FAN’S VIEW 21/22 – NO.33

WIGAN AWAY (This time some football)

The home side’s form

The task ahead in this one could not be more marked than that which we faced three days earlier. Wigan are the best placed team in L1, one point behind top of the table Rotherham with two games in hand on them. The three teams immediately behind them have played four games more than the Latics.

They have not lost in the league since 26 October and in the subsequent games have won eight and drawn three. Noticeable facts though are that the last seven of those victories, which includes games against Doncaster and Gillingham, have been by a single goal and the clean sheet they kept on Saturday when going goal-less with Cheltenham was their first since 30 October.

I travelled in great hope.

WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 OXFORD UNITED 1

Back here for a second time in a couple of months for this fixture, this time we saw a football match.

From that previous visit we knew the town is served well when it comes to pubs. Although I’d have been delighted to have re-traced my steps into three of the four we’d drunk in then, there are a few others to be checked out.

This time we didn’t get beyond the Swan and Railway, a pub I last frequented about 30 years ago and I’m damned sure the interior is still the same. That’s a big positive by the way. It was built just before the turn of the 20^th century and is grade 2 listed with an impressive stained glass window and collection of old photographs of the town including rugby league obviously and football too. The latter being the Latics at their previous home, Springfield Park. You can just feel the history.

There was a choice of six or seven ales and a good chat with a local. When I say local it was a guy in a pork pie hat who left 18 years ago and was about to get a train back to Penrith his current home. When I couldn’t remember the name of a pub I’ve used in Penrith he knew straight away when I described it to him. He goes by the name of Johnny Wild and is a musician who plays beer festivals way up north.

He asked why we were in town and when we told him it was clear that rugby league was his game and in that regard he was very much a Wigan man. We’d arranged to meet a mate, an exiled Oxford fan who moved up north to Warrington many many years ago and now follows Warrington RFC. The discussion between the two that ensued clearly shows there is extremely deep passion in that sport.   It was suggested I enter “”I can’t speyk” in the search bar on YouTube. I have done. It is worth two minutes of anyone’s time.

But we were here for the football, for our team.

Great ground, great view

Sometimes when I venture onto fans’ forums of our opponents after a match I am just left with the view that they’re populated by ignorant abusive dickheads. Others though are very much the opposite, reasoned debate and the provision of an insight into where their team’s at that you wouldn’t get from any other source than ardent supporters. What I’ve seen of comments from home fans after this encounter I’d very much put them into the latter category. I’d go as far as saying to quite some extent my yellow view dovetails with that delivered through blue and white tinted glasses as to how the game played out. Certainly not in agreement with all of them though.

As I said earlier I was confident. Just about confident enough to put approx. £20 of a left over kitty on an Oxford win at 5/2. I never got round to it though so there’s no betting tales in this one. Other than that I didn’t lose any money.

I thought in the first half hour or so we were really good, looking like a team with the genuine class to be at the very pinnacle of L1. That wasn’t because we were playing great football and looking like winning penalties and hammering in goals as we had done against Gillingham, but because we were going toe to toe with a top side for this level and had the edge. They were pressing all over and making it hard to create anything but our shape and work rate meant they too were not getting chances of note. Yes there were mistakes from both sides but that was down to what the opposition was doing and also a little help from the wind too.

It would take something exceptional to break the deadlock and boy did we deliver. I’d even go so far as to say the goal we scored was one of the very best I have ever seen by an Oxford United team.

We turned defence into attack into a goal in an instant. In the six-yard box Elliott Moore had to block a ball cut back from the bye-line. Mark Sykes collected on the edge of the area and turned before slipping the ball one side of a Wigan player and sprinting round the other. From my vantage point I thought it was lunacy, convinced he’d given the ball away. The Wigan man thought he now had possession, looking up before he took a touch to see which colleague he was going to move it on to. But Sykes is quick. He got there first and was away down the touch line. When arriving at the half-way line with a little dummy he kept the move flowing by allowing Cameron Brannagan to now be the flying winger. CB cut inside and gave the ball back to Sykes who had not slowed down in the slightest. By now he had got to the Wigan penalty area and the home side couldn’t keep up not only with Sykes but with what we were doing. One touch from Sykes and the ball was at Matty Taylor’s feet. Two touches later it was into the back of the net. The whole think took just 20 seconds.

A few quotes from the Wigan fans on Vital Football.co.uk

“I thought Oxford were brilliant for the first 20mins”

“The first 30 minutes was constant hoof ball to no one and no one in centre of the pitch which played perfectly into Oxfords hands. We knew exactly what they’d do and pretty much made it as easy as possible for them by giving them possession back constantly and giving them free reign in midfield. We’ve done similar many times this season but gotten away with it against poorer sides but Oxford had us chasing shadows. Their goal was typical Oxford pass and move”.

“Started really poorly and we were dire to watch. Oxford scored a very good goal and were value for it.”

“Quite proud of the effort tonight and also Oxfords goal was by far the best team goal I’ve seen all season”.

“That Sykes is some player”.

My thoughts of what happened during the final two thirds of the game largely mirrored that of the home supporters. They became the dominant side and we didn’t have another effort on target. We didn’t look anywhere near getting another.

The Wigan supporters highlighted the changes their manager made and we didn’t do anything to arrest the turnaround. I would however disagree with them when they thought a lack of ambition on Karl’s part meant we threw away a good opportunity to still have gone on to win the game. That’s a debate that is always to be had but at times I think it is necessary to take the pragmatic approach. Here I think if we’d really gone for it there was a much greater chance that we would have lost the game than won it such had the tide turned. 75% / 25% I’d say so best to try and hang on if your defence is up to it. Come the final whistle our two best players were the centre-halves.

Back to the Wigan fans.

“Changed formation to 4-3-3 Max in the centre. Lang right. Darikwa right back”.

“Completely dominated since 4-3-3 which saw Darikwa, Power and Lang moved onto their best positions”.

“That first 30 minutes cost us the game, after Power got moved to CM we didn’t give them a sniff”.

We only held the lead for 13 minutes and when the equaliser came in the 36^th minute it all looked so easy. The Max Power pass to the scorer was indeed a very good one but Callum Lang should not have been allowed to get the wrong side of Steve Seddon to the extent he did, let alone at all. Being a goal up against a team like these he had no logical reason whatsoever to push up beyond the natural habitat of a defensive left-back. I don’t know what the instructions were that he had been given with the game as it was at that time. I would also add that I thought our keeper should have done better with the shot.

All of a sudden it didn’t look so good at all. I feared for the outcome, especially when Wigan hit the post with half-time almost upon us. It was a high free-kick with a lot of elevation and loop on it to the far post which we did not deal with at all well.   No outfield player went with Jack Whatmough and Stevens didn’t cover himself with glory as he came for the ball but missed it. Thankfully the angle was so tight their number 3 was never likely to score. It was Moore who again initially got the ball away.

For all Wigan’s second half possession their total shot count on target at the final reckoning was only three. I rate them as a team and when they were kicking towards us in the North Stand before the break noted some quality passes bent down their right flank. I thought they had a lot of football in them, as well as power, that they could unleash at any time so was a bit surprised at all the high balls, particularly from throw-ins, that came into our box. Perhaps that is a weakness that can be exploited but we got away with it in a backs to the wall job, one of which wasn’t the most desperate of rear-guard actions we’ve had to take over the years.

All in all I’m happy with a point although that wasn’t how I felt at the outset nor when we took the lead.

A win would have put us third but now as it stands we’re sixth and we don’t have games in hand on any of those above us. Realistically top two looks highly unlikely and we’ve got Plymouth and Wednesday breathing down our necks. But let’s be honest, we’re in a pretty good position.

Those windows     

Sykes, Brannagan and Moore did not leave through the out window. Great to have them still on board although it will be a bugger if they end up leaving for nowt when contracts come to an end.  An all in on promotion gamble on the part of the owners of our club. (Takeover – wonder where we are with that as time continues to tick by. Probably waiting on word from the Council)

And Marcus Browne in. If fitness has been regained after such an injury and so long without playing then a huge permanent signing of a very talented player. It goes without saying an upgrade on Dan Agyei.

Oisin Smyth – We seem to know what we’re doing when we bring in players from NI.

Ciaron Brown – And with centre-halves too we’re really on the ball. Especially one who can play at left-back too.

So much to look forward to and with that, to also worry about.

We’re on the cusp.