Nottingham Forest vs. Wigan Athletic - The Match Report

Nottingham Forest vs. Wigan Athletic

Date: Saturday 1^st March 2014

Venue: The City Ground

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Score: 1-4

Wigan Athletic moved into the play-off places in the Championship for the first time since September after demolishing Nottingham Forest 4-1 at the City Ground.

Martyn Waghorn put the visitors ahead in the 36^th minute before Jamie Paterson equalised for Forest.

Goal scorer, Waghorn, then turned provider as he smashed a shot at goal which Emmerson Boyce got a head to which put the Latics ahead for the second time in the match.

James McArthur put Wigan out of reach of Forest with a stunning goal before Jordi Gomez, with 90 minutes on the clock, smashed a shot from 35 yards that made the score 4-1 to the visitors.

Under Uwe Rosler, Wigan have lost just twice and they never looked like losing today, despite a few nervy moments.

In the opening stages, Leon Barnett passed the ball back to Ali Al-Habsi which Simon Cox intercepted. He could only put the ball wide of the post, much to the dismay of the Forest faithful.

Then, Boyce found Nicky Maynard with a 70 yard pass which the striker managed to control but could only shoot wide.

It seemed as though Forest had no answer to Wigan’s defensive system and they were missing their key playmaker, Andy Reid. So it was no surprise when, after 36 minutes, the Latics took the lead.

Gomez found himself in acres of space just outside the Forest box and his shot was deflected into the path of Waghorn, who had a simple tap in to put Wigan a goal to the good.

Wigan sat back after this goal and Forest piled on the pressure. Consequently, the home side equalised through a Paterson shot which was deflected off the chest of Chris McCann and into the net.

The score did not stay at 1-1 for long, however, as Boyce managed to nudge a Waghorn shot into the corner of the net with his head.

After Boyce’s goal, Wigan looked fairly comfortable and Forest seemed to tire. The Latics took advantage of this and saw their lead extended when McArthur’s shot from 20 yards hit the back of the net.

With only minutes remaining, Gomez completed the rout with a wonder goal from 35 yards after he was given too much room by the Forest defence.

Wigan Athletic are the team to beat at the moment and they showed their promotion credentials in this game by beating a Nottingham Forest side that had lost once in fourteen matches before this game.

It is looking good for Wigan to make it back to the Promised Land at the first time of asking.