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Match Reports

Wigan v Newcastle Match Report

12 years ago
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Saturday 28 April 2012 3pm

Wigan 4
Newcastle United 0

Wigan carried their recent form into today’s match and Newcastle didn’t.

A rubbish opening ten minutes were transformed into a two goal lead in the space of as many minutes, the opening goal seeing Williamson fail to even jump as Moses headed home.

Worse followed on fifteen minutes as Moses made it two when his despairing block (covering up for others’ mistakes) unluckily fell to the Wigan striker.

Third and fourth followed as Simpson was caught out of position and then Di Santo found the top corner from over twenty five yards out.

It was just over the hour mark when at last both keepers touched the ball, Krul stopping a fifth before Al Habsi denied a consolation.

The referee didn’t do us any favours but even if he ad I don’t think it would have made much difference, although Mike Dean could (and probably should) have sent off James McCarthy for a ‘studs showing’ challenge on Yohan Cabaye.

At two down, Alan Pardew then switched to a 3-4-3 formation to replicate the home one but the horse had bolted long before. Santon moving across to the right to make a four man midfield but in al honesty it wasn’t any particular formation that lost this.

Bizarrely, Newcastle just didn’t seem at it from the first whistle and maybe it was the fact we’d gone from outsiders to fancied contenders for the top four that undermined this performance.

Things did improve in the second half and Cisse could have ended up with  a hat-trick, striking both post and bar, but even he saw lady luck disappear.

Ben Arfa put a first half shocker behind him and was the creative force in the second, while Santon also did ok overall.

With everybody apart from Steven Taylor of our front line players available, maybe it shows up the deficiencies of our squad as there weren’t any sure fire bench options to try and change the flow of the game.

Six wins out of seven is still blinding and maybe it is best to get it all out of the way in one go, which is how I would treat this performance/result.

Yes I’m gutted we didn’t take advantage of Arsenal slipping up and took the chance to put distance between us and Spurs/Chelsea but what is important is how the players (and manager & fans) react to today.

A few people around me were blaming the same players and tactics that have got Newcastle where they are at this moment in time, three points lost – that is all.

Keep calm and carry on.

Wigan Athletic: Ali Al Habsi, Antolin Alcaraz, Gary Caldwell,  Maynor Figueroa, Emmerson Boyce, James McCarthy, James McArthur, Jean Beausejour, Victor Moses (Jordi Gomez 83), Franco Di Santo (Conor Sammon 68), Shaun Maloney

Subs not used: Mike Pollitt, Mohamed Diame, Albert Crusat, David Jones, Hugo Rodallega

Newcastle United: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson (James Perch 81), Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon, Cheick Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez, Hatem Ben Arfa (Ryan Taylor 73), Yohan Cabaye (Shane Ferguson 83), Demba Ba,  Papiss Cisse

Subs not used: Rob Elliot, Dan Gosling, Leon Best, Shola Ameobi

Referee: Mike Dean


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