Wigan’s woes continued as another game goes by without a win to make it 7 without a win for Malky Mackay and his decaying team as they were well beaten by top of the table Bournemouth.
The woodwork denied James McClean opening for the hosts before Callum Wilson raced away from a slack Wigan defence to put visitors ahead 8 minutes from the break.
Yann Kermogant doubled the Cherries’ lead 4 minutes later when he caught Chris McCann on the ball. Wilson then killed the game off 12 minutes after the restart when he rounded Ali Al-Habsi.
Leon Clarke sealed his ‘bittersweet’ debut with a goal but it proved to me nothing more than a consolation goal.
Wigan started the game lively matching the league leaders stride for stride when James McClean lined up an in-swinging free kick wide right that smacked off the crossbar with Artur Boruc well beaten. What came next was a game changing decision. (Or should I say lack of decision).
A Simon Francis long ball was flicked on by Yann Kermogant to Callum Wilson who raced away from the Wigan back line to finish past Ali Al-Habsi. However videos show that from Kermogant’s flick on, Wilson was offside by a significant margin. A margin so significant it leaves me among many people wondering how the linesman didn’t spot it.
In what proved to be a pivotal point in the game, the tie turned on it’s head as Bournemouth quickly capitalised to make it 2-0. Chris McCann was caught by Yann Kermogant trying to play his way out of trouble on the edge of his own area where then the former Charlton man then unleashed a fierce drive into Al Habsi’s bottom corner signalling many to go for their half-time Bovril.
Just 12 minutes after the restart Bournemouth had the points sealed through the ever dangerous Callum Wilson once more. The former Coventry man’s clever turn allowed him to get away from Liam Ridgewell where he then held up Leon Barnett and round Ali Al Habsi for his second and Bournemouth’s third of the afternoon.
Wigan pulled one back minutes later when debutant Leon Clarke who previously had 3 goals in 30 appearances for parent club Wolves nodded in James McClean’s cross from 4 yards to give Mackay’s side a glimmer of hope with a third of the game remaining.
Wigan then followed with huge amounts of pressure on the Bournemouth goal and other new boy Billy McKay nearly halved the deficit. The hugely impressive Sheyi Ojo played Don Cowie in behind the full back where the former Cardiff man fizzed a delightful to the front post which was met by an onrushing McKay who was desperately unlucky not to find the back of the net. Liam Ridgewell forced Boruc to tip his header over the bar, despite the late pressure Wigan couldn’t find any real way back into the game.