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Man of the Match vs Charlton Athletic

What a comeback!

Clive Mason

After going down a goal within 3 minutes the game looked a grim prospect. It was even harder to imagine a win by the half time whistle. At most, the crowd expected a draw but Wigan are specialists at doing the unexpected. It started in the dying embers of an all too lacklustre match...

Jordi Gomez had been changing the shape of the game ever since his arrival on the pitch, but we were becoming desperate. We couldn't seem to find the net with so many scrambled and frantic attempts. It was the 88th minute and new boy on the block Josh McEachran found himself in space with the ball. He brought it forward but was suddenly surrounded so he turned. It was at this point that Charlton were broken. His was pass perfect. Godlike. It floated through the defenders and landed perfectly in front of Marc-Antione Fortune. And then came the roar of the crowd as the ball slid into the far corner of the goal. 1-1.

Suddenly, anything seemed possible. The new boy had offered perhaps the pass of the season for the comeback goal. The Wigan veterans knew that they could not be out shined. Up stepped Jordi Gomez. That man again, back to prove just how valuable he is to the team. Such curl and precision with such weight and power under such pressure and expectation. Yet he scored, and the roar that erupted was unbelievable. We had won despite such a poor and shocking performance. 2-1.

It's hard to pick anyone in the starting eleven to be the Man of the Match. Ali Al-Habsi was great, despite the goal and low amount of work he received overall. James McClean didn't stop running all game and Callum McManaman was ever persistent to even the scoreline.

However, the real winners of this game were the substitutes. Perhaps, Uwe himself deserves the Man of the Match award for such perfect choice and motivation. Fortune was alert and ready and because of that, he scored that vital goal. McEachran played perhaps the perfect pass for this goal and for that alone he deserves so much credit.

But of course, the real champion of Wigan Athletic was Jordi Gomez. The man is an inspiration. He played hard and skilful, with passion and the desire to win. It didn't matter that we needed two goals - he knew we could find them. For such a terrific and inspired performance Jordi is the Man of the Match.

Do you agree? Vote below for who you thought deserved this week's honour!