Wigan	1 - 0	Portsmouth
Scorers McCulloch 68  Booked Taylor 45	Half Time ( 0 - 0 )

Wigan went into this game with 11 defeats in their last 13 games in all competitions, which included a club record nine consecutive matches. With target man Emile Heskey out and without a clean sheet in their last 10 games, the narrowest of victories must’ve seemed almost like a cup final win in a misty north-west encounter.

Portsmouth have already won as many points as they did in the whole of last season but have recently hit a sticky patch and needed a win to keep in touch with Bolton. But Wigan deserved their victory as they looked the better side from early on.

All eyes were soon on the new Wigan partnership of Folan and Aghahowa up front and their promising debuts showed that their team shouldn’t be written off just yet. And it was the home side who made the brighter start to the game but couldn’t force any of their early chances over the line. Folan’s early header from a corner brought a great diving save from David James, as Wigan set out their intentions early on; and Lee McCullough also saw an effort go wide.

In contrast, Portsmouth looked lethargic and struggled to get going as Wigan dominated the early stages. The visitors found it difficult to get into a game which seemed to be played on a different level to them. In a stark contrast to earlier in the season, Portsmouth were the team who looked least hungry for the ball and couldn’t get a grip on the game.

Meanwhile Wigan’s new striking partnership showed potential. They were able to hold the ball up and pushed forward at every opportunity but just couldn’t find the breakthrough they needed.

After about half an hour, Portsmouth began to find their feet and started to get more into the game. They nearly took the lead when the ball was crossed in to Benjani but Boyce managed to clear the ball off his toe and the danger subsided.

But Wigan continued to look dangerous. Forlan was played through and looked to have outrun the defence, but his hesitancy allowed Campbell to sprint back and make a characteristically solid challenge to deny the Wigan front man.

David Unsworth also had an excellent chance to score on his debut but was caught in two minds and his little lob, which was half-shot, half-pass, ended up being neither and went wide of the post.

Wigan ended the first-half in the ascendancy and looked the stronger and brighter team for most of the opening 45 minutes. Being the home side and in such a precarious position they looked as though they had something to prove and displayed it in their hunger and desire for the ball and the second-half saw them able to defend just as well. As Portsmouth pushed forward at the beginning of the half, they managed to hold on and weather the storm. Pompy went in search of a goal as they should have done in the first-half and Wigan took some chances at the back but managed to scrabble the ball clear each time.

Portsmouth still needed to be careful at the back though and had James to thank again for keeping a clean sheet as he pulled off a good save when Landzaat struck fro outside the box.

The second-half was probably more even than the first and both sides had their chances but it was Wigan who was the only side to take theirs half way through the second 45 minutes. Pompy again failed to clear their defence clearly and the ball fell to McCullough who drilled in his first goal since November to give the home side the lead.

Wigan continued to look promising up front and Portsmouth had their moments but there were never likely to be many goals in a match which was played out by two teams needing points but struggling to find the back of the net in recent matches.

Despite their league positions, it was Portsmouth who looked more like the lowly league side than Wigan. Wigan’s passion was contrasted with Pompy’s failure to seriously test Chris Kirkland all game and the home side deserved their victory at the final whistle.

Portsmouth’s poor run continues and they are now winless in six games and slip to seventh.

Wigan, although not safe at the bottom end of the table, have eased the pressure for the time being and with those teams below them failing to win, this victory has helped to create some daylight between themselves and West Ham in 18th.


Wigan: Kirkland, Taylor, Jackson, Boyce, Unsworth, Valencia (Hall 61), Landzaat, Skoko, McCulloch, Folan, Aghahowa (Johansson 85).

Subs Not Used: Filan, Kilbane, Haestad.

Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Campbell, Primus, Pamarot (Taylor 74), Lauren (LuaLua 52), Pedro Mendes, Hughes, Douala, Kanu (Cole 71), Mwaruwari.

Subs Not Used: Ashdown, Davis.

Att: 15,093

Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire).

By Ben Hughes