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Changes from last week as Chris McCann and Jonjoe Kenny came into the side. That meant Max Power and Sean Murray were out of the team. Following from last weekend’s game that looked like good management. McCann gives us something else in the middle of the park whilst Jonjoe is a more natural full back. Noticeable absentee was striker Will Griggs following his return from international duty.
It would be a game of few and far between chances for either side, and that was shown when a fantastic strike allowed Port Vale to take the lead. Inside the first half, Anthony Grant’s long range effort left our keeper with no chance at all.
Following going one goal behind Wigan lost two players to injury. Young Donveron Daniels was the first to leave the pitch, before Newcastle United loanee Haris Vuckic was then replaced by Hiwula. Not good news for Wigan and it defiantly didn’t settle the nerves.
Yet we made it to half time at 1-0 and could a Gary Caldwell half time team talk rally the side? No was the answer.
Instead it was 2-0 and Wigan were looking shaken. We failed to clear the ball from a Port Vale corner and Louis Dodds had the easiest of strikes to put them 2-0 up. That goal changed the team as we looked to fight back yet again.
And it would be Chris McCann and Leon Barnett who would drag us back into the game. Both players getting their names on the score sheets and levelling the game at 2-2 with seven minutes left to play. Now just keep your heads lads, unfortunately that wasn’t to happen.
Leon Barnett went from hero to villan after a foul which saw him see red. That then meant Port Vale striker Uche Ikpeazu who Barnett had been keeping quite all game, found the space he needed to get Port Vale’s third goal and win the game.
Still work to be done defensively by Wigan Athletic, the good news though is that this side has goals and some heart in them and that is a massive difference on last season. Hopefully there will be more to come from Latics as the season starts to kick into full swing.