Two goals in quick succession from two of Swansea’s Spanish contingent condemned Wigan to a sixth game without a win. This was despite pulling a goal back from a wonder strike by Emerson Boyce & having a goal wrongly disallowed from Kone.
However the blame lies mainly with a defence which is shipping almost two goals a game on average so far this season, with the one clean sheet coinciding with their only win so far this season, away at Southampton.
Roberto Martinez opted to keep faith with the side that drew with Everton last time out which meant that Beausejour and Figueroa who have clocked up over sixteen thousand and eleven thousand air miles this past week respectively, were adjudged to have recovered from any fatigue accrued on their international duties.
The first half was an even affair with both sides playing the slick passing game that they are renown for with chances few and far between. For the home side De Guzman and top scorer Michu went close where as for the Latics their best chances in the first half fell to Maloney, who saw his shot well saved by Vorm after being fed by Boyce and then Maloney who turned provider for Beausejour but the Chilean failed to trouble the Dutchman in the home goal, firing over.
The second half was a much livelier affair with both sides seemingly being told to increase the tempo and go for goal and it was the home side who saw the fruits of their efforts rewarded first when Routledge outpaced Ramis with ease and his cross found Hernandez to score. Within a minute it was two when from a corner Michu rose unchallenged and header the ball past Al Habsi.
Wigan immediately went up the other end and a superb goal from Boyce reduced the deficit when a fluffed shot from McCarthy was missed by the home defence but not by Boyce who scored acrobatically.
Wigan continued to push to try and equalise and they thought they had achieved it but once again the officials conspired to cause controversy, when a Kone header was incorrectly ruled offside. Wigan seized on this injustice as motivation to equalise, however apart from a weak shot by Di Santo and late injury time save by Vorm from Al Habsi, Swansea looked relatively comfortable and indeed could have made it three when Al Habsi had to save well from Dwyer on a day when too many Wigan players failed to perform to the high standards expected of them by both the manager and the fans.
A defeat which leaves Wigan once again mired in the early throes of a relegation battle with another tough game expected by a resurgent West Ham at the DW next week.
Team; Al Habsi, Ramis, Caldwell (c), Figueroa, Boyce, Beausejour, McCarthy, McArthur, Kone, Di Santo, Maloney
Subs used; Watson for Figueroa 71 mins, Boselli for McArthur for 83 mins & Gomez for Di Santo 83 mins.
Att…. 19,696
Man of the Match…Kone, worked his socks off and never stopped trying.
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