It had been doom and gloom among so many Wigan Athletic fans for too long. The team was lying below mid-table in League 1 and the last time Latics had last won an away game under Ryan Lowe was on Good Friday.

The game at Wimbledon looked like it was following on from what we had seen before. The home side were a goal up, despite Wigan having the better chances in a first half when they could have gone ahead. They had not played badly but just did not look like they were going to show killer instinct in front of goal.

Enter the 18-year-old Harrison Bettoni in the 77^th minute. With his first touch of the ball, he scored from a sublime free kick curling in to the top corner. Ten minutes later he latched on to a clever flick from Paul Mullin to race through and slot home. The away support went wild with excitement.

After talking about avoiding relegation and sacking Lowe the less tolerant and less patient core among the fan base have started to perk up. One fan even suggested promotion was even a possibility with Latics just 8 points behind the leaders, Cardiff City, after 16 games played.

Although Bettoni’s league debut was spectacular some fans had not heard of him. However, he has been at Wigan since his early teens and was a key player in the youth team. Lowe trusted him with the free kick because he had been taking them in the junior ranks for some time. Bettoni had showed his mettle in a much-improved U21 team and it was to Lowe’s credit that he was given that chance.

Wigan’s U21 team had a tough start to the season, losing their first four games. Their transformation was helped on its way by the arrival of 20-year-old Adam Moseley on trial from Runcorn Linnets. Moseley’s record of 17 goals in 11 games for the U21 team speaks for itself. Although he had been appearing under the name of “Trialist”, posts on social media a week ago told us his name and that he had agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract at Latics. Although this has now been revealed in the local press, nothing yet has appeared on the club website.

The main news on the U21 side recently has been in sending players away on loan. Tom Watson has gone to South Shields, Leo Graham to Bury, Jack Rogers to Macclesfield, Christy Edwards to Witton Albion and K’Marni Miller to Radcliffe FC. Kai Payne went to Oldham Athletic at the start of the season, but injury has limited his appearances to 10 games so far. Some fans have been critical that the club has not secured them loan spells at clubs in higher tiers of English football. However, the majority are short term loans which expire before January.

The U21 team’s last three results have been spectacular. A 9-0 win at Coventry was followed by a 2-1 home win over top of the table Sheffield United, then by a 7-2 win at Barnsley. In the absence of U21 match reports on the club’s website one has had to rely on picking up information from opposing clubs’ sites. In previous years there were pockets of information on players in both the U21 and U18 squads to go with their photographs but there is scant coverage now.

Bettoni’s spectacular debut and Moseley’s acquisition have certainly helped to lift the spirits of supporters. At the beginning of the season, it had looked like Lowe had lots of options with four strikers in his senior squad. However, optimism has faded over the past months as none of the four have convinced. Lowe’s preference, particularly in home games, has been to play with twin strikers. Dara Costelloe and Christian Saydee were his choice for the opening game against Northampton, but both have had three game suspensions after receiving red cards, disrupting their settling into their roles. Paul Mullin and Maleace Asamoah have been largely used as substitutes in League 1 games. Between the four of them they have scored 7 goals.

Moseley will only be available for EFL games from the start of the January transfer window. It will be interesting to see how Lowe handles Bettoni. Will he start against Stevenage on Saturday or be used as an impact sub in the latter stages?

Although Lowe clearly likes the twin striker approach he has also resorted to packing the midfield with two number 6s, two number 10s and a single central striker. The latter system looked viable while Ryan Trevitt was available to provide some goal threat as a #10, but the other midfielders who have played there have rarely looked incisive.

Callum Wright scored a well taken goal against Barnsley and has got into good positions, but lacks the composure of a midfield goalscorer. Lowe might have to continue to persevere with Wright in the hope that the composure will come, even if his career goalscoring record does not suggest that.

In a similar way he has been relying on Christian Saydee to score goals as a central striker. Saydee has scored 2 goals so far at Wigan and his career record is 14 goals in 137 appearances. Although he is unlikely to score many goals as a striker, he is nevertheless a useful player to have on the pitch. He is a powerful and skilful forward able to hold the ball, with an eye for a killer pass through a defence. Some would say his style is reminiscent of Emile Heskey. Others might cite Marc-Antoine Fortune who scored 5 goals in 71 appearances at Wigan, but was nevertheless a regular starter in the Championship.

Following the opening game against Northampton I commented here that “Looking at the current squad there is certainly enough quality to finish in the top half of the table, barring major injuries.”

Since then, Lowe lost Isaac Mabaya early on and Ryan Trevitt since the end of September. However, my comment still holds. If they can be in a mid-table position by the New Year, they will have something to build on and it is by no means impossible that they will reach a playoff position.

If Lowe had money to spend, he would invest in specialist wing backs and creative midfielders. Good, proven strikers don’t come cheap and it is unlikely that Latics will ever splash out the kind of money needed.

In the meantime, he will look at getting the best of the strikers he has at his disposal. Finding the right blend will be key.