Well, that was a canny night out, wasn’t it? Off we went to Wigan on was what was essentially a free hit for LJ, as league performance takes priority and he could use the occasion as an opportunity to give a few “fringe” players their chance to shine. Which they did – to such an extent that several selection dilemmas now present themselves for the weekend’s Bolton game. We made eight changes to Wigan’s nine as what was effectively both clubs’ second strings facing up to each other. Goals in each half, from Broadhead and O’Nien gave us a comfortable win thanks to an energetic display that was packed with training ground moves and impressive performances. The sort of display, backed up by an away win in the cup, that we hope for rather than expect.
An uneventful bus journey (the first time in three attempts at the A66 that I’ve not suffered a breakdown – in fact, only the second bus journey of the season that’s made it without mechanical failure. Surely an omen) saw us in the Anvil for a quick discussion of the week’s events, followed by the same in the Swan and Railway. Top of the agenda was Jimmy Greaves, and the question “has anyone scored more goals against us than him?” For the record, he managed ten in twelve games. Second on the agenda was our seeming inability to keep a clean sheet, although the time that had elapsed when Fleetwood equalised was way beyond that allocated.
Of the 6,511 in attendance, there was a large and boisterous red and white contingent in the north end (1,674 to be precise), with the south end empty and the home fans scattered around the two sides – and their bloody drum amongst them, to our left. Happily, it failed to rouse the Piemen in the stands into any sort of fervour, and was mocked constantly. Nowhere near as much as Crusty the pie would have been mocked, had he (she?) not decided that looking like a giant Fray Bentos tinned pie with the lid off would be too much of a temptation for us.
Kicking towards our fans (north), Pritchard set things away after a well-observed applause for Greavsie, as we lined up
Burge
Huggins Alvez Wright Cirkin
O'Nien Evans©
Pritchard O’Brien Dajaku
Broadhead
A really attacking formation, and we wondered how the back line would hold up, especially when it became apparent that young Huggins had absolutely no intention of spending any more time than necessary in our half, buzzing down the right wing and driving at the home penalty box at every opportunity. Dajaku, after linking up well with Huggins in the opening exchanges, decided to switch wings and give the other full back a bit of a torrid time. We were first to nearly every ball, and were moving it about really quickly – and accurately.
Their left back chickened out of a tackle in half way, opting to place the ball carefully out of play rather than clash with an inrushing Huggins (doncha just want to cuddle him?), earning him even more derision than the drummer or the Crusty the pie. The home side were clearly un-nerved by our all-action approach, conceding numerous fouls. A couple of time we were almost through when Broadhead couldn’t quite turn his marker, with the defender’s lanky legs knocking the ball away both times. Very promising, though. O’Brien almost had a chance from Dajaku’s cross, the ball getting stuck between his feet and allowing the defence to close him down, and a few minutes later he had us out of our seats (those of us who were in them) when he really caught a shot well – but if screamed just wide of the keeper’s right-hand post.
After twenty five minutes of almost constant pressure, we played it across the field to the left, and Pritch found Broadhead, who patiently carried it in from the left and fired a low right-footer across the goal and inside the far post. A cracking goal which sparked wild celebrations and a chorus of “Tell me ma, me ma...” as we dreamt of actually being in the hat for the next round. There was no sitting back on the lead, as Cirkin tried his luck when he burst forward, and the shot needed a strong had to tip it over the bar.
Wigan upped their game somewhat in the last ten minutes of the half and managed a half-hearted shot that Burge fielded comfortably, prompting our fans to sing his name. The Latics also forced a corner when the ball flew off one of our defenders high into the empty south stand – and revealing that Wigan had only brought one ball to the game as the ballboy frantically searched for it. Having allowed Wigan their bit of fun, O’9 flew in late on halfway and was booked, then Dajaku cleverly wound his way to the byline in the box and cut it back to Pritch who went down under a challenge. It would have been a penalty every time in the Prem, but refs in this division seem like they’ll only give decisions which are 100% unquestionable. Ah well, we saw out the single added minute back in the ascendancy and were well worth our half-time lead.
There were no changes for the second half, which we began in much the same positive manner as we’d started the first. Wigan didn’t like it much, and the fouls kept coming, and from one free kick early in the half we passed it around like a Man City training session before setting Pritch away, and he rolled it nicely onto the toe of Dajaku only for the cross to be inches away from a host of Sunderland players in the box. Looking good, Lads, and it looked even better nine minutes in, when we attacked down the right. Huggins did well as we held up the ball on the edge of the box, and his pass to O’9 was inch-perfect for Luke to place carefully beyond Amos in the Latics’ goal.
Whey yer bugger, 2-0 up and worth every bit of that lead.
Wigan did get another shot it, with Tilt, up for a corner, seeing his effort blocked by Wright. Our preference to play it out from the back might have suited Alves and both fullbacks, but it does make me a bit nervous (I still remember Len Ashurst’s side trying to do that against Liverpool) even if all Wigan could do was chase shadows. Yet another free came our way, and even though it was about thirty yards out, we bellowed “SHOOT” to Pritch – so he did, and the effort didn’t quite dip enough, flying only a foot or so over the bar. Once Wigan tried to freshen things up by swapping Cousins for Lang, we gave it five minutes before some changes of our own. Embleton and Stewart replaced Dajaku and Pritch with twenty to go, and the Piemen had a new sort of threat to deal with – so they kicked him. A couple of what looked like perfectly fair, if dramatic, tackles earned yellows for Embo and Evans, then Stewart fired in a shot that flew off a defender for a corner which created a bit of havoc but was cleared. With ten minutes left, Huggins seemed to turn his ankle making a tackle and had to be helped form the field to thunderous applause for a fine game, with Dan Neil coming on and Luke dropping to the defence.
We then indulged in a bit of “Ole” football. It wasn’t quite the fifty-odd passes England managed in the Euros, but there were several moves of twenty or so as we basically took the mick. Adeeko and Sze came on to try and get a sniff of the ball, but failed. Perhaps they should have brought on Sam Tickle (honest, he was an option – and he’s probably related to Tess) to put us off. Sorry, I know it’s childish, but we were in a great mood anyway, making an impressive amount of noise as we told the drummer where to stick his instrument and where to go once he’d done that. No matter what Wigan tried, they couldn’t get hold of the ball, let alone make much of an impression, and the four added minutes were played out to more ole-ing and the general sound of Mackems enjoying life.
When the whistle went the celebrations ramped up a bit more, the players came over to give us a wave and a cheer, and LJ finished off the celebrations by punching the air a few times. Happy days.
A comprehensive a 2-0 win as you’re likely to see, and some great displays by those making their debuts and those trying to make an impression, with not a weak link anywhere on the field. Lee Burge had nowt awkward to deal with, but his positional play and his handling was spot on. Huggins was a revelation, Cirkin continued to grow into his game, and the central defence of Alves and Wright were rock-solid, with the former looking much cooler than he did on his debut. Evans was the rock that allowed Huggins to bomb forward, and O’9 the ever-enthusiastic link that ensured the front four received the ball. O’ Brien seems to love this competition, and his presences gave Pritch and Dajaku the freedom to work the wide areas. Broadhead looks a very clever player, and led the line well with the flexibility needed with so many attack-minded marras around him. The only downsides were the injury to Huggins and the three yellow cards, but we showed comprehensively that our squad is better than Wigan’s, emphasised by the 22 fouls they conceded, the 2/3 possession we had, and the fifteen shots we rained on their goal. Can we play you every week, please?
Man of the Match? As I said, there were no weak links and nobody was less than impressive, but for sheer energy, positivity, and setting up the second goal, I’ll give it to young Huggy.
