I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad, walking away from yesterday’s game.
For a long period, we were second best. Then we weren’t. Then we were. Then we had more players, then we had the same number of players again, and finally, chances started to flow like a hayfever sufferer’s nose. It was entertaining, unsettling and breathless all in equal measure, and I’m not sure a point was a fair reflection.
That said, on the balance of chances, we might have won 4-2 on another day, while a slick Wigan side might well have been 3-0 up before we had a proper sight of goal. That’s how crazy it was, an end-to-end thriller with a little bit of everything thrown in for good measure.
Knowing where to start is a challenge, and it certainly will be on the podcast later. Team selection may have surprised a few, Adam Reach dropped to the bench after his debut earlier in the week, with Ryley Towler playing left back. Adam Jackson and Tom Hamer partnered in a back four with Tendayi on the right. Other than that it was pretty much a case of as you were in terms of the XI, reflecting our decent start to the season.
Two of our deadline day signings, Dexter Lembikisa and Justin Obikwu, missed out through international duty, and a third window arrival, Ivan Varfolomeev, is also away. It could mean a postponement for the next international weekend, but today it meant we still had a familiar feel, especially with Sonny Bradley suspended.
I don’t think there is any doubt that for the first 20 minutes, we were not just second best, but we didn’t turn up. Wigan, below us in the league table, set about proving you can’t tell anything from a division only seven matches deep, putting on a display of slick football which has become something of a trademark for Ryan Lowe sides over the years. They looked a bit like his Bury team in 2018/19, a lot like his Plymouth side from a season or two later, and we just couldn’t cope. We didn’t sit back and defend. Being at home, we needed to go for it, but it just didn’t happen.
It might surprise you to know we had more shots in the first 15 minutes, so for their slick football they only created a single chance. Mind you, that is all you need when you have a player like Paul Mullin prowling up top, and a huge punt from Sam Tickle set Mullin off, with us caught flat-footed. I’m not sure who to ‘blame’ as such – Tendayi gets done for pace, and George Wickens appears in two minds whether to come out or not. Either way, they score.
Those first 15 minutes we still had more possession, played more passes and even had more shots, but the period after, with them 1-0 up and confident, we were miles off the pace. Adam Jackson almost gave a goal away by playing out from the back, but Wickens atoned for the early concession with a super save. Christian Saydee, a real handful up top, nodded over as Wigan threatened to run riot. It’s no exaggeration to say it could have been 3-0, nor could any City fan have been disappointed if they’d at least scored a second.
We weren’t awful, not by a long way, but we lacked something. In years gone by, when we’ve lacked something, we’ve lost games, but this season, we also have something: James Collins. It matters not how one-sided a game is; when you have a Collins (or Mullin) in your team, you always have a chance of scoring a goal.
Our goal came from a dubious penalty. We have had Alan Young a couple of times, once I seem to recall him getting a bit of criticism for a drop ball he made against Huddersfield from which they scored last season. However, I felt he had a strong game against Wigan, despite the controversy, and perhaps the only really stodgy moment was the penalty. The issue is this – he’s warned them for holding in the area. Once that happens, he’s looking for it the next time, and that’s the case here. Towler is impeded, but for me, it is six of one and half a dozen of the other. Normally, that’s just a free kick the defending team’s way, that’s how it is done, but because he’s specifically spoken to them, he’s on the lookout.
Step up James Collins for EFL goal number 200. Within three minutes, 201 followed.
Our second goal is a symptom of the first. This time, they’re conscious of holding at the corner, and Towler, the player impeded, is free to make the cushioned header for Collins to stroke home. That’s a real poacher’s goal, good work from Towler, unshackled in the area, but equally as strong from Collins who just knows where to be. That’s what 16 seasons of scoring EFL goals does for you, knowing where to be and when.
What bothers me about the goal is Tom Hamer. Off the ball, as the corner comes in, he appears to be caught in the face by Will Aimson. I can’t see conclusively, but as the camera comes around, Aimson’s hand looks to catch Hamer in the face. He goes down, gets back up then when the ball hits the net goes down again. The official doesn’t see it, so there is no booking, and we scored anyway. Is that the point? Perhaps not.
There is no doubt that we managed to stifle the game a little after that, with both sides really needing half time. Wigan needed it to regroup, after being the better side and being jabbed twice on the nose by James Collins. We needed it after snatching a one-goal lead from the jaws of embarrassing defeat, and Tom Hamer needed it after being jabbed on the nose literally by Will Aimson.
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