Coventry City 1 Wigan Athletic 1 - Saturday 27th September 2003

Jackson steps up to rescue valuable point at the death

Report by John Patrick Heeley

Wigan Athletic's first ever league meeting with Coventry City produced a nail biting finish and ultimately a valuable point but it could have been all three had Geoff Horsfield's 17th minute efforts found the back of the net instead of cracking the woodwork.

However games are not won on what ifs but it would have been a tad unjust had Andy Morrell's 92nd minute strike given the home side the victory.

Matt Jackson, normally Mr. Reliable, had been at fault for the Coventry goal by allowing Sky Blues player/manager Gary McAllister the simplest of tasks to dispossess him before setting the wheels in motion for Morrell's fourth goal of the season after John Filan had saved from substitute Claus Jorgensen.

The travelling army of Wigan fans had every right to feel deflated but their side didn't let their heads drop and with virtually the last move of the game found the back of the net themselves albeit courtesy of a cock up by Coventry keeper Scott Shearer which allowed Jackson the chance to redeem himself.

The result was even more poignant as Latics had controversially been reduced to 10 men when Peter Kennedy received a second dubious yellow card in the 81st minute which saw him take an early bath, the Northern Ireland defender will now sit out Wigan's first ever visit to Derby's Pride Park in a fortnight's time.

Paul Jewell named the same starting line up for the third successive game with the only change coming on the bench in the shape of Jason Jarrett who returned to the squad from injury at the expense of Mike Flynn.

Meanwhile Gary McAllister made a couple of changes to the side that lost to Tottenham Hotspur midweek in the Carling Cup with midfielder Stephen Warnock, on loan from Liverpool, making way in the starting eleven for McAllister himself.

Graham Barrett and Andrew Whing both came off the bench at the expense of Patrick Suffo and Michael Doyle who are both due to start three match suspensions following their dismissals against Preston North End.

Wigan started the brighter and earned themselves a corner as early as the first minute when Coventry keeper Shearer was forced into a save, palming behind a teasing cross right wing cross from Nicky Eaden.

The home side had a chance of their own in the 11th minute when Nigerian striker Dele Adebola nodded wide from a McAllister free kick but it was Wigan who had the only real chance of the opening half six minutes later.

Andy Liddell and Nicky Eaden combined to tee up Geoff Horsfield down the right side of the area and the former Birmingham City frontman hit a fierce shot on the turn but was denied by the width of the upright.

The ball bounced straight back to him but his second shot rattled the underside of the bar before it was cleared to safety.

Wigan were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position just outside of the Coventry area after 25 minutes. Ellington, Bullard and Kennedy all lined themselves up for the kick but it was The Duke who eventually took it, sending a dipping shot over the wall but into the arms of Shearer.

Filan was called into action a couple of minutes later but Adebola's header from Morrell's centre didn't really caused much of a problem for the Aussie.

Both sides pushed forward for the remainder of the first half with Wigan forcing a succession of corners plus soaking up any pressure put on them by the home side but the first 45 minutes ended goalless.

The second period began in much the same way as the first had ended with both sides battling it out in midfield with few chances of note at either end.

Jimmy Bullard saw his effort from distance fly narrowily over the bar in the 52nd minute and at the other end of the field former Wrexham striker Morrell sent a shot blazing across the face of goal minutes later.

Wigan's first substition of the game arrived in the 66th minute after Lee McCulloch had been involved in a clash of heads with Republic of Ireland international Graham Barrett.

The Wigan winger didn't recover from the incident and was replaced by Jason Jarrett but not before he'd been booked for his troubles.

Both sides failed to break down their opponents but the game took a turn for the worse as far as Wigan were concerned when Peter Kennedy was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Barrett along the byeline.

Jewell brought on Paul Mitchell for Andy Liddell to tighten up his now depleted side and moments later Barrett was replaced by Cameroon international striker Patrick Suffo in the hope that a fresh pair of legs up front for Coventry could capitalise on their numerical advantage.

The final few minutes were a tense affair but it seemed to be heading for a stalemate when the fourth official held up his board to signal 4 minutes of stoppage time.

With the seconds ticking away disaster struck for Wigan when Matt Jackson seemed to fall asleep with the ball on the edge of his own area.

Gary McAllister whipped the ball from the former Everton defender's feet and slid the ball to Danish midfielder Claus Jorgensen, a 59th minute replacement for Algerian Yazid Mansouri.

Jorgensen took the ball down the right before attempting a shot on goal which Filan managed to save but ANDY MORRELL was on hand to fire home the loose ball in typical striker's fashion.

It appeared all was but lost now for Wigan as they were seemingly heading towards their first defeat since the opening day of the season but their unbeaten run remained intact when they drew level at the last gasp.

Latics were awarded a corner on the right which was only half cleared as far as Neil Roberts who sent in a volley which to be honest my 7-year-old son could have handled with ease.

However Shearer somehow managed to fumble the ball against the near post before spilling it along the front of goal where MATT JACKSON stepped in to blast over the line, sending the Wigan fans and the bench absolutely mental.

The point, however, wasn't enough to maintain Wigan's position at the top of the table. That honour fell to Sheffield United who had beaten Bradford by the odd goal in three to leapfrog Wigan on goal difference.