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As the season
nears an end this was a fixture above all overs that Wigan deserately
needed to win. It was not to be as they suffered their fourth
reversal of the season and in front of the largest home crowd
in their brief league existence.
The game
lived up to all it's expectations as a rough, hard fought local,
top-of-the-table local derby. Premier League referee Uriah Rennie
had to reach to his pocket six times for the yellow card and
Preston North End centre half Jackson left the field with a
suspected broken nose after a second half collision left him
covered in blood, but I expect that was the last thing on his
mind at the end of the 90 tempestuous minutes.
Heavy security
surrounded the stadium to try and prevent any repeat of crowd
trouble witnessed at previous big games this season. This never
materialised, much to the relief of officials at both clubs,
as all eyes were glued to the action on the pitch before them.
Wigan were
missing a number of players for the biggest game of the season
and a number of team changes were forced upon manager John Benson.
Andy Liddell, who has been at the centre of everything positive
this season, was forced to sit in the stand as a spectator after
limping off in the final minutes of Saturday's away win at Brentford
with a thigh strain. Stuart Barlow, Wigan's top scorer this
season and a natural replacement for Liddell, underwent surgery
to remove fragements of bone from his ankle earlier in the day
and could be out for four to five weeks therefore finishing
his season. Scott Green finished his suspension he received
after his dismissal against Chesterfield at Saltergate.
All three
have been key players in their quest for promotion so far this
season and were sorely missed from the starting line up as Wigan
seemed to lack that little something up front.
This was
no disrespect to Welsh international Neil Roberts who returned
to partner Simon Haworth in a two man strike force after four
weeks out with an ankle ligaments injury. However, Roberts was
obviously not match fit and had not done a full days training
since hobbling from the field against Blackpool early last month.
The game
itself started off at a frantic pace but no real chances to
speak off in the first 15 minutes. That was until referee Rennie
awarded Preston a free kick 20 yards out after Darren Sheridan
had been adjudged to have raised his boot in a challenge as
Preston pushed forward on the attack. McKenna
drove the resulting free kick into the wall, the ball deflecting
off Simon Haworth and behind for a corner.
Edwards
played a quick one-two with Gunnlaugsson from the corner and
floated a cross to the far post. Neil Roberts attempted to clear
the ball with his head but only succeeded in playing the ball
back across the goalmouth and Preston centre half Michael Jackson
beat Peron to the loose ball, sticking a leg out to loop a shot
over Roy Carroll from 5 yards out, sending Preston's huge following
wild.
Wigan pushed
forward and Neil Redfearn hammered a shot towards goal only
to see it blocked in the area by a Preston defender. Shortly
after Terry Cooke, playing in his final game of the month's
loan from Manchester City, weaved through the Preston midfield
and then defence only to shoot feebily straight into arms of
Preston's giant goalkeeper Moilanen.
Preston
also had chances at the other end to increase their lead with
former Wigan target and Preston skipper Sean Gregan heading
narrowly over the bar and Roy Carroll had to pull off a fine
save to deny Anderson after he had raced into the box.
Wigan had
probably their best chances of the half in the dying seconds
as many of the spectators had left their seats in a bid to gain
advantage in the queue for the bar and that much needed half-time
pint.
Griffiths
glanced a header over the bar from a Sheridan inswinging corner
and then Finnish goalkeeper Moilanen earned his wages by twice
denying Wigan in less than a minute with fine saves.
First he
managed to get down low and push a Simon Haworth shot round
the post after Cooke had put the Welshman clear with a reaonably
clear view of the goal. Then, from the resulting Sheridan corner,
de Zeeuw stole in between the defence and powered a header with
seemed destined to squeeze in under the bar until Moilanen stetched
to tip the ball over the bar.
Half Time:
Wigan 0 Preston 1
Skipper
Carl Bradshaw was introduced to the action after the interval,
replacing new father Gareth Griffiths, and Wigan reverted to
a 4-4-2 formation, Bradshaw slotting in behind Peron at left
back, allowing Peron to push forward more down the flank. This
proved a success as Wigan won the lion's share of the action
down that left wing but Peron's final touches didn't quite provide
the results that Latics so desperately needed.
Redfearn
was again in the thick of things seeing a shot fly wide of the
mark before thundering a shot from just outside the area charged
down by the formiddable Sean Gregan.
Another
Sheridan corner provided Latics and Terry Cooke with a chance
to level after the cross floated over the melee in the middle
of the box and found Cooke free beyond the far post only for
his header to fly narrowly over the bar and onto the roof of
the net.
The action
then moved to the opposite end of the field with Gunnlaugsson
crossing the ball to find Macken free in the middle but Carroll
was again on hand to deny the former Manchester United striker
with a fine save.
Peron came
close to salvaging a point from the game in the final minutes.
Firstly, he lobbed a shot just over the bar after a Bradshaw
free kick was headed down and found the Frenchman in space in
the area.
He then
had two shots blocked by Ryan Kidd in the area after Peron was
brought down on the edge of the box. Bradshaw chipped the free
kick into the middle and Peron drove the ball goalbound but
Kidd managed to block only for the ball to return to the feet
of Peron who quickly fired another shot at goal but Kidd this
time stopped the shot with his stomach, despite the appeals
of hand-ball from the Wigan faithful, and the danger was quickly
cleared.
Sean Gregan
left the field in the final ten minutes with a back injury and
his absence, if he doesn't recover, would be a major blow to
Preston in their quest for the championship and promotion to
the first division for the first time in nearly twenty years.
It became
obvious the further the game progressed that Andy Liddell was
sorely missed and Scott Green's dominance at the back added
to his attacking runs would have made an impact on this hard
fought derby.
The blow
of this defeat was softened for Wigan fans after hearing that
Bristol Rovers had suffered a surprise home defeat at the hands
of Reading but Preston must now be seen as clear favourites
for the title with just a month of the season left to play and
Preston now moving seven points clear albeit with Latics having
a game in hand on the Lillywhites.
Next up
it's Oxford United at the JJB Stadium this coming Saturday closely
following by a trip up the M60 to Oldham and hopefully revenge
for the home defeat suffered at the hands of the Boundary Park
side in front of the Sky TV cameras in early January.
Full Time:
Wigan 0 Preston 1
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