It's a funny old game football, and yesterdays encounter between Latics and United was one of those games when it shows that football is all about scoring goals. Not about the quality of football, the amount of possession or the number of shots, in the end the fine line between wining and losing games comes down to scoring when it matters.
Yesterday proved this. Wigan were by far the better team, we looked quicker, stronger and found more space. We even got the luck of the green when it came to some shots. However that still didn't mean we could score, and this was shown by Moses who after a great fun could only find Van Der Sar's right side.
We would be paid to regret that miss. United doing what they do best counter acting quickly, slicing our defence open, and Hernandez flicking the ball past Ali. 1-0 United and Wigan were robbed.
However the goal may have not been created had Mr Clattenburg kept his eyes open. Wayne Rooney elbowing James McCarthy quite clearly on the face. A straight red offence, but the referee somehow missed it.
straight after the goal we came close to hitting back. Moses again beating O'Shea, great ball across the box, found James McCarthy. Again the right side of Van Der Sar was hit.
End of the first half and United were rocked, only 1-0 up and they were lucky to still have eleven men on the pitch. The game was in Wigan hands.
So start of the second half again we pressed and Rodallega coming close several times but none of his efforts really testing the keeper. The best effort for Wigan of the second half came from Figueroa. Maynor playing his 100th game for the club smashed a strike which swerved to the top corner, well saved by Van Der Sar.
United took advantage of our inability to score. Root one ball down the middle, fell to Hernandez after some sloppy defending by Alcaraz. The Mexican slotted past Al Habsi with ease.
So on came the United dominance, Wigan heads dropped and the game was finished from a Wigan prospect. We were lucky it only finished 4-0 on the end. A flattering score line for a very poor United performance.
The signs are promising for Latics, we look a stronger outfit, but do we have the strike power, we need to start taking our chance more and now. While defensively, Alcaraz needs to keep composed more and hold his nerve, sometimes he strays out of position or plays a sloppy pass. This only adds to the pressure on the team.
Next week we play Manchester City away. It will be a tough test to score past them, their defence is a strong one. However if you can keep Tevez quite then you keep city quite on the attack. It could be an interesting game next week, and a game we really could do with a point from.