The final whistle has blown at the DW in Wigan where Shola Ameobi's first half tap in was the only goal in a match that didn't necessarily out-entertain its predecessor - Sunday's early match, Aston Villa's 3-3 draw away to Chelsea. While winners Newcastle will be happy with their first away win under the new Alan Pardew regime, the fact that they created much more going forward than the hosts, and the way they gained three points without one Andrew Carroll, Wigan should be equally unhappy with their performance in the final third.
Wigan Vs. Newcastle United, Final: Poor Wigan Lack Creativity, Fall At Home To Newcastle
That said, the Latics didn’t defend particularly well either although the close 1-0 scoreline fails to reflect that. While shots hitting the crossbar or post still count as missed opportunities and not goals, they too prove that the team who has rocked the woodwork has created more in terms of meaningful opportunities in front of goal. On multiple occasions, Newcastle did just that when Wigan failed to simply mark men in the box. The Toon’s Fabricio Coloccini in the first half and Steven Taylor in the second half, both came close to asserting United’s dominance over Wigan in the form of goals two and three of the match by gracing the Wigan iron.
For the home side, Wigan again fail to prove to detractors and neutrals that they belong in this league. Playing to a relatively small audience when compared to Premier League standards at the DW, Wigan, for all their ambition, fail to prove that they currently employ the right personnel to carry out said ambition of attacking football.
Without one of their best, the suspended Charles N'Zogbia, Wigan failed to play with much purpose in Newcastle's final third. Besides some half chances from Hugo Rodallega and Tom Cleverley, Wigan looked the part of a side without their best player when Newcastle may have been as well.
The difference?
Through experienced role players such as Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Cheick Tiote, Newcastle bossed the midfield, caught Wigan sleeping for their goal, and were smart enough to see out the next 70 minutes of action for three points away from home. Simple as.
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