Wigan Athletic were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Birmingham City in a result that does no favours for either side.
Latics got off to the worst possible start when Juninho Bacuna’s free kick from 20 yards beat Ben Amos at his near post.
The goal sent the near 3,000 travelling Bluenoses into delirium whilst dampening the home crowd’s mood simultaneously.
Shaun Maloney’s side spent most of the first 45 minutes toiling away in the Birmingham half, seeing almost 70% of the ball, but couldn’t fashion any clear-cut chances to speak of.
Christ Tiehi was replaced at half-time by top scorer Will Keane who almost made an immediate impact, but his low shot was well saved by Ruddy.
Latics, who started the second half really well on the front foot, made their pressure count when James McClean’s low cross was swept home by Ashley Fletcher for his second of the season.
The goal seemed to spark the game into life and for the second week running a contentious penalty decision went against Latics.
Bacuna went down under pressure from Nyambe and referee Stephen Martin pointed to the spot, only for Scott Hogan to step up and blast his effort off the bar.
Tahith Chong also rattled the woodwork with a low drive as the visitors looked to wrestle back the lead.
Latics ended the game well but couldn’t break through a resilient and experienced Blues back line, try as they might through efforts from Keane and Fletcher.
The result leaves Wigan remain in the bottom three of the Championship, and with several relegation rivals picking up wins this weekend we face an uphill battle for survival.
Talking Wigan 