Will Keane’s 32nd minute penalty has given Town a 1-0 half-time lead at Wigan but they’re down to 10 men with Jonas Knudsen having been dismissed seven minutes prior to the goal.
Skipper Luke Chambers returned as the Blues switched to a 3-5-2 system for the first time under Paul Lambert’s management.
Chambers, who had been out with a foot injury, started in the back three with Knudsen and Matthew Pennington, while Myles Kenlock and James Bree were wing-backs.
Teddy Bishop dropped out of the 18 having been ill earlier week, although the 22-year-old did travel, with Trevoh Chalobah, Jon Nolan and Alan Judge in midfield. Collin Quaner and Keane were the front two.
Cole Skuse was on the bench for the second game running and Flynn Downes was also among the subs having not been involved in last week’s 1-1 draw with Stoke having been unwell last week.
For Wigan, Danny Fox and Lee Evans returned to their XI with Cedric Kipre dropping to the bench and Nathan Byrne not in the matchday squad. Ex-Town striker Joe Garner was among the subs, while January Blues target Anthony Pilkington started.
The Blues, wearing their orange away kit and with two-match touchline-banned manager Paul Lambert sitting in the directors’ box next to general manager of football operations Lee O’Neill and in front of owner Marcus Evans, were threatened for the first time in the second minute when Pilkington headed Michael Jacobs’s left-sided cross over the bar ahead of Bartosz Bialkowski as the keeper sought to catch.
Within a minute Keane claimed a penalty at the other end after going to ground under pressure from a number of Wigan defenders. Premier League referee Lee Probert wasn’t interested however.
Town might well have taken the lead in the eighth minute when Bialkowski kicked long, Keane took the ball down and fed Bree to his right. The on-loan Aston Villa man crossed to Nolan, who was unmarked at the back of the box but the ex-Shrewsbury’s man’s header bounced the wrong side of Latics keeper Jamie Jones’s right post.
A minute later, Wigan threatened. Lee Evans whipped over a low cross from the right which flew just beyond striker Leon Clarke and past Bialkowski’s right post.
Town nearly created an opening in the 11th minute when Bree, who was causing Wigan more than a few problems down the Town right, crossed and found Judge breaking into the area but the Irishman’s control with his chest took the ball away from him and out of play. Ahead of the goalkick, Wigan’s Kal Naismith was booked for an earlier foul on Judge.
Pilkington saw a shot blocked, then on 17 another neat Town move down the right ended with Keane hitting a low curling effort from just outside the box which Jones palmed for a corner, although the ball looked to be going wide in any case.
The Blues were started to assert their control and in the 21st minute Chalobah, watched from the directors’ box by England U20s coach Paul Simpson, shot from the edge of the box and Jones again pawed it wide when it was already going past the post.
From the resultant corner Town, who were getting up a significant head of steam, went even closer. Judge’s flag-kick was flicked on by Quaner and hit Keane at the far post and bounced through to Jones with the striker holding his head in his hands.
However, the Blues were dealt a huge blow in the 26th minute when they were reduced to 10 men after Knudsen was shown a straight red card.
Clarke had been found in space towards the Wigan right by Samy Morsy’s long pass and was breaking towards the area when Knudsen somewhat needlessly pulled him back.
Referee Probert immediately pulled out his red card, which seemed a harsh decision with the on-loan Sheffield United man still having a lot to do before the incident could be deemed an obvious goalscoring opportunity and with Chambers in a position to get across to cover.
Knudsen, sent off for the first time since his Esbjerg fB days, made his thoughts known to the official before trudging off towards the tunnel and the Blues found themselves under pressure following the freekick, Naismith’s set piece itself hitting the wall and flying over.
The Blues were forced to repel a number of corners, while a Josh Windass strike was blocked on the edge of the box.
However, Town eventually managed to escape and in the 32nd minute they went in front from the penalty spot.
Quaner chased a high ball over the top to the left of the box and was tripped by Chey Dunkley. Referee Probert pointed straight to the spot and Keane hit a low penalty to Jones’s right which struck the inside of the post before rebounding across the goal and nestling in the opposite side-net. The on-loan Hull City man gleefully celebrated his third goal for the Blues.
Having gone ahead, 10-man Town dug-in as Wigan looked to break them down, however, without too much success and with their fans starting to show their frustrations.
In injury time Reece James’s cross from the right was headed over by Windass and Town were able to frustrate the Latics until the whistle, which was the trigger for loud boos from the home supporters.
Town had been well on top and starting to create very decent opportunities when Knudsen was red-carded.
It looked an overreaction from referee Probert with Clarke probably not in what could be viewed as an obvious goalscoring opportunity given his distance from goal and Chambers’s position, however, it was an injudicious pull by the Danish international at best.
The Blues were subsequently forced to dig in and when they did get forward forced the foul for the penalty, which Keane took confidently.
Town’s 10 men have a big second half ahead if they’re to claim a vital three points and only their second away win of the season.
Wigan: Jones, James, Dunkley, Fox, Naismith, Evans, Morsy (c), Pilkington, Windass, Jacobs, Clarke. Subs: Walton, Gibson, Massey, McManaman, Kipre, Powell, Garner.
Town: Bialkowski, Bree, Pennington, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Kenlock, Chalobah, Nolan, Judge, Keane, Quaner. Subs: Gerken, Edwards, Skuse, Jackson, Downes, Nsiala, Dozzell. Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).