them from drawing even.

The second half saw Franco Di Santo come on to replace Shaun Maloney and this turned out to be an inspired substitution. Jordi Gomez brought Wigan back in the game with two well taken goals, the second being a diving header. In between Gomez’ goals, Di Santo had scored a well taken goal from another fantastic Beausejour cross, but referee Howard Webb disallowed it for offside, which it clearly was not. Wigan were leading 2-1 with just over 10 minutes left when Reading equalized with the kind of own goal from Ali Al Habsi that will give him nightmares for weeks to come. It was a familiar situation for Wigan supporters, seeing all that good work ruined by an individual defensive lapse. It had only been a few minutes earlier that Al Habsi himself had singlehandedly kept Wigan ahead with fabulous fingertip save from a Reading header.

When the 90th minute expired it went into three minutes of added time. It looked like a case of sharing the points with a side who had been inferior for most of the game. Most of the danger from Reading had come from high balls and crosses. Wigan were playing the better football. After a minute of added time Gomez surged through from the centre of midfield, putting through a lovely pass for Kone to run on to. Intelligent player that he is, Kone kept his composure and squared the ball to Gomez who had continued his run. Gomez swept the ball home with panache.

In the minds of many Wigan Athletic supporters Jordi Gomez had never quite proved that he could handle the transition from the Championship to the Premier League. Too often he would get himself into great scoring positions, but not have the composure to put the ball in the net. Yesterday’s encounter will be remembered as the day that Gomez showed the Wigan fans that his manager’s faith in his abilities was justified. In the second half of this match Gomez looked a class act, threading through good passes and taking his chances with great aplomb.

The Good

At times Latics played champagne football. They were technically superior to Reading, even if the visitors were physically impressive. Gomez is the obvious candidate for ‘Man of the Match’, but Jean Beausejour gave a brilliant display as a wing back. He has been a little short of his best in most games this season, but yesterday he defended well and his crossing was superb.

Latics’ injury woes continued, Shaun Maloney coming off at half time and captain Ivan Ramis five minutes later. However, Franco Di Santo proved to be an excellent substitution for Maloney, causing headaches for the visitors defence with his movement and intelligent passing. Adrian Lopez came on for Ramis and played his best game so far for the club – he looked decisive in his tackling and comfortable on the ball.

The Bad

Giving away another goal to a free header provides further cause for concern. Granted Sean Morrison is 6 ft 5 in tall, but nevertheless nobody in the Wigan defence competed with him for the ball. The best header of the ball at the club – Antolin Alcaraz – remains out injured. In the meantime the defensive unit needs to work on attacking the high balls that come in.

Player Ratings

Ali Al Habsi: 5 – all goalkeepers make mistakes. Made one outstanding save, but was lucky with a first half shot that nearly bobbled past him.

Ronnie Stam: 6 – not so strong in defence as in attack, but as lively as ever.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 – solid and dependable at the back.

Ivan Ramis: 6 – excellent distribution. Went off after 49 minutes.

Maynor Figueroa: 5.5 – solid, but lucky not to get another penalty decision against him in the second half.

Jean Beausejour: 9 – his best game ever for Latics. Always available on the wide left, worked really hard in attack and defence. Put in some sublime crosses.

James McCarthy: 7 – worked hard, totally committed as always. Solid in defence and supportive in attack. The ultimate team player.

David Jones: 7 – worked really hard, put nice passes through with his cultured left foot.

Shaun Maloney: 6 – buzzed around as usual, putting in nice short passes. Went off at half time.

Jordi Gomez: 9 – silenced his critics, his brilliant finishing won the game for Wigan. Also put in incisive passes. His best ever game for his club.

Arouna Kone: 6 – had two first half chances that he should have scored. However, as selfless as ever, putting in another afternon of hard toil. The vision he showed in making the pass for Gomez’ winner showed what a class performer he is.

Substitutes

Franco Di Santo: 7 – showed what a class act he can be after coming on after half time. Creative, skilled, intelligent – a high class player in the making.

Adrian Lopez: 7– took over the Gary Caldwell role in the centre of the back three. Handled it with aplomb.

James McArthur: – came on for David Jones after 79 minutes.

Moses missed as Latics run out of ideas

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

The Wigan Athletic revival party was put on hold by an exceptionally well organized and opportunistic West Brom side on Saturday. While Roberto Martinez’s choice of “frustrating” was more than apt, the biggest takeaway appears to be that with Shaun Maloney’s impact reduced by a niggling ankle injury (that has forced him out of the Scotland squad this week), Latics sorely missed a player with the ability to unlock a defence — something Victor Moses used to do with some regularity last season.

In fact, the only memorable moment of dribbling skill resulted in Latics’ best chance of an equaliser, when Franco Di Santo skinned his man down the left hand side before Maloney blazed over. Neither Jean Beausejour nor Ronnie Stam, whose return was pleasing, possess the pace to beat their man for speed. West Brom’s centre halves had a field day clearing hopeful crosses from the box. Ben Watson’s long range strikes were the only other real threat Wigan could muster.

The Good: 

Before West Brom scored, Latics had looked dominant and fluid, if not incisive. Ben Watson was playing some beautiful stuff and was unlucky with his long range strikes. The goal was a good response. Ali Al-Habsi was fantastic. Ronnie Stam was an immediate improvement in the attacking third when he came on, although his crosses were not sharp.

The Bad: 

A lack of imagination on this display. West Brom defended in numbers and Latics could not find a way through. It would have been nice to see Di Santo on the ball more frequently, but he didn’t seem to drop deep enough to get on it. With the amount of possession around the box and Shaun Maloney struggling, Jordi Gomez might have been an option earlier in the game. It also appeared to be an ideal opportunity to give Mauro Boselli a runout, as the attacks appeared to be based on hopeful crosses into the box. He came on very late. Also a shame Ryo Miyaichi and his pace were unavailable through injury.

Conclusions: 

No cause for panic, but this match was crying out for a player willing to run at the WBA defence and force errors. It will go down as a missed opportunity. Players like Jean Beausejour and Shaun Maloney, usually excellent, have failed to convert scoring opportunities in recent matches. Ronnie Stam’s introduction suggested Emmerson Boyce’s attacking play has been acknowledged as sub-standard in recent outings.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 9 — Despite hurting his shoulder in the warm-up, he was at his very best. One save from Romelu Lukaku in the second half stands out. Top class.

Ivan Ramis: 6 — No errors, but a bit of a wobbly performance after several excellent ones.

Gary Caldwell: 5 — Unlucky with his own goal, but was run ragged by Shane Long and eventually substituted.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 – Almost gave away a goal in the first half with some casual defending. Otherwise, not a bad match.

Emmerson Boyce: 6 — Offered little in attack. Better when dropped to the back three.

Jean Beausejour: 6 — Nice ball for Koné’s goal. Had a good first half, but his worst second half since joining the club with misplaced passes and a spurned opportunity.

James McCarthy: 7 — Strong in midfield, wish he had been able to get forward more often.

Ben Watson: 8 — Probably the best outfield performance, he was the most positive attempting through balls and shots. Gave the ball away frustratingly a few times, but if anyone deserved a goal it was him.

Shaun Maloney: 6 — Quietest performance in a while. West Brom identified him as the main man and marked him heavily, but he was also apparently carrying an injury.

Franco Di Santo: 6 — Also quiet. Only really got on the ball to good effect once or twice. No shots or goal attempts.

Arouna Koné: 6.5 — Did well to stay onside for his goal. Held the ball up well but had little space to operate in, and not much service either.

Subs:

Ronnie Stam: Saw a lot of the ball and put several crosses in, all well defended. A welcome return.

Jordi Gomez: Not enough time to make an impact.

Mauro Boselli: Came on for the last 8 or so minutes, by which point Latics had lost the bulk of possession and were restricted to hopeful crosses — none of which reached him.

Tottenham 0 Wigan Athletic 1: Return of the giant-killers

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Wigan Athletic made up for their slow start to the season with an away performance reminiscent of the famous victories at Anfield and the Emirates of last term, climbing to 12th in the league table in doing so.

Tottenham’s starting XI — and indeed the thousands supporting them at White Hart Lane — appeared to approach the fixture as a foregone conclusion ahead of a series of tricky fixtures. Much will be criticized about their performance, but it won’t tell the whole story. While Villas Boas shifted and tweaked throughout and his players huffed and puffed in the second half, Roberto Martinez’s men knew exactly what their gameplan was and executed it to perfection.

In fact, so dominant were the Latics before Ben Watson’s breakthrough, they should have gone at least two or three up. While Gareth Bale was clearly the best player on the pitch, you got the sense that Spurs are at present just a team of expensively assembled individuals, while Wigan look an organized and well-oiled machine.

The Good: 

Roberto Martinez. The second youngest manager in the league put on a tactical masterclass for the youngest. This is the second 1-0 win in three away fixtures at White Hart Lane, against Spurs teams that have hardly struggled for goals. If you go back a fourth fixture, you get to the horrific 9-1 loss in Roberto’s first season. Where most chairmen would have panicked, Dave Whelan kept faith, and Martinez has repaid it. The team showed today it is already — this early in the season despite losing Victor Moses and having to bed in new signings — capable of the form shown that kept us up last year. Which bodes very well indeed.

The defence. Gary Caldwell was immense, as he was in the final stretch of last season. Ivan Ramis, next to him, had a brilliant match save one foul on the edge of the box that might have proven costly on another day. He looks comfortable in the league and tactical system, a quality signing. Figueroa had to cope with Lennon and Bale and got the job done, albeit with the occasional mistimed challenge. Emmerson Boyce, whose attacking play was non-existent, must receive huge praise for his defensive work as well.

Attacking link-up play. There are some excellent partnerships developing between the attacking trio. First, Maloney set up Kone. Then Kone returned the favour. Di Santo was quiet today but has been on the same wave length in recent fixtures. Latics created the five clearest chances of the match.

The Bad: 

Finishing. Both Kone and Maloney, when through with just the keeper to beat, shot straight at him. It comes down to confidence and composure. Both played very well otherwise, but you get the sense they each need a goal to get things going again. Ben Watson, who had an odd match — at times rusty, others very effective and ultimately scoring the winner — missed another sitter by blasting over.

Player Ratings: 

Ali Al-Habsi: 8.5 — Excellent. Held onto a couple stinging shots that other keepers would have spilled. Dominant in the air.

Ivan Ramis: 8.5 — Cracking performance from the Spaniard. Strong and excellent with his distribution. The way the back three knocks the ball around these days is a joy to watch. Very rarely is a ball hacked away in panic.

Gary Caldwell: 9 — Man of the match. Didn’t put a foot wrong, he was dominant. His passing out of the back, under pressure, was fantastic.

Maynor Figueroa: 7 — Had a tough time with Bale and Lennon at times, but got a very difficult job done. Lucky not to be given a yellow card in the first half, which was fortunate as he received one in the second.

Emmerson Boyce: 7.5 — Passing was at times poor and didn’t get forward, but his primary function was defensive. He had Bale to watch for most of the match, and defended well on set pieces.

Jean Beausejour: 8 — In good form. Got forward on several occasions in the first half with some quality deliveries. Neat in footwork as always, and put a real defensive shift in.

James McCarthy: 7.5 — Usual energetic, neat performance.

Ben Watson: 8 — Got the match winner. Going from Bradford to Spurs within the space of a few days must have been an adjustment, and his passing was a little wayward at times. But he was very frequently in the right place at the right time to make defensive interceptions, and stuck the ball in the back of the net — which no one else managed.

Shaun Maloney: 8 — Top class in the first half, buzzing about and creating. Should have scored his one-on-one opportunity. Faded as the team retreated in the second half.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — Couldn’t get going in this one, though he held the ball up well when required. Substituted with 20 minutes to go.

Arouna Kone: 7 — Another promising performance full of dangerous movement and skill but no goal. They’ll come.

Subs: 

Jordi Gomez: Played a couple delicious flicks that Kone and Maloney might have been quicker to pounce on. Drew a couple fouls that eased the pressure. Overall, did the job he was sent on to do quite well.

Wigan Athletic 2 West Ham 1 -Champagne football returns to the DW

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News and tagged with , , , , ,

The slim margin on the DW scoreboard betrayed a thoroughly dominant, flowing performance filled with invention and verve that might have ended up in a +3 or +4 margin on another day. Save for a scrappy opening six minutes, Wigan recreated the stylish, exciting form show in last season’s glorious final chapter.

The Good:

Almost everything. More than half the team put in their strongest performances of the season, with special praise reserved for Shaun Maloney who orchestrated almost every Wigan attack with clever flicks, darting runs, and eye of the needle through-balls. Maynor Figueroa recovered from a tired performance at Swansea with a masterful display at the back and some stunning passing. Ivan Ramis’ goal should be up there for goal of the season. James McArthur and James McCarthy were phenomenal and it is only a shame Jussi Jaaskelainen denied the latter a line amongst the goalscorers with an excellent first half save. Jean Beausejour and Emmerson Boyce, in different ways, were extremely effective on the day. And there was a return to form for Gary Caldwell.

The result was crucial. Microphones clearly picked up Roberto’s instructions to “keep it” with ten minutes to play, despite the ease with which Latics were cutting through West Ham’s back line. While many of us were craving that third killer goal, the manager knew that securing three points unspectacularly was more important. The win boosts the club’s points tally but more importantly provides a shot of confidence and a platform to build on. Not many teams will beat Wigan in that sort of home form.

The Bad:

The fact that the margin did end up so slim is a reminder that finishing must improve. Arouna Koné was energetic, skillful and always dangerous, but fluffed his lines on a couple occasions and should have put the game beyond reach. Franco Di Santo, playing a slightly deeper role, found himself shooting hopefully from outside the box when better options might have been available. Both had good games though — the partnership shows great promise.

Final Thoughts: 

What a shame Ryo Miyaichi was not on the bench for this one. The speed with which Wigan were breaking in those final 20 minute was impressive — he would surely have capitalized on the by then very leaky West Ham defence.

The fact that Ronnie Stam was on the bench for a league match raised a few eyebrows. Word on the street is that further Premier League appearances would activate a clause in his contract. Perhaps Roberto now believes he is ready to challenge Emmerson Boyce on the right, and may be worth the money such a clause might cost the club? Or perhaps it was a reminder to Boyce that his place is not automatic. Either way — it was nice to have him as an option, and Boyce responded with a strong performance.

Player Ratings: 

Ali Al-Habsi: 8 — Looked bright and confident, made one or two crucial saves.

Maynor Figueroa: 9 — Strong in the air and on the ground, and his passing was sensational.

Gary Caldwell: 8 — A return to form at the heart of the defence. A little shaky in the opening minutes as he tested the waters with Carroll, but dominant as the game went on.

Ivan Ramis: 9 — What a goal. Looks better every match.

Emmerson Boyce: 7.5 — Plays a much more defensive role than his counterpart on the left side, but was intelligent with his passing and movement when he did get forward. Did his part defensively — West Ham’s wingers were ineffective.

Jean Beausejour: 8 — Strong performance from the Chilean, who was unlucky not to score with a fine left-footed strike in the first half. Lost Tomkins for the consolation header but was impressive throughout.

James McArthur: 9 — How pleasing to see him take his goal so well. Worked his socks off as always, but has understated quality about his game too.

James McCarthy: 9 — Also fantastic in the centre of the park. Very pleasing to see him shooting with greater frequency, and getting forward more often. He doesn’t often have the opportunity to show his pace, but when Watson replaced Di Santo and McCarthy was pushed slightly further forward, he led the counter-attacking charge on more than one occasion.

Shaun Maloney: 9 — Outstanding. Has found his home.

Franco Di Santo: 8 — Very good work rate and hold up play, quality passing. Didn’t have any clear chances but the ovation he received upon being substituted shows how appreciated he is these days.

Arouna Koné: 7.5 — Tricky to grade this performance. He was a constant threat, constantly got past his man, but guilty of missing a  couple quality chances.

Subs:

Ben Watson: Looked almost surprised at how much time he had on the ball, so exhausted were the West Ham midfielders after being given the Jimmy Mac runaround for 80 minutes. Played some nice football in his time on the pitch and freed James McCarthy into a more attacking role.

Swansea City 2 Wigan Athletic 1: That sinking feeling

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Without doing a terrible amount wrong, Wigan Athletic has found itself sinking into the all-too-familiar lower depths of the Premier League. We might be telling a very different tale if Arouna Koné’s headed equaliser had not been incorrectly disallowed for offside, but in the end those small margins told and it was another tight loss. There have been several of them in recent weeks against beatable teams — Fulham, Sunderland, and now Swansea — in which the side showed positives but failed to get the result. The good news is that fellow basement dwellers Southampton, Reading, Aston Villa, Norwich City and QPR look a weaker set of competition than last year’s pack.

Of the aforementioned strugglers, Norwich were the only team to secure three points this weekend with a shock 1-0 victory over Arsenal. Chris Hughton’s side deserve full credit for an excellent performance, but it is no coincidence they got the result following an international break. Like Swansea, Norwich looked fresh and full of zip — both squads have few internationals and benefitted from two weeks of focused training. Like Arsenal, a majority of Wigan’s starting XI had played two matches in the previous week, spread across the far corners of the world. Between Al-Habsi, Figueroa, Beausejour, Caldwell, McArthur, McCarthy and Koné (who admittedly did not play but had an eventful week nonetheless) — Latics players covered four continents and hundreds of thousands of miles before this fixture. Thank goodness Barbados wasn’t playing. Maynor Figueroa, whose Honduran national team secured qualification after thumping Canada 8-1, certainly looked like he was in a different time zone.

A detailed analysis of post-international results will follow next time there is an international break. But in the meantime, it seems fair to raise the question why Roberto is not leaning a little more heavily on his squad for these fixtures based on recent post-international break results?

The Good: 

Despite a sharp-looking home performance from Swansea, Latics kept them out in the first half, and looked the more incisive team on the counter. James McArthur showed some touches of real class and vision. Arouna Koné was very good, despite seeing relatively little of the ball. After Latics conceded and bodies were pushed forward, Shaun Maloney was excellent, getting on the ball, making things happen.

The Bad: 

Figueroa had a bad day. The marking for the second goal was non-existent — they appeared to stand still as Michu ran in to score. The team didn’t show real urgency or ambition until it was 2-0. All of which was a shame against a team that demonstrated their attacking threat but were defensively wobbly throughout. Opportunity lost.

Player Ratings: 

Ali Al-Habsi: 7 — Caught flat-footed on the first goal, but there was not much he could do about either. Made one or two decent saves before then.

Ivan Ramis: 6 — Solid until he lost sight of Michu for the second goal.

Gary Caldwell: 6 — Solid until Hernandez got the better of him for the first goal.

Maynor Figueroa: 5 — Not solid. Looked out of sorts, substituted to accomodate an attacking tactical change.

Emmerson Boyce: 6.5 — Brilliant improvised goal, but didn’t have an easy afternoon with Routledge in fine form.

Jean Beausejour: 7 — Cracking cross for Koné, which would have been the equaliser but for an errant offside call. Also played a delightful ball in for Koné, which the Ivorian couldn’t make the best of. Need him to get forward more often.

James McArthur: 7.5 — Some real quality from the Scot, who always puts the miles in defensively but rarely gets a chance to show his skill.

James McCarthy: 6 — Not his strongest performance.

Shaun Maloney: 7 — Always trying to make things happen. But his finishing should have been better with both a first half opportunity and a disappointing second half free-kick.

Franco Di Santo: 6 — Only got one chance and telegraphed it.

Arouna Koné: 7 — Strong performance that deserved a goal. His strength and pace are impressive, but he showed he can dribble and head the ball as well. The complete striker — just needs a bit more service and luck now. Took a heavy touch on a lovely Beausejour cross, mind.

Subs:

Ben Watson: N/A — His introduction saw a formation change, which resulted in more bodies forward and sustained pressure on the Swansea rearguard. It also left Latics’ defense a bit exposed.

Jordi Gomez: N/A — Went backwards too many times, to the support’s frustration. Played so well in the corresponding fixture last year, maybe he should have been brought on sooner — before goals were needed urgently. Urgency is not his strong suit.

Mauro Boselli: N/A — No service, barely touched the ball.