Wigan Athletic 1-3 Bolton Wanderers

By the time the result and the video footage have been sent around the world, it will show Wigan being smashed by a very good Bolton side. What in fact happen today will forever remain between the 18,000 or so supporters that saw the display that went in front of them.

At first it looked good for Wigan, even before the game. A fully fit side, which saw the return of Rodallega, Alcaraz and Crusat. What could be better. No Gomez, he wasn't even on the bench. My pre-match feelings went from thinking we should win this game, to we will win this game. However we are Wigan Athletic after all.

It was in fact only nine Wigan players that turned up to play today. Steve Gohouri and Antolin Alcaraz never managed to make it today's game, they may appear to be on playing. But I swear they were just shadows.

Inside four minutes, Bolton had taken the lead. Alcaraz running with the ball to half way, being tackled saw the ball roll out to Chris Eagles out wide against Gohouri. Any defender would go and take the foul to hold the Bolton attack up, instead Eagles was allowed to turn and fire a ball across the goal for Nigel Reo-Coker to knock in. It didn't look good.

The goal seemed to kick us awake a bit, and the middle of the game saw Latics slowly but surely manoeuvre Bolton Wanderers out of possession and out of the game, or so we thought.

Mohammed Diame's screamer of a goal making it 1-1 inside 40 minutes. The game looked to be turning towards Wigan, as we moved up the gears. We we had to do was hold out till half time.

Yet with only two minutes too go till the end of the half Gohuri would strike again. This time taking the ball of Davies in the corner, instead of clearing it for a corner or smashing it anywhere, he tried to take on Kevin Davies. All he got was a crunching tackle resulting in Davies taking the ball away and finding David N'Gog in the middle of the box with acres, he must have thought it was Christmas as he rolled the ball into the goal.

The second half couldn't get any worse surely? 

Well Martinez took in the half time cheers and replaced the woeful Gohuri, restoring Maynor Figeruoa to his rightful position. While Hugo Rodallega made his return. Wigan's game picked up again.

We could have drawn level on several ocassion within the first 20 minutes of the half. Victor Moses walking through Bolton's defence each time, and somehow they kept it out. Rodallega from six yards finding only the keepers, and Di Santo unable to connect with a ball whipped in from Jones. It was going to be one of them days.

It nearly got worse for Latics. An apparent 'foul' by Gary Caldwell, resulted in a Bolton penalty. I'm not sure exactly how the referee could give it, but if it had been the other way around I would have wanted a penalty. So Kevin Davies stepped up to make it 3-1 to Bolton.

Yet Ali Al Habsi, the former Bolton player, made a brilliant save diving to his right to denning him the goal. Keeping Wigan in the game, but for how long. 

Wigan moved on, and has had been through out the game, the best of our moves came through Victor Moses. He first could have scored when getting round Robinson and smashing a ball across goal, inches wide. Then he managed again to beat Robinson who didn't know which way to look, before firing a ball across goal for Di Santo who again failed to make contact.

However it was all in vein. Cue Antolin Alcaraz, trying to be clever with the ball on the edge of his box, why? Chris Eagles snatched up the opportunity to take the ball off him, sprint past Caldwell before sliding the ball past Ali, making it 3-1 and game over for Wigan. 

I have to say it was a chance wasted. We should have won today, we controlled for large parts, created numinous chances and yet couldn't win the game. Fair play to Bolton who took their chances and won the game, but they shouldn't have had them, three mistakes lead to three goals.

I like to look at the positives from games. But today I am stuck. The team as a whole played well, yet it was either end of the pitch where we struggled to score and keep goals out. If we don't improve soon, we could see ourselves become adrift at the bottom of the table.