Home | Sport | Football

Football

Wigan 1 Leeds 1: Verdict

WIGAN ATHLETIC'S highly-rated England Under-21 defender Ryan Taylor has been struck by the curse of the broken metatarsal.

Taylor limped off and left the JJB Stadium on crutches at the end of another bad day at the office for the out-of-sorts Latics.

As with Michael Owen, Taylor too could be sidelined for up to five weeks and that's the last thing manager Paul Jewell needs right now.

Wigan could also have done without an FA Cup replay - January is certainly going to be congested and taxing.

In addition to big Premiership games, Latics have a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final with Arsenal to negotiate - the first leg is tomorrow - and their reserves will be severely tested.

Survival

They could, and should, have beaten Leeds, but a scrambled late equaliser from Rob Hulse means the teams must now play out a replay at Elland Road.

David Connolly scored for Wigan and should have added a second before Hulse levelled matters.

Jewell told MEN Sport: "Premiership survival remains the priority but when you are progressing as we have done, that means you will be stretched and forced to play a lot of games.

"We had chances to win, it was open but Leeds kept battling away.

"We take the Cup competitions seriously but the FA Cup is no longer the biggest thing on the agenda for Wigan. It shows how far we've come. There used to be a time when it was the highlight of the season but now everything is about Premiership survival.

"The schedule we face will be taxing and we just couldn't withstand the pressure towards the end.

"We were comfortable at 1-0 and had opportunities to kill the game. This is the last result we both needed.

"It's another game for us and we just have to get on with things but the most important thing is the league and any success you have in the Cup is a bonus.

"When I look at the Arsenal game tomorrow, you have to look at playing your strongest team when you are in the semi-final and so close. We simply have to battle on and keep going."

Wigan lacked creativity in midfield against Leeds, but Lee McCulloch, who engineered Connolly's goal, could hold his head high. He was involved in everything and again proved just what an unsung hero he is.

WIGAN (4-4-2): Filan: No chance to stop Leeds' one serious effort 6. Taylor: Some neat touches before hobbling off injured 6. McMillan: Back from injury and did well 6. Jackson: Typically competitive in centre of defence 6. Henchoz: Tidy touches and never under serious pressure 6. Francis: The jury still remains out on this fellow 5. Mahon: Busy but unable to stamp his authority 6 (Teale 58). Skoko: He always competes but he still has to deliver 5 (Roberts, 72). Johansson: Still struggling to adapt to Latics' style 5. McCulloch: Stand out player who made the goal 7. Connolly: Scored but should have had a second,6 (Kavanagh 72).

LEEDS (4-4-2): Sullivan, Kelly, Crainey, Butler, Kilgallon, Douglas (Cresswell 78), Miller, Derry, Lewis, Hulse, Blake (Healy 68).

Goals: Connolly 47, Hulse 88.

Bookings: Taylor (Wigan) 43, McCulloch (Wigan) 90.

Referee: Mr Graham Poll, 6.

Match Rating: 6 - another indifferent Wigan display.

Attendance: 10,980

Comments

Login or Register to comment

There are no comments about this at the moment.