It was not a pretty game but in the end Wigan won’t care as a late goal from Arouna Koné gave his side a 1-0 victory and allowed the Latics to move clear of the relegation zone.
Wigan Athletic vs. Norwich City: Final score 1-0, Late Koné goal gives the Latics a win
Wigan moved out of the relegation zone, ahead of Aston Villa on goal differential, thanks to a later winner from Arouna Koné.
Not much to discuss from the first half at the DW Stadium. It was a fairly dire affair in which neither side seemed very keen on actually scoring. Perhaps both defenses deserve credit but whatever the reason it wasn’t that great to watch. There were a couple entertaining moments worth mentioning though.
In the 18th minute Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong had a momentarily delusion of grandeur and fancied himself a striker. His shot was comical veering way off target and going out of play 10-yards from the corner flag.
Wigan were definitely the more dangerous side and created the first half’s best chance in the 27th minute. Emerson Boyce found Arouna Koné at the top of the Norwich area with a great short pass and Koné beat Lee Camp with the shot but sent it wide of the post.
Things didn’t get too much better in the second half though there were some chances for both sides.
Shaun Maloney had a great opportunity to give Wigan the lead in the 57th minute after a short pass moved him alone in space on the left side of the Norwich area. His shot was less than stellar though and is currently somewhere in orbit over the Earth.
Norwich responded a minute later with a shot from 25-yards out by Bradley Johnson that squeezed just wide of the post.
Wigan’s Antolín Alcaraz came close in the 70th minute when his powerful header was cleared off the line by a well placed Norwich defender. Seven minutes later Wigan were close again after a nice build-up down the left side looked to have Jordi Gómez setup perfectly to strike. Instead of taking the shot, he hesitated and allowed Maloney to take the shot instead. The momentary delay allowed the Norwich defense to close and block the shot.
The close calls finally paid off for Wigan in the 80th minute after a nice play to win possession in the midfield led to Koné breaking down the right side and into the Norwich area. Koné blasted a shot that Camp was able to get his fingers on but there was simply too much pace to stop the ball and Wigan took the lead 1-0.
Wigan held on for the final 10 minutes to finish off the big victory, only their fourth home victory of the season in the league.
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