WIGAN ATHLETIC EARN HARD-FOUGHT DRAW

Posted on May 6, 2019 in WAFC

Wigan Athletic earned a tough draw away to Birmingham City last weekend. The Blues scored early with Lukas Jutkiewicz slotting past Wigan keeper Jamie Jones. However, the Latics responded quickly by hitting the posts midway into the half and also saw a good chance blocked on the line by Wes Harding.

Wigan continued to pile the pressure and finally got their reward on the stroke of halftime as star player Nick Powell scored via a deflection from outside the 18. The second half saw chances few and far between as both clubs were content to hold out for a draw.

Birmingham had a late chance to win the game as Craig Garner headed wide while Wigan substitute Joe Gelhardt struck widely after getting into a good shooting position.

The results saw no changes to their positions as Birmingham remains 17th one place above Wigan in 18^th with both clubs safe from relegation.  The draw saw the home side make it six games without defeat while Wigan have lost just once in their past eight games.

Wigan assistant manager Leam Richardson revealed at the end of the game his delight on the result. He attributed his team’s performance to one of stability as they refused to collapse after going down to an early goal.

According to Richardson, the club’s aim is to finish as high as possible ahead of the summer break.  Birmingham manager Garry Monk was more critical of his players’ performance on the field insisting that it was not good enough.

According to the former Swansea player, the early goal was great but the team could not maintain the intensity required to win the game.

Monk admitted that looking at the bigger picture the team had tried to escape the relegation battle considering the amount of effort put in by the players.

Birmingham next face Reading away at the Majeski stadium while Wigan hosts Millwall at the DW stadium with both matches taking place on Sunday.