Southend United 1 Wigan Athletic 0 - Monday 20th October 1980

A bitter pill for Latics to follow

Report by SJG

A Monday night trip to table topping Southend United was not the ideal fixture as Latics tried to bounce back from their dismal defeat at Plainmoor.

Southend were sitting top of the pile with a 100% record at Roots Hall in front of their home fans.

Wigan were forced into one change to their team, with the suspended Urquhart making way for Fretwell and striker Peter Houghton was included as the substitute as he continued to search for full fitness after his recent injury.

Wigan forced their hosts to play second fiddle for most of the first half and all of the second period, but a combination of good defensive work, good goalkeeping and poor finishing saw Southend claim both points.

Latics started with a five-man defence as they anticipated an early onslaught from the South Coast outfit, but that never really materialised as Wigan controlled the possession and moved the ball around with skill and flair.

At the back the reliable pairing of the elegant Methven and the more robust (booked again for a scything foul on Spence) Davids, never really allowed the prolific home strikers much of a sight of goal.

Wigan suffered some disruption after twenty minutes when Tierney limped off to be replaced by Houghton, but they reverted to their more familiar 4-4-2 formation and this worked well as they continued to dominate possession.

With the attackers well marshalled it was no surprise that the breakthrough, when it arrived on the stroke of half time, came courtesy of a defender with HADLEY nipping in to get his head to a freekick as Ward hesitated.

Half Time: Southend United 1 Wigan Athletic 0

The second half saw Wigan pushing hard for a leveller, but the hosts were well organised and stood firm.

Wigan did have their chances as Quinn headed narrowly wide and then had a first time shot that found the side netting.

Curtis saw his shot deflect across the face of goal to safety and keeper Cawston produced a flying stop to palm away a rasping shot from Houghton.

Wigan's best chance came on 56 minutes when Curtis dispossessed Cusack and pulled the ball back to Hutchinson who fired goalwards only to see his effort hit defender Dudley square in the face and ricochet wide.

Try as they might Wigan simply could not convert their possession into goals and it was their lack of a lethal finisher that allowed the hosts to extend their 100% home record and reinforce their top spot in the table.

Latics had plenty of time to ponder their bad luck as they made the long coach journey back from the Southeast coast.

However, they do have a game in hand and two points from that encounter could see them climb as high as ninth as so few points separate a whole host of clubs.

Full Time: Southend United 1 Wigan Athletic 0