ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Wigan Athletic 0 Wolverhampton 1:WIGAN BEAT a Midlands team in some style at Villa Park on Saturday yet came unstuck when asked to repeat the trick against ostensibly weaker opposition at home at the newly-named DW Stadium.
Wolves were full value for their first points of the season, leaving Roberto Martinez as disappointed with the result as he must have been with the attendance. The visitors could have had more than the single goal Andrew Keogh scored after six minutes, and by the end Martinez’s new charges were looking as woebegone as Aston Villa did on the weekend.
Wigan made a shocking start defensively, and as Keogh had struck a post with a shot on the turn after just four minutes they could hardly say they were not warned when the same player opened the scoring from a free kick two minutes later.
Nenad Milijas sent over a cross from the left and Keogh got in front of Paul Scharner to meet the ball with a glancing header that went in off the upright.
Wigan could easily have gone two goals down when a corner found its way to an unmarked Greg Halford at the far post, only for a hasty shot to end up in the crowd when a goal looked certain.
Halford shot narrowly over on the half hour while Wigan failed to show any sort of attacking invention until winning a succession of corners shortly before the interval.
Charles N’Zogbia could not finish when presented with a brief chance to beat Wayne Hennessey, and Wigan’s off-colour first half was summed up when a Jason Koumas corner finally found Titus Bramble for a free header. In front of goal, the centre half managed to miss the the target.
Wigan continued to live dangerously in the second half, notably when Keogh was harshly booked for diving in the area under Bramble’s challenge. Replays suggested Bramble had clipped the Wolves striker’s heel.
Martinez sent on Scott Sinclair and Jason Scotland after an hour but stuck with the 4-3-3 formation that seemed to be costing his side the ball in midfield. Hugo Rodallega had been starved of service in a high attacking line in the first half and Scotland fared no better.
The only half-chance Wigan created in the half was when Hennessey spilled a Scharner shot and for a split second did not know where the ball had gone. Usain Bolt may have reached the rebound in time but Rodallega could not manage it.
Wolves went close when a weak clearance fell straight to David Jones, who sent a shot over bar.
GuardianService
WIGAN: Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa, N'Zogbia, Thomas, Brown (Scotland 62), Koumas (Sinclair 62), Gomez, Rodallega. Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Edman, Watson, Boyce, King.
WOLVERHAMPTON: Hennessey, Stearman, Craddock, Mancienne, Stephen Ward, Halford (Surman 65), Edwards, Henry, Milijas (David Jones 56), Jarvis, Keogh (Vokes 81). Subs Not Used: Hahnemann, Elokobi, Zubar, Spray. Booked: Keogh, Stearman, Edwards.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire).
