Wigan and Burnley shared the spoils in a frenetic Lancashire hotpot but once again their dominance in terms of possession came to naught with once again their lack of quality upfront the major cause for concern.
Uwe Rosler once again opted to rotate his starting line up with recalls for Boyce, Fortune, Crainey, Gomez and Powell with recently returned loanees Dicko and Kiernan being promoted to the bench.
Wigan started brightly with the ball being played out of defence on the floor in contrast to Burnley’s more direct style but the home sides first chance came from a set piece when a free kick found the head of Barnett who had rose above the big Burnley defence but he couldn’t direct his header on target .
Former Burnley favourite McCann was booed by a significant proportion of the large raucous away following throughout the game but the big Irishman almost silenced them with a powerful shot which was cleared off the line by the right back Trippier.
Burnley reacted well and looked to supply their strike force of Vokes and Ings but the Wigan defence with Ramis and Barnett to the fore dealt with the majority of the away side’s attacks. On the rare occasions that the defence was breached, Al Habsi in the Wigan goal dealt with the threat.
Wigan continued to try and pass their way to the goal but both Fortune and Powell failed to turn chances into goals. Perch was a constant threat down the right and a powerful header went narrowly wide of the far post with the keeper stranded.
David Jones making a return to the DW, this time in the claret and blue of Burnley almost scored just before half time when his powerful shot was turned onto the bar by Al Habsi and with the ball clearly not crossing the line it was left to Barnett to clear the ball away from danger.
The second half started in much the same vein, Wigan pushing forwards with McCann and McArthur seeking to find a way through the massed Burnley defence and Burnley looking to score on the counter attack.
Chances in the second half were at a premium however with Wigan’s substitute McClean looking the most dangerous but despite the encouragement of the home crowd Wigan had to be content with a second successive goalless draw which on the balance of play must be viewed as two points lost and their failure in front of goal must surely mean that re-enforcements in the striker department need to be made in the January transfer window if Wigan are to push on into the play offs.
Team Line up and Player Ratings
Al Habsi……7, performed well.
Perch……..6, attacked well down the right
Barnett……8, Man of Match, defended superbly.
Ramis……..7, getting better in every game.
Crainey…..6, got caught by pace on a few times.
Boyce…..6, a welcome return to form.
McArthur……7, dominated midfield
McCann…….7, at the heart of the majority of Wigan’s moves.Withdrawn
Gomez…….6, worked hard.Withdrawn
Powell…..5, ineffectual
Fortune…..5, looked out of sorts. Withdrawn
Subs Used
McClean…..7, for Fortune, looked sharp
Espinoza……6, for Gomez, made little impact, ran around a lot.
Kiernan……n/a for McCann.
Att 17,712
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