Wigan Athletic bounced back from Saturday’s defeat to Burnley with a battling 1-1 draw against promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion.
Here are 5 takeaway points from yesterday’s game!
1) Not one for the purist…
I think it’s fair to say that yesterday’s match wasn’t exactly a fantastic advert for the beautiful game! Neither side offered much in terms of quality in the final third and both goals came from defensive errors that could’ve been avoided pretty easily, particularly the visitors equaliser. Both sets of fans grew frustrated at the lack of creativity and carelessness in possession, and in the end a draw was a fair result because neither team deserved to win!
2) JM28 is off the mark!
Whatever Josh Magennis had for breakfast yesterday needs to be served up to everyone before every game, the lad was PUMPED! The Northern Irishmen showed unbelievable strength and power after 6 minutes when he rag dolled Semi Ajayi, barged past the Baggies defender and powered the ball past David Button to give Latics an early lead. He continued to impress with his off the ball work but wasn’t helped by a complete lack of support from his team mates in attacking areas. His best game in a Wigan shirt I’d say, well done that man.
3) Believe in Broadhead!
It’s early days but what we’ve seen of new signing Nathan Broadhead has already convinced some Latics fans that he deserves to start. The 24 year old looked lively off the bench after he replaced Will Keane who again struggled to make any real impact on the game, and if Broadhead continues to outshine last seasons top scorer it’ll only be a matter of time before he replaces him in the starting 11. The Welsh international adds pace, craft and deadly finishing to our side and we’re crying out for all 3 of those qualities.
4) ‘Throw In it away’
Honestly, I can’t put into words how rubbish we are at throw ins! There just always seems to be a lack of movement, a lack of options and a real lack of ideas when we get a throw in and whilst it hasn’t cost us a goal yet you’d think it’s only a matter of time before it does. We tend to ‘complete’ throw ins but the receiver rarely has a genuine option to pass to and we tend to lose possession pretty quickly, and this often puts us under pressure if the opposition counter attack quickly. We need to sort it out sooner rather than later, and Max Power’s long throws are growing more and more pointless too!
5) Crying out for Creativity!
The main takeaway point from yesterday’s game is that we are bereft of creativity in the midfield. We made just 50 progressive passes yesterday, 14 below the league average of 64 per 90, and completed just 35 of them. There weren’t many ‘killer balls’ and the majority of our creativity came from long balls or set piece delivery, highlighting the need for a playmaking midfielder capable of progressing the ball with runs and passes. There’s not long left in the window and I hope we bring someone in to fill this void.
Talking Wigan 