WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 HULL CITY 0:AN EXQUISITELY lobbed goal by Ben Watson, Wigan Athletic's €1.6 million signing from Crystal Palace during the January transfer window, ended a dismal week for Hull City for whom relegation is now ever-threatening.
It had appeared they might just hold out for a precious point but once again the luck was against them as it so often seems to be when a side is struggling. Matt Duke’s weak punch came out to Watson who nevertheless showed remarkable composure to score the only goal of a frenetic match.
After the alleged midweek spitting Hull had been hoping for a smidgen of polish, but it was not to be. When Wigan defeated Hull 5-0 at the KC Stadium last August it had seemed Phil Brown’s team would find the realities of the Premier League particularly painful.
Yet they managed to turn matters around in a way that took just about everybody outside North Humberside by surprise. Eyebrows continued to be raised in astonishment as autumn passed into winter, and Hull’s success continued.
But then the reality struck home. Hull have now won just two of their last 21 Premier League matches and the gap between them and the bottom three has closed quite startlingly throughout that disappointing period.
Hull were nearly undone in the opening minutes when the swirling wind caught hold of Maynor Figueroa’s seemingly innocuous cross, the ball beating Duke and hitting the angle of the post and crossbar. Wigan pressed hard although Mido twice shot over from good positions.
The home side’s best effort came from a low drive on the run by Hugo Rodallega that the Hull goalkeeper managed to push wide before the ball was scrambled for a corner.
“The first half was one-way traffic. We had umpteen chances but you always worry when none of them go in. But the better team won in the end,” said the Wigan manager, Steve Bruce.
And so his side have a real possibility of qualifying for Europe next season, an opportunity that few would have imagined possible at the start of the season or indeed during January when Bruce had to let some of his best players go, including Emile Heskey, and bring in replacements. Watson has settled in to this side superbly and looks a genuine bargain.
Bruce has done an excellent job at the JJB Stadium with a series of judicious buys, an energetic and vigorous approach on the pitch coupled with considerable skill which on occasions is overlooked. There is no doubt his side deserve their place in the top 10 and that this success has been remarkable.
As for Hull, all might have changed in this instance but for a brilliant instinctive save by Wigan’s Chris Kirkland who pushed over a header by Manucho and could have had only a split second to see the ball. If that header gone in Hull might have seized the initiative.
“You can say Watson’s goal was cruel but the way Wigan play is the model for us to hang our hats on,” said Brown. “There was a point or maybe three to be won there and with a makeshift defence and attack we have managed to get to grips with the game in the second half. We have to learn from our mistakes.”
The trouble for Brown and his team is that time is getting preciously short. All those points they gained at the beginning of the season did much to take the pressure off their first season in the Premier League but now they do not appear able to get points from anywhere and April is going to be an extremely nervous month.
Guardian Service
