AFC Bournemouth 3 Wigan Athletic 0 - Saturday 1st November 1980

Late goal rush foils McNeill's master plan

Report by SJG

Shell-shocked Wigan were hit by a late, late, 'seaside special' as Bournemouth grabbed three goals in the final eight minutes to claim the points in what was, up until then, been a drab encounter.

Wigan can have few complaints as they set their stall out to take home a point right from the start of the game and had been riding their luck throughout as the home side twice saw well stuck shots fly past the Wigan keeper and rebound to safety off the crossbar as well as having what seemed to be a perfectly good goal ruled off.

The first period was lacking in incident, but Morgan did see a powerful header from a set play bounce off the Latics bar.

However, it was Wigan who controlled most of the play and if they had been sharper in the final third, they could easily have claimed the lead.

Half Time: AFC Bournemouth 0 Wigan Athletic 0

The second half saw the pace of the game rise several notches and the home side began to gain the upper hand.

Wigan's cause was not helped as Corrigan came on to replace the injured and rather more attacking Hutchinson.

Alex Cribley, who had a solid debut in a deeper defensive role, was kept busy and any thoughts of pushing Brian Kettle into a more progressive position were soon shelved as the Cherries applied strong pressure with Morgan blazed wide of an open goal and Evans seeing a strong shot crashing against the crossbar.

David Glenn did go close for Wigan on a rare foray forward, but Wigans stubborn defence was finally breached in the 80th minute when Massey netted, only for the linesman to raise his flag.

Two minutes later and the controversy was forgotten as MOORE blasted a swerving free kick beyond the wall and beyond the diving Ward to register the opening goal.

Then on 89 minutes as Wigan threw men forward for a corner kick, they were caught by a fast direct counterattack that ended with MASSEY tapping home after the original effort from Morgan had hit the post.

Worse followed in injury time when another free kick was rolled to FERNS who fired into the roof of the net from twenty yards past the unsighted Ward.

The frustration in the Wigan ranks was evident for all to see, and the midfield partnership of Wright and Urquhart were never able to get to grips with their counterparts.

In fact,Urquhart who was booked for a heavy challenge was probably lucky not to see red as he threw the ball at an opponent.

Full Time: AFC Bournemouth 3 Wigan Athletic 0