Oxford United 2 Wigan Athletic 1 - Tuesday 20th October 2026

Latics Undone Late at the Kassam

Report by John Patrick Heeley

Wigan suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium after a spirited second-half fightback was ultimately derailed by a controversial red card and a late winner from Kai Andrews.

Oxford entered the contest looking to extend their unbeaten League One run and began on the front foot, dominating possession and forcing Wigan goalkeeper Joe Whitworth into several early saves.

Siriki Dembélé and Mark Harris were particularly threatening as the hosts pressed for an opener.

The breakthrough arrived just before half-time. Tyler Goodrham's cross found Michal Helik at the back post and, after Whitworth parried his initial effort, the defender reacted quickest to fire the rebound into the bottom corner and give Oxford a deserved lead.

Wigan struggled to impose themselves during the opening period but emerged with greater purpose after the break.

The visitors gradually grew into the game and found a spectacular equaliser in the 69th minute.

Substitute Christian Saydee collected the ball some 35 yards from goal, shrugged off a challenge and unleashed a powerful drive that flew past Jamie Cumming to make to level things.

However, the momentum swung dramatically just three minutes later when Fraser Murray was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Jack Currie.

The decision proved pivotal as Oxford capitalised on their numerical advantage.

In the 76th minute, Dembélé again caused problems down the flank before picking out Kai Andrews, who calmly drilled a low finish into the bottom corner to restore Oxford's lead.

Despite Wigan's efforts to salvage a point, the home side saw out the closing stages to secure all three points.

A frustrated Gary Caldwell felt the red card was the turning point in the match and believed his side could have taken something from the game. "It was not a red card. You get enough of an advantage playing at home, and Oxford are a good team, without getting extra help like that."

Caldwell admitted Wigan were below their usual standards in the first half but praised the response after the interval. "We were poor first half, way off it in terms of aggression, hunger and desire. But we were good in the second half and when we got it back to 1-1, I thought we would get something from the game. And with 11 v 11, I think we would have got something here."