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Wigan Athletic vs. Watford
Date: Saturday 22nd March 2014
Venue: The DW Stadium
Referee: Scott Duncan
Score: 2-1
Wigan Athletic bounced back after a disappointing result midweek to defeat Watford 2-1 at the DW stadium on Saturday.
A rare headed goal from Jean Beausejour had initially cancelled out a Lewis McGugan goal before Martyn Waghorn found the net ten minutes into the second half to keep the Latics’ dream of an immediate return to the Premier League firmly in their grasp.
After a 3-3 draw with struggling Yeovil Town on Tuesday night, Wigan looked intent on beating Watford right from the start.
Early on, James McClean played in Waghorn only for the loanee to miss the ball with only one defender and the keeper to beat.
Beausejour was at the heart of all of Wigan’s good attacks in the first half and he could have had a goal as his cross-cum-shot was flapped away by Manuel Almunia.
Wigan should have been in front midway through the first period as Ivan Ramis’ header from a Waghorn corner was cleared off the line by the Watford defence.
Watford broke on Wigan too easily and this is how their goal came. Debutant Rob Kiernan failed to close down McGugan quickly enough and he gave the Watford midfielder too much time to get a shot off. The perfectly placed shot crept just past Ali Al-Habsi’s right hand to put the visitors ahead.
Giuseppe Sannino’s men failed to push on after their goal and they allowed Wigan to resume their attacking style of play. This lead to Wigan’s equaliser. An absolutely unbelievable sixty yard pass from Ramis, allowed Beausejour to have a one-on-one situation with Almunia. Unfortunately the shot was straight at the keeper but the Chilean headed in on the rebound.
Just ten minutes after the restart, Wigan were ahead. James McArthur’s scuffed shot was controlled inside the box by Waghorn who turned and placed a shot into the bottom corner. 2-1 to Wigan.
The closing stages were a little tense for the Latics as Watford push for an equaliser but they held on to record their ninth win in ten games. Wigan are now five points clear of seventh placed Nottingham Forest with a game in hand.