HIGH-FLYING Manchester City were held to a draw by Steve Bruce's Wigan on a frustrating afternoon at the JJB Stadium.

Geovanni, in for the injured Elano, put the Blues ahead in the first minute when he pounced on Titus Bramble's mistake.

But Paul Scharner struck back after 25 minutes and neither side could produce a winner after that. Mario Melchiot was sent off late on for Wigan after a two-footed challenge on Stephen Ireland.

Of all the starts Bruce could have envisaged to his second stint with the Latics, none could have been as shocking as the one which unfolded.

Bramble’s somewhat unfortunate reputation as an accident waiting to happen preceded his £5million move from Newcastle last summer.

Yet the Wigan fans have been largely impressed with the defender, certainly one of their club’s better performers in season filled with disappointment.

All the good work was undone by the mistake which gifted Geovanni - who came into the City side along with Georgios Samaras - his third goal of the season.

As Scharner’s header bounced in front of him with no opponent even close, Bramble chose to wait before attempting to lay the ball off to Kevin Kilbane on his left.

Inexplicably, Bramble merely brushed the base of his studs against the ball, succeeding only in dropping it right into the path of Geovanni, who had continued his run more in hope than expectation.

Darted

Handed the City playmaking duties of fellow Brazilian Elano, Geovanni quickly darted into the empty space in front of him, skipped round Chris Kirkland and tapped home.

By his dug-out, Bruce was almost too stunned to react.

Rather than crumble, as most teams in the bottom three would do faced with similar circumstances, Wigan shrugged off their disappointment.

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side were pushed onto the back foot for long periods, even if central defensive duo Richard Dunne and Micah Richards remained relatively untroubled.

All that changed midway through the opening period as Wigan took advantage of the difficulties Javier Garrido continued to experience after falling heavily following a collision with Antonio Valencia.

Vedran Corluka could only flick a cross from Garrido’s left flank into the path of Jason Koumas, who had enough time to pick out Scharner with a ball back into the City box which invited the Austrian’s firm headed finish.

Wigan continued to hold sway until the interval, although their hopes of ending their long losing run were dealt a major blow right at the start of the second period by the departure of Emile Heskey, who was instantly substituted after going down holding his hamstring.

Ironically though, Heskey’s replacement Ryan Taylor nearly put Wigan in front, forcing Andreas Isaksson into a superb low save after he met Valencia’s flick with a firm left-footed volley.

City responded and enjoyed a good spell towards the middle of the second half, and Eriksson threw on Kelvin Etuhu and Rolando Bianchi in a bid to snatch victory.

However, neith could find a way through, and the only late talking point was Melchiot's dismissal for a two-footed lunge on Ireland.

What is your verdict on the game? Have your say.