Wigan Athletic 3 Chesterfield 0 - Tuesday 2nd November 1999

Liddell finds target as Latics return to the top

Report by Dave Seddon - Wigan Evening Post

Andy Liddell broke his JJB Stadium duck to help send Latics back to the top of the Second Divsion.

The striker's two other goals this season have come on the road - away at Millwall in August and last week's dramatic equaliser against Colchester.

But he finally stuck one away in front of the home faithful, a deserved reward for a hard night's graft.

While Liddell has been finding goals hard to come by, strike partner Stuart Barlow has been scoring them for fun.

A late brace last night saw him clock up 16 for the campaign, and even at this relatively early stage of the season, the division's Golden Boot award looks odds-on to end up in his trophy cabinet.

Latics still weren't at their best against a poor Chesterfield side, despite what the scoreline suggests.

But the second half display was much better than in recent weeks, with far more of the play being channelled through the centre of midfield.

The return of Kevin Sharp on the left in place of Darren Sheridan gave Latics a more balanced look, while Michael O'Neill produced his best 90 minutes' work of the campaign.

That will have come as a big relief as the Irish midfielder has not been firing on all cylinders since the tail end of last season and has come in for criticism from some sections of the crowd.

Manager John Benson said afterwards: "I thought Michael played very well. He was on the ball more than anyone else, he didn't waste too many passes and closed people down which is something he hasn't been doing recently."

"It was maybe the best game he has had for a long time. But he's a confident player, confident in his own ability, and I think it helps that Ian Kilford worked hard and Roberto Martinez did a little bit more. We are still lacking some steel in midfield, though."

Both sides came into the match after weekend FA Cup ties against non-league opponents, and the visitors were showing signs of a hangover after being dumped out of the competition by Enfield.

They sat too deep in defence, often bypassed the midfield, and lacked self-belief in attack.

They way I saw it, they came for a goalless draw and had no plan B once they fell behind.

Early on, there was little action to savour for a disappointing crowd of 4,376.

Scott Green shot wide of the target while O'Neill saw a free kick deflect off the wall and go behind.

Chesterfield hadn't even conjured up a half-chance when Latics lifted the boredom by going ahead in the 30th minute.

Kilford exchanged passes with Green on the edge of the box and drilled in a low shot which keeper Mark Gayle found too hot to handle and beat out.

The ball fell to LIDDELL and he rammed home a low shot from six yards.

Martinez almost doubled the lead five minutes later, clipping the outside of the post with a low, right-foot shot after Sharp had nodded down Barlow's cross.

Latics lost the services of stomach bug victim Pat McGibbon five minutes into the second half, with Gareth Griffiths taking his place in the centre of defence.

And he wasn't the only casualty, with referee Scott Mathieson having to be carried off with a calf strain a few minutes later.

Such was the extent of the injury, that a Latics club official was wandering the corridors of the stadium after the match looking for a volunteer to drive the stricken whistler back to his Stockport home!

In the meantime, David Reeves headed wide from a Marcus Ebdon cross in a rare Chesterfield attack, while at the other end, Martinez saw a curling effort fall just the wrong side of the post.

Stuart Balmer ensured that Latics' lead stayed intact in the 64th minute when he cleared a header from Jason Lee off the line.

A 20-yard shot from Martinez was well saved by Gayle two minutes later as the home side pushed for a second goal, and they finally got their reward with a quarter-of-an-hour left.

O'Neill got possession on the right wing, switched the ball on to his left foot, and curled a low cross to the far post where BARLOW stole in to stab home a shot from close range.

That put any doubts over the result to bed, and the striker put the icing on the cake with a third goal a minute form time.

Liddell was tripped by Chris Perkins as he weaved his way towards goal, replacement referee Mike Haxby pointed to the spot, and up stepped BARLOW to hammer the penalty into the roof of the net.

There was still time for Barlow to try and grab his hat-trick, and deep into stoppage time he tried his luck with a 20-yard chip which went just over the target.