SOCCER/Wigan - 1 Everton - 1: If this match was ambling to a tame stalemate, its snarled a bit late. A flurry of late red cards provided a vicious finale with the dismissals of Duncan Ferguson after only seven minutes on the pitch and Jason Roberts moments later. The repercussions will leave both players on tenterhooks today.
Ferguson's propensity to self-destruct is the stuff of legend, though Everton will barely tolerate his lunacy given their lack of striking options at the moment. The substitute's spiteful punch into Paul Scharner's stomach after the pair had exchanged words was remarkable in its stupidity. The inevitable three-match ban will surely follow.
Roberts faces similar sanction for an elbow flung at David Weir, though he will be left sweating on Wigan rescheduling their Premiership match with Tottenham Hotspur for February 18th. If that match does not take place on that currently free weekend, the forward will miss the League Cup final a week later.
The striker had escaped English FA action after allegations of an elbow thrown at the West Ham defender James Collins in December. This time his misdemeanour was spotted with this game's football - goals traded before the interval with Wigan edging closer to the psychological safety of 40 points - almost an afterthought.
Evidence of a month of frustration in the transfer market may not have been obvious in the energy of Everton's opening, though it had been all too apparent in their selection. David Moyes had named a side without any recognised strikers, with James McFadden supported primarily by Tim Cahill's energy from midfield. James Beattie has been hit by a troubling calf injury just as his form was improving while Ferguson, fresh from an admirably rugged display against Chelsea at the weekend, could hardly be expected to play for a second time in four days.
With late interest in the over-priced David Nugent at Preston and Trabzonspor's Fatih Tekke having come to nothing, this was the selection to reflect a squad stretched to breaking point, though their hosts' generosity brightened Everton's mood.
Some nine minutes in Richard Wright's goal-kick was allowed to bounce with McFadden prodding Cahill through and, although the Australian was eventually surrounded on the edge of the area, his shot deflected from Stephane Henchoz's arm. With the goalkeeper wrong-footed, the ball was converted inadvertently by David Thompson, diving in to challenge Leon Osman.
Thompson was making his home debut but he and his team-mates were becalmed and could have been swept away. Mike Pollitt did well to deflect away McFadden's close-range finish after the home side had missed Mikel Arteta's free-kick, Osman pulling a cross back from the by-line which the Scotland international should have converted.
Only a linesman's flag prevented Cahill adding a second before the half-hour, with the same official choosing to ignore Pollitt's subsequent handball outside the area which might otherwise have warranted a dismissal.
Wigan had mustered little coherent in reply, their defence too jittery for comfort and their forwards isolated from a retreating midfield. When they did find space on the flank, Scharner stretched and headed over the bar, with Arjan de Zeeuw just as wasteful from Jimmy Bullard's free-kick.
Yet there is a resilience to the Latics that Moyes would normally find admirable. In stoppage time of a first half in which they had wilted, Henchoz recovered Thompson's cleared free-kick with a pump upfield which was nodded across goal by Pascal Chimbonda, eluding Nuno Valente, and thumped in by the unmarked Scharner from close range.
The Austrian was one of four signings made by Paul Jewell during the window, success which contrasted neatly to that of his opposite number, with Thompson replaced by another - Reto Ziegler - at the interval. Arteta, cutting inside, might have re-established the lead only for Pollitt to save at full stretch. He repeated that trick from the Spaniard's corner, the ball rebounding off Cahill, with Wigan panicked.
Then came Ferguson's ugly cameo and the sting to the tail.
Guardian Service
WIGAN ATHLETIC: Pollitt, Chimbonda, Henchoz, De Zeeuw, Baines, Teale, Bullard, Scharner, Thompson (Ziegler 45), Roberts, Mellor. Subs not used: Filan, Jackson, Johansson, Francis. Sent Off: Roberts (83). Booked: Scharner. Goal: Scharner 45.
EVERTON: Wright, Hibbert, Weir, Stubbs, Nuno Valente, Osman, Arteta (Ferguson 73), Cahill, Neville, Kilbane, McFadden. Subs not used: Turner, Naysmith, Davies, Anichebe. Sent Off: Ferguson (80). Booked: McFadden. Goal: Thompson 9 og.
Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
