Two goals in rapid succession early in the second half saw Wigan continue their promotion push securing a win against Sheffield United at Bramhall Lane.
Wigan made two changes going into the match , handing a first start to Morsy at the expense of Wabara and a debut to McAleny. These changes saw the Latics switch to a flat back four with McCann playing as a more conventional left back and Morsy providing more steel in the Latics midfield. McAleny being selected as an alternative to Vuckic who had to be content with a place on the bench.
Latics as befits a team on a long unbeaten run started the game confidently with Morsy and Perkins providing able support in midfield to the creative Power and McAleny and Wildschut acting as willing outlets. For all the dominant play from the Latics, chances in the first half were as rare as grass on the DW pitch .
Wigan were reduced to shooting from distance with Power and McAleny having shots blocked and Wildshchut firing over the bar whilst for Sheffield both Baxter and Sharp went close with shots from a similar range.
With chances being so few and far between it was little surprise that the first half ended goalless.
The question at the beginning of the second half was which team would have the motivation to up the tempo and get the first goal and the answer was very much Wigan as the Latics tore into the opposition from the off.
The first goal came as a result of a fantastic run by Wildschut. The flying Dutchman broke down the left, cut inside two defenders and was brought down in the area by Basham. Grigg stepped up and fired the penalty straight down the centre of the goal and Wigan had the lead.
Three minutes later the lead was doubled when Wildschut broke down the left again, cut inside and a short pass to Power was flicked sideways to McAleny whose powerful shot gave Long no chance in the Sheffield goal of stopping the ball.
Wigan stepped down a notch then, controlling the game without pressing too far forwards, no doubt with the Sheffield comeback from three down only a few weeks ago.
Even so there was still chances, the best another penalty after McCann was fouled in the area but this time, Grigg’s tame penalty was easily save by Long diving to his left.
Sharp nearly pulled one back for the Blades but McCann’s instinctive block and the full time whistle brought forth a tremendous cheer from the travelling Latics’ faithful.
Team Line Up
Jaaskelainen, Daniels, Morgan (C), Pearce, McCann, Morsy, Power, Perkins, Wildschut, McAleny ( Wabara ), Grigg (Davies)
Att 20,304
SUBSCRIBE TO THE PIE AT NIGHT PODCAST
We promise you that it’s easier to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t have to rely on us to remind you when a new episode comes out.
Apple sorts can find it on iTunes here – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-pie-at-night-podcast/id1097853442?mt=2
If you prefer a different podcast app then just search for “The Pie at Night Podcast”.
You can also find us on Stitcher, here – http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-pie-at-night-pocast/the-pie-at-night-podcast
If you’re that way out, you can find and subscribe to our RSS feed here – http://feeds.feedburner.com/thepieatnight
And if you just want to take pot luck then you can find all our episodes on our Soundcloud page
