Reading 2 v 1 Wigan Athletic

Saturday 22nd September 2007

Last weekend against Fulham at the JJB Stadium, Latics hardly deserved the point they gained. Today they suffered a defeat that they didn't deserve, such is the game of football.

As expected, Hutchings decided to start with the team that drew against the Cottagers, with the exception of Kevin Kilbane. Josip Skoko started his first Premiership game of the campaign, whilst Emmerson Boyce made way for Kilbane. Marcus Bent started up front in place of Emile Heskey and new signing, Salomon Olembe, started on the bench.

Royals manager, Steve Coppell, made two changes from his last line up against Sunderland. He brought in centre half Michael Duberry who had recovered from injury and Kevin Doyle replaced Leroy Lita.

For the first ten minutes of the game Latics were in the ascendancy, with both Bent and Antoine Sibierski wasted good half chances and ironically it was only a great tackle by Titus Bramble on the ten minute mark that denied Royals' striker Kevin Doyle from hitting the back of the net. The next quarter of an hour belonged to the hosts with Chris Kirkland denying Liam Rosenior in the twelfth minute, whilst Andreas Granqvist did well to hoof the ball for a corner following a great attempt at goal from Dave Kitson.

However, he wasn't to be denied in the 26th minute when he latched on to a Kirkland slip to put Reading 1-0 to good as the Mad Stad erupted.

Latics immediately went on to the attack and Jason Koumas' storming run into the Reading box resulted in him being fouled from behind and referee, Kevin Stroud, immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Meanwhile his assistant was flagging furiously and after consulting with the flag waver changed his decision to a Latics free kick from the edge of the area. Koumas himself decided to take a shot at goal and was disappointed to see his shot ricochet off the underside of Marcus Hahnemann's bar.

The injustice of the situation seemed to spur Latics on and Steve Coppell was a relieved manager that his side were still 1-0 up as the referee blew for half time.

Within four minutes of the restart the visitors got the equaliser that they were looking for when Bent scored his first Latics goal, a powerful header from a sweetly taken Koumas corner. Ten minutes later, he should have put Latics in front but Hahnemann tipped his effort past the post as he came out on top of a one on one situation.

Sensing a Latics comeback, Coppell replaced Rosenior with Bobby Convey on the hour mark and just minutes later created a great chance for Steven Hunt who headed wide from Convey's inch perfect cross.

Latics were still playing a lot of good football and Bent found himself one on one again with the Royals keeper with just four minutes of the game remaining and was just about o score the winning goal when Duberry appeared from nowhere to secure what everybody thought would be a point for the home team.

Then in the final minute of the game Latics were revisited by the ghost of the previous season, and they conceded a dreaded last minute killer goal. James Harper struck a beautiful shot past a bemused Kirkland that flew in at the near post and the Latics players melted into the background as the home fans reacted as if they had won the FA Cup final!

So, the Blues left Reading with their third successive defeat against the Royals and they remained in tenth place in the Premiership. However, they were also just four points from the drop zone and awaited the visit to the JJB Stadium of Liverpool next Saturday.

READING, Marcus Hahnemann, Graeme Murty, Michael Duberry, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Shorey, Liam Rosenior, (Bobby Convey 64), Steven Hunt, Brynjar Gunnarsson, James Harper, Kevin Doyle, (Andre Bikey 90), Dave Kitson.

Subs not used, Adam Federici, Emerse Fae, Shane Long.

Goal scorer, Dave Kitson 26 mins, James Harper 90 mins

Booked, Ivar Ingimarsson 32 mins, Liam Rosenior 45 mins, Marcus Hahnemann 90 mins

WIGAN ATHLETIC, Chris Kirkland, Mario Melchiot, Andreas Granqvist, Titus Bramble, Kevin Kilbane, Josip Skoko, Michael Brown, Paul Scharner, Jason Koumas, Marcus Bent , Antoine Sibierski, (Julius Aghahowa 78).

Subs not used, Michael Pollitt, Emmerson Boyce, Salomon Olembe, David Cotterill,

Goal scorer, Marcus Bent 50 mins

Booked, Michael Brown 35 mins, Titus Bramble 90 mins

Referee, Kevin Stroud (Hampshire)

Attendance, 21,379

Wigan Athletic 1 v 1 Fulham

Saturday 15th September 2007

Hand on heart, Latics did not deserve anything from this game.

Admittedly the Blues were without the services of three key players at kick-off, but even taking this into account the team should not have allowed Fulham the freedom of the JJB Stadium in the way that they did.

Chris Hutchings had to play Emmerson Boyce at left back due to Kevin Kilbane's suspension and Salomon Olembe's lack of fitness, whilst David Cotterill made his first Premiership start of the season in the absence of Luis Antonio Valencia. Former Cottager, Michael Brown also played as cover for Dutch international Denny Landzaat, who is recovering from an eye injury.

Lawrie Sanchez opted to leave David Healy on the bench, opting for a front pairing of Diomansy Kamara and Hameur Bouazza.

The opening exchanges gave no hint of the mundane performance that Latics were about to display as the game swung from end to end with Heskey picking up where he left off for England. However, in the fifth minute of the game he picked up a knock and was limping badly after sustaining a knock on his foot. Despite an attempt to 'run it off' and treatment on the touchline line, Hutchings had no choice to to bring Marcus Bent on in his place four minutes later.

As if that wasn't bad enough, only three more minutes had elapsed when the visitors took the lead when Clint Dempsey latched on to a loose ball in the hosts' penalty area to score his third goal of the season, much to the delight of the 250 or so Fulham fans who had made the epic trip up from London!

Fulham then commenced to play a lot of passing football, most of it which completely bypassed a bemused Latics midfield, rather than sit on their one goal lead. Heskey's presence up front was being badly missed as Bent and Antoine Sibierski were chasing shadows for most of the first half, which the Blues were fortunate to end it only one goal down.

The second period was only a few minutes old when Chris Kirkland had to pull off a terrific double save to keep Fulham from increasing their lead as the visitors went for the jugular. In fairness, Latics then began to get their act together, but the lack of decent chances to open the scoring was becoming more and more alarming.

On the 56 minute mark Kirkland once again pulled off a wonder save to deny Dempsey who must have thought he was going to put the Cottagers 2-0 up as he raced clear of the defence with only the keeper to beat.

The midfield was still at sixes and sevens, and in the 61st minute Josip Skoko was introduced to the action in place of the ineffective Cotterill, whose impressive runs up either flank were let down badly by very poor crosses into the visitors' danger areas. From then on, Latics looked to be more settled in the middle of the park as the midfield slowly began to have more 'bite'. Testimony to this is the fact that Skoko was the first and only player to be booked in the game, on the 67th minute mark and that yellow card was picked up because of the Socceroo's winning mentality, rather that a cynical foul.

Sanchez brought on Healy for Kamara in the 68th minute, obviously feeling that the Cottagers could produce their first away victory of the season, especially given Latics' utter uselessness in front of goal. In an effort to rectify this, Sibierski was replaced by Nigerian hit man Julius Aghahowa in the 76th minute.

Just when things looked very bleak, with most fans anticipating a very dire defeat, Mario Melchiot was pulled down in the Fulham area by Bouazza in the 79th minute and referee, Rob Styles, had no hesitation in awarding a spot kick, which Koumas slammed past Anti Niemi to give the Blues a goal they never looked like scoring.

From then on, Latics looked like a different team and both Aghahowa and Scharner missed opportunities to literally steal the three points for Latics. But in truth, the Blues didn't deserve the one point that kept them in ninth spot in the Premiership at five o clock.

By then news had circulated that Heskey had broken his fifth metatarsal, which was a very cruel blow to both Latics and England.

WIGAN ATHLETIC, Chris Kirkland, Mario Melchiot, Andreas Granqvist, Titus Bramble, Emmerson Boyce, David Cotterill, (Josip Skoko 60), Michael Brown, Paul Scharner, Jason Koumas, Emile Heskey, (Marcus Bent 9), Antoine Sibierski, (Julius Aghahowa 74).

Subs not used, Michael Pollitt, Fitz Hall

Goal scorer, Jason Koumas 80 mins

Booked, Josip Skoko 66 mins

FULHAM, Anti Niemi, Aaron Hughes, Carlos Bocanegra, Chris Baird, Paul Konchesky, Alexei Smertin, Clint Dempsey, Simon Davies, (Danny Murphy 84), Steven Davis, Hameur Bouazza, (Ky Hyeon Seol 84), Diomansy Kamara, (David Healy 67).

Subs not used, Kasey Keller, Dejan Stefanovic

Gal scorer, Clint Dempsey 11 mins

Referee, Rob Styles (Hampshire)

Attendance, 16,973

England 3 v 0 Russia

12th September 2007

A Michael Owen brace helped a vibrant England to a vital win over Euro 2008 qualifying rivals Russia.

Owen was composure personified when Gareth Barry's cross fell to him 10 yards out and he sidefooted in off the post to give England an early lead.

Russia's Konstantin Zhyrianov had a goal harshly ruled out for handball before a lethal Owen powered in a shot.

England weathered a spell of pressure from Russia before Rio Ferdinand angled in a shot to complete the win.

England's performance had Wembley rocking at the end of a game which began with tensions high as Russia led Steve McClaren's side by a point in Group E.

A Russia win would have all but ended England's hopes of reaching Euro 2008 and the visitors began by trying to deny the hosts the sort of time and space Israel afforded them on Saturday.
But an England side exuding confidence quickly asserted their authority, and Owen put them ahead after seven minutes with a clinically-struck trademark finish.

Steven Gerrard dinked a ball through the heart of Russia's backline to set up Heskey, who got the nod ahead of Peter Crouch to start, but his shot was blocked by keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Owen appeared to slip as he attempted to slot in the loose ball as a second goal eluded England.

Russia tried to hit back as they pressed for an equaliser, and England were reprieved when Zhyrianov slotted in a shot only to be harshly penalised for handball.

A Shaun Wright-Phillips point-blank header went wide before England keeper Paul Robinson had to dive to his right to smartly palm away a Diniyar Bilyaletdinov strike.

England regained the upper hand with a slick passing game intertwined with clever movement, which left Russia struggling to cope.

TOP ENGLAND SCORERS
Bobby Charlton - 49 goals (from 106 games)
Gary Lineker - 48 goals (from 80 games)
Jimmy Greaves - 44 goals (from 57 games)
Michael Owen - 40 goals (from 85 games)

Joe Cole had a deflected shot saved before a second Owen goal put the gloss on an impressive first half from England.

Owen was found in space by a Heskey flick-on and he arrowed in a shot for his 40th international goal.

The precise passing and discipline of Gareth Barry was particularly impressive for England, but they were given two early scares after the interval.

Dmitri Sychev powered an angled shot across goal just wide and just failed to make contact with a the ball as he slid into meet a near-post cross.

A resurgent England professionally closed out the win as McClaren's balanced and buoyant side showed maturity and mettle.

Ferdinand latched on to a pass from Owen and lashed in a shot to put the icing on the cake at the end of an open and entertaining match.

England: Robinson, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Barry, Gerrard, Joe Cole (Neville 88), Heskey (Crouch 80), Owen (Downing 90).

Subs Not Used: James, Brown, Smith, Johnson.

Booked: Joe Cole.

Goals: Owen 7, 31, Ferdinand 84.

Russia: Malafeev, Vasili Berezutsky, Ignashevich, Alexei Berezutsky, Aniukov (Kerzhakov 80), Bilyaletdinov, Zhirkov, Semshov (Bystrov 40), Sychev (Pavluchenko 63), Arshavin, Zurianov.

Subs Not Used: Shunin, Torbinsky, Pogrebniak, Kolodin.

Att: 86,106

Ref: Martin Hansson (Sweden).

England 3 v 0 Israel

8th September 2007

Match Report Later - & Only Because Emile is Playing this afternoon!

England produced a fine display to brush aside Israel in their Euro 2008 qualifier at Wembley.
A sidefooted Shaun Wright-Phillips volley from Joe Cole's slanted cross to the far post put England ahead as they took command of the tie.

Michael Owen swivelled on the spot and brilliantly unleashed a precise 18-yard strike to extend the home side's lead.

Israel did not even force a save out of keeper Paul Robinson as Micah Richards headed in a corner to complete the win.

The relief at the end of the game was in stark contrast to the jangling nerves beforehand.

Injuries to key players and England's precarious position in Group E had added even more pressure on to the team's shoulders, with the visitors hoping to capitalise.

Israel predictably sat back in numbers right from the start and set England the challenge of finding a way through their heavily banked lines.

Steve McClaren's side threatened early on with Emile Heskey, whose last game for England was in a loss to France at Euro 2004, playing a prominent role.

His strength in the air almost released Owen on goal and Heskey's physical prowess and hold-up play gave England a vital attacking option.

Owen scored a spectacular goal for his 38th goal for England.

Heskey should have scored when, in a role reversal, he was set up by Owen but blazed a clear strike at goal high.

But, just when it seemed Israel had weathered the opening assault, Wright-Phillips coolly applied the finishing touch to a Joe Cole cross to the far post to ease England's nerves.

The trickery and tirelessness of Wright-Phillips and the creativity of Joe Cole helped a confident-looking England create a regular flow of chances - and they could have been further ahead before the break.

Joe Cole laid the ball off to Owen to leave the striker with only the keeper to beat but his angled shot hit Dudu Auoate and his sliced rebound effort spun wide.

Owen released Ashley Cole on goal as England dominated and his strike went was saved, with Israel fortunate to be only one down at half-time.

But England turned their superiority into goals as Owen, with his back to goal, took a touch to gather a Gareth Barry pass before turning on the spot and arrowing in a shot.

Israel were short of ideas and fell further behind when Richards nodded in from the impressive Barry's cross after 66 minutes as England cruised to a first win at the new Wembley.

With 20 minutes left, McClaren had the luxury of taking off Steven Gerrard, who was suffering from cramp, because England have another crucial qualifier against Russia looming on Wednesday.

Russia are second in Group E, one point ahead of England, and two points behind leaders Croatia.

England: Robinson, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips (Bentley 83), Gerrard (Neville 71), Barry, Joe Cole, Heskey (Johnson 71), Owen.

Subs Not Used: Brown, James, Downing, Defoe.

Booked: Terry.

Goals: Wright-Phillips 20, Owen 49, Richards 66.

Israel: Aouate, Spungin, Ben-Haim, Gershon, Ziv, Benayoun, Badir, Benado (Golan 57), Tal, Katan (Zandberg 73), Itzhaki (Tamuz 46).

Subs Not Used: Antebi, Balili, Alberman, Davidovitch.

Booked: Gershon, Benado, Ziv, Aouate.

Att: 85,372

Ref: Pieter Vink (Holland).

Newcastle United 1 v 0 Wigan Athletic

Saturday 1st September 2007

Newcastle United finished this game with their unbeaten Premiership start still intact, whilst Latics, shock horror, dropped to sixth place in the Premiership. Although it is fair to state that of the two teams the Geordies did deserve to run out winner, Latics boss Chris Hutchings will be furious with the referee, Steve Bennett, who sent off Kevin Kilbane for two innocuous challenges in the 41st and 46th minutes of the game, which effectively sealed his club's fate despite some resolute defending.

Before the game Hutchings raised a few eyebrows by leaving Luis Antonio Valencia out of the squad altogether, opting to play Michael Brown in midfield from the start for the first time this season. Up front Antoine Sibierski was deemed fit enough to start which meant that new loanee striker, Marcus Bent was left on the bench.

For the first fifteen minutes of the game it is fair to say that the Geordies dominated possession and goal scoring chances, indeed England hit man, Michael Owen, starting his first game of the season, thought he had scored in the 16th minute, but thankfully, the linesman raised his flag to indicate that both the striker and his partner, Mark Viduka, were in off side positions.

Two minutes later Latics had their first effort on goal. Jason Koumas struck a wonderful free kick from the edge of the hosts penalty area, only for Steve Harper to pull off one of the finest saves that anybody will witness this season. Newcastle were bhouyed by the wonder save and were unlucky that N'Zogbia and Viduka failed to capitalise on good goal scoring chances. On the half hour mark Hutchings was forced to take off the injured Denny Landzaat and replace him with Josip Skoko who was making his first Premiership start of the season.

Alan Smith was unlucky not to head the barcodes in front courtesy of a scissor kick and the Kilbane saw yellow when he put out a foot to stop N'Zogbia in his tracks, and then a minute later Kirkland pulled off a good save to deny Nicky Butt. Latics went in at half time relieved not to be at least two goals adrift but within a minute of the restart Kilbane was sent off when the referee deemed him to have head butted Smith as the pair challenged in the air for a loose ball. The decision was certainly a blow, considering, as well, that 'Killer' will now face a ban and he is covering as left back as the club do not currently have one on their books following the sale of Leighton Baines to Everton last month!

Emile Heskey picked up a 'sympathy' booking on behalf of his team mate and Sibierski was the other victin of the sending off as Hutchings had no choice but to bring on Emmerson Boyce in place of Kilbane who had trooped off the field in utter disbelief.

The Magpies then began to make their superiority tell and it is fair to say that the visitors were under the cosh for most of the remaining game. Just when it seemed that Latics would hold out up popped Owen to head past Kirkland, who up until then had had an outstanding game. In the final few minutes Heskey was unlucky not to put the ball in the net following a lovely Scharner free kick, but Harper flung himself at both the Latics hit man and the ball which then ballooned over the bar.

For the remainder of the game the Geordies kept possession well and were overjoyed when the final whistle was blown and it dawned on them that they had beaten ten-man WIGAN!

NEWCASTLE UNITED, Steven Harper, Steven Taylor, Claudio Cacapa, David Rohzenal, Geremi, Nicky Butt, Charles N'Zogbia, James Milner, Alan Smith, (Obafemi Martins 66), Mark Viduka, (Shola Ameobi 46), Michael Owen. Subs not used, Shay Given, David Edgar, Matty Pattison.

Goal scorer, Michael Owen 87 mins

Booked, Alan Smith 58 mins, Charles N'Zogbia 90 ins

WIGAN ATHLETIC, Chris Kirkland, Mario Melchiot, Andreas Granqvist, Titus Bramble, Kevin Kilbane, Michael Brown, Paul Scharner, Denny Landzaat, (Josip Skoko 29), Jason Koumas, (Marcus Bent 58), Emile Heskey, Antoine Sibierski, (Emmerson Boyce 48). Subs not used, Michael Pollitt, Julius Aghahowa.

Booked, Kevin Kilbane 42 mins, Emile Heskey 48 mins, Paul Scharner 61 mins, Michael Brown 78 mins

Sent Off, Kevin Kilbane 46 mins

Referee, Steve Bennett (Kent)

Attendance, 50, 461

West Ham United 1 v 1 Wigan Athletic

Saturday 25th August 2007

Wigan Athletic travelled to East London, knowing that they had never lost a Premiership fixture at the Boleyn Ground, and by the final whistle that proud record was still intact.

However, unlike the total annihilation of Roy Keane's Sunderland the previous week, this game was hard fought and in truth, Chris Hutchings' men travelled back to Wigan thankful of the point that ensured that they finished the day in third place in the Premiership.

Both managers resisted the urge to make changes to their teams, this meant that Latics midfielder Michael Brown had to be content with a place on the bench for the second consecutive game as Hutchings is a manager loathe to tinker with his starting eleven. His opposite number, Alan Curbishley did bring back Lucas Neill in place of Jonathan Spector who dropped to the bench, despite starting the Hammers' two previous Premiership games.

The Hammers started the game at a sun drenched Boleyn Ground in the ascendancy and Keiron Dyer in particular was in sparkling form, giving Jason Koumas and Kevin Kilbane plenty of problems, but despite Dyer's good crosses into the danger area neither Craig Bellamy or Bobby Zamora were able to take the chances that he created. Bellamy did have the ball in the net on the quarter hour mark but it was disallowed as Latics employed a pretty useful offside trap, a tactic that frustrated the Hammers quite a few times as Latics played to their defensive strengths for the majority of the game.

There was a scare for Latics on the half hour mark as Antoine Sibierski pulled up with what looked like a knee injury and within a few minutes Nigerian international striker, Julius Aghahowa made his third substitutes appearance of the season. How much longer do we have to wait to see his spectacular goal scoring celebrations in a competitive game?

For the remainder of the first half the hosts peppered the Latics penalty area but the defence held firm and Latics nearly took an undeserved lead when Koumas let fly with a thunderous 25 yard shot that cannoned of the West Ham post with Green totally beaten. Heskey then headed a Koumas cross over the bar and the half time whistle put a stop to the short spell of Latics pressure, much to the relief of the home supporters.

Neither manager decided to tinker with his side during the interval and Latics were thankful for their expertly crafted offside game when Dyer thought he had broken through just five minutes into the second period. Curbishley was as frustrated as the home fans as the game wore on and in the 60th minute he decided to bring on talisman striker Dean Ashton for Zamora just before Latics missed a glaring chance to take the lead. Just how Aghahowa and then Melchiot failed to score from almost point blank range is a mystery!

By now the Hammers were getting the jitters, despite their superiority with regards to possession and efforts on goal, you did sense that Latics did have a goal in them.

In the 78th minute it arrived, when Heskey flicked a Melchiot throw in to Scharner who reacted superbly, blasting the ball past Green courtesy of a beautiful over head kick, reminiscent of David Lowe's effort in the Freight Rover Trophy final in June 1985, and it was greeted by the Latics faithful congregated behind the opposite goal mouth with equally as much rapture.

The Boleyn Ground was silenced and if Latics could have hung on for five minutes the game was won, although in truth, they didn't deserve it. However, Hammers substitute Lee Bowyer, on the field for Hayden Mullins, latched on to a through ball by the other Hammers sub, Ashton, and gleefully equalised with a well struck shot into Kirkland's bottom corner.

From then on, the game swung from end to end and Bowyer in particular was unlucky with a well struck long range effort late in the game, and it wouldn't be West Ham if they didn't try to cheat, would it?

With just a minute of the game remaining Dyer tried to con the referee into thinking that Titus Bramble had brought him down in the box. Luckily Andy Marriner saw the attempted scam for what it was and he whistled for the corner kick and not the penalty.

Latics were more than happy to hear the final whistle and in truth, this point could be vital when it comes to Latics' points tally with regards to attaining at least a UEFA Cup qualifying position come May!

WEST HAM UNITED, Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Anton Ferdinand, Lucas Neill, George McCartney, Mark Noble, Matthew Etherington, Keiron Dyer, Hayden Mullins, (Lee Bowyer 65), Craig Bellamy, (Luis Boa Morte 75), Bobby Zamora, (Dean Ashton 61). Subs not used, James Walker, Jonathan Spector.

Goal scorer, Lee Bowyer 81 mins

Booked, Matthew Upson 64 mins

WIGAN ATHLETIC, Chris Kirkland, Mario Melchiot, Andreas Granqvist, Titus Bramble, Kevin Kilbane, Luis Antonio Valencia, (Michael Brown 77), Paul Scharner, Denny Landzaat, Jason Koumas, Emile Heskey, Antoine Sibierski, (Julius Aghahowa 38). Subs not used, Mike Pollitt, Fitz Hall, Caleb Folan

Goal scorer, Paul Scharner 78 mins

Booked, Denny Landzaat 54 mins, Michael Brown 88 mins

Referee, Andy Marriner (West Midlands)

Attendance, 33,793