Reffin’ Madness: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Imps

Credit Graham Burrell

A word on the title. I’m not blaming the referee for anything, but I think at the end of a difficult game, both sets of fans had a gripe, rightly or wrongly, aimed at John Mulligan.

I thought he was a little erratic in a game that felt very tough to officiate, and there are reasons the home support is angry. There are reasons we might be a little angry as well, but the big decisions he actually made were right, perhaps bar one. The title refers to the madness supporters had when they left the ground, not at the performance of a new referee.

Credit Graham Burrell

The headlines, for those who want to skim read or just give me hassle on Twitter, are as follows. We started well, had control, and then, after a long break, went to pieces and conceded a poor goal. The second half was disjointed, Wigan were better, but we ended up snatching a draw. Our xG was better, but when you actually look, it all came in the 89th minute, and so that isn’t a stat we can put a lot of weight behind.

Hopefully, those who prefer their analysis in 280 characters, can find enough in there to like. For those who come here for a balanced view without hyperbole in either direction, please read on.

The team selection certainly pleased me. James Collins is the marquee signing of the winter window and him starting was a big boost. There was no place on the bench for Sam Clucas, and Joe Gardner waited for his place in the squad as well. Zach Jeacock, who has been in good form while filling in for George Wickens, retained his place despite the latter player being fit enough for the bench.

Credit Graham Burrell

I thought both teams started brightly. I’ve always liked Jonny Smith on the flank for them, he tore us apart once before with Burton and he looked a real danger. Jensen Weir is a cracking player at this level, and Dale Taylor is a striker we were once linked with who has a lot of potential in the third tier. That said, we looked decent in the opening exchanges and the big crossfield ball towards Carragher and Sibbick caused a lot of problems. It felt like it might be an open game, with them having a chance in the first minute, but then they looked a little sloppy across the back.

We pressed hard and began to get some joy, and after Tom Bayliss rattled the crossbar with a wicked free kick, I felt us scoring was only a matter of time. Jovon had a good chance from a Darikwa cross, but couldn’t make contact, and for a while, it felt like Wigan were on the ropes. Indeed, after Dale Taylor’s second minute effort, they didn’t get another shot away until the half hour mark.

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The game changed on 20 minutes, after an extended break. The incident was a foul by Jovon Makama on Silko Thomas, and it’s absolutely a foul. It’s a yellow card, rightly so, but Thomas had an extended spell on the turf and was eventually taken off to be replaced by Joseph Hungbo, who signed recently from Nuremberg. It wasn’t a nice challenge; Makama was booked, but it seemed to fire up the opposition.

In fact, for a short while after, we didn’t seem to get any breaks. James Collins picked up a booking for an innocuous-looking challenge that some referees might not have even given a foul for. Makama could then have been sent off, certainly in home supporters’ eyes, for another challenge, but when he seemed to be targeted, we saw no free kicks. Of course, I was watching through my Lincoln spectacles, so perhaps Makama was lucky and perhaps Collins did deserve a free kick.

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A moment that incensed me came on 36 minutes. We were trying to bundle forward after a pretty tepid ten minutes or so, and Collins squeezed a ball to Ethan Hamilton. He strode forward and was fouled, probably twice, with the ball squirming out to Darikwa. The referee waves advantage, but Darikwa us 20 yards from goal, with six players and a keeper in front of him. The free kick would have been on the edge of the ‘D’ – how is that an advantage? Possibly if Darikwa can lift it over everyone to Jeffries at the back stick, but unless the ref has eyes in the back of his head, he can’t see that. It’s a free kick in a dangerous position, no question.

Darikwa loses the ball within a second of the advantage being waved, and 20 seconds later, it’s in the back of Zach Jeacock’s net. I witnessed the referee play advantage a couple of times, and in those instances, he went back later for a yellow or a talking to, but this was absolutely not the right advantage to play. That’s why Imps fans could be mad at the referee.

Credit Graham Burrell

In fairness, there’s still a bit of ground to cover. Paudie makes a mistake in the middle of the park, and while Adam Jackson gets a tackle on Taylor, it’s not enough to stop his run, nor does it give Roughan a chance to clear. Of course, Jonny Smith was the man who took Taylor’s pass and turned it into a goal. It’s always him – he scored against us in the 2-1 defeat last season (if he hadn’t, and we’d drawn, we’d have made the play-offs) and he scored for Burton as they beat us 3-0 on Boxing Day a couple of years ago. It’s about time we signed him, just to stop him hurting us every bloody season.

The rest of the half wasn’t noteworthy in any way. We’d lost our way, the goal killed off any minor threat we might have had and the truth is it was a tough watch. I felt our midfield struggled to get the ball down, and we were the ones looking shaky at the back, a role reversal from the first few minutes of the game.

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