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Match Report: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Blackburn Rovers

Well we finally stopped the rot, that was in no small part due to the return of a screening midfielder. The shoots of green are starting to peak through after a bleak winter spell at Wigan Athletic. Will it continue?

Stu Forster/Getty Images

The hope has to be that it will do. After what can only be summarised one of t he worst starts to a managerial career at a new club, Malckay Mackay managed another half decent performance. Question now is can he do it again? Well if he keeps the same selection he may just do that.

The return of William Kivist was a great sight to see, an international player who has the ability to just sit in front of our back four and mop up attacks from the opposition. His passing maybe basic, but then that is the job he is there to do win the ball and then knock it off.

We also had a little bit more for us going forward. The return of Martyn Waghorn, okay he could only last about an hour before his legs went, was a nice sight to see. The striker was one of the men who fired us on last season, and it looks like he may be able to strike up a partnership with the inform James McClean.

There are still worries to be had in our team, for example the continued un-reliability of Leon Barnett. The defender was the go to guy in the early Owen Coyle era a really leader and solid figure on the pitch. All that pace, power and aggression seems gone and lost and he looks a shell of his former self.

Yet for all the positivity that we looked to have in the squad, it was still us picking the ball out of the back of the net first. A Blackburn corner wasn't properly cleared and that gave Cory Evans enough room to line a shot up and blast the ball home 1-0 and that took the wind out of our sails.

Jordan Rhodes twice came close in the remainder of the first half, as Wigan failed to produce anything concrete when going forward. James McClean continued to be a thorn in Blackburn's side though.

That effort would pay off on the hour mark with Shaun Maloney's free kick finding James McClean who smashed a header home. 1-1 and it was anybodies game now.

Blackburn would go closest with two efforts cleared off the line. Leon Barentt and Shaun Maloney doing their jobs to stop the Rovers getting their second goal of the game. Whilst down the other end Jason Steele twice denied last substitute Andy Delort from getting the winner for Latics.

So a better result and a better performance. A sign of things to come? Let's hope so!