Roberts reinforces Wigan's play-off push
Wigan Athletic 2 Coventry City 1
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Your support makes all the difference.Wigan's footballing success has traditionally been built round players who can score by muscling their way through opposition defences. They have usually been playing with an oval ball, but now it looks as if they have found someone built like a prop forward who can do the same with a round one.
It took the burly striker Jason Roberts little more than 20 minutes to make his presence felt on his return from suspension. First he barged his way past Callum Davenport to put Wigan in front after 16 minutes, and six minutes later he grabbed a second when Coventry failed to clear. "He gives us an extra dimension with his power and pace," his manager, Paul Jewell, said.
But Roberts wasted a number of opportunities to complete his hat-trick. Instead the Sky Blues were allowed to claw their way back in the second half, a disputed corner allowing Stephen Warnock to rifle the ball home from the edge of the box.
In reality neither of these sides looks ready for the Premiership. Wigan have a solid back four, marshalled by their captain, Matt Jackson, while Nicky Eaden provides a steady supply of ball to Roberts and his fellow striker Nathan Ellington. But they lack composure in the final third of the pitch. Roberts headed over from close range and Ellington allowed the side netting, the defender Mo Konjic and goalkeeper, Scott Shearer, to deny him when well placed.
Coventry's players with top-flight experience now look past their best. Steve Staunton still essays his characteristic forays down the left but is slow to get back once a move has broken down. The striker Julian Joachim squandered his side's best chance of a first half when he stepped over a cross that needed a touch to find the net.
"The wind made it a bit of a lottery," their manager, Eric Black, said. "But in the second half we were the better side in terms of possession and pressure.'' As any of Wigan's rugby league fraternity would have told him, once you have put your opponents on the deck, you must make sure they stay there.
Goals: Roberts (16) 1-0; Roberts (22) 2-0; Warnock (72) 2-1.
Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): Filan; Eaden, Jackson, Breckin, Baines; Liddell (Flynn, 80), Bullard, Jarrett, McCulloch; J Roberts, Ellington. Substitutes not used: Walsh (gk), Mitchell, N Roberts, Farrelly.
Coventry City (4-4-2): Shearer; Deloumeaux, Konjic, Davenport, Staunton; Gudjonsson, Doyle (Adebola, 78), Kerr, Warnock; Joachim, McSheffery (Olszar, 64). Substitutes not used: Ward, Shaw, Barrett.
Referee: L Cable (Surrey).
Bookings: Wigan: Jarrett. Coventry: Warnock.
Man of the Match: Roberts.
Attendance: 8,784.
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