Weekly De-Brief: Defensive errors cause heartbreak by the Pleasure Beach.
Wigan Athletic travelled to Blackpool on Monday night, and came away with a point despite being two goals ahead. A pattern is starting to emerge with our recent defensive errors...
The fixture list has felt quite congested recently, but this week Wigan Athletic only had one game to play with a trip to Bloomfield Road on Monday night. It was a game that I feel we should have won, but a persistent home side caused us heartbreak late on.
In this de-brief, I look back on the game, examine some defensive errors that have been repeating lately, and provide an overview of the games our Academy and Women’s team have played.
Let’s dive into what we saw this week and try to make some sense of it 👇🏼
Part One: Heartbreak by the Pleasure Beach.
Part Two: Repetitive defensive errors.
Part Three: The weekly de-brief.
Part Four: Academy and Women’s round-up.
Part Five: Our next week.
Heartbreak by the Pleasure Beach 🎢
After suffering back-to-back defeats, travelling away to a side who had lost three on the bounce and conceded nine in that time sounded to me like a game where Wigan could put some more points on the board.
Before kick-off, I would have happily taken a point but I was feeling good for another shock game where we score a few goals like we did against Bristol Rovers. Something about the occasion - Monday night, under the lights of Bloomfield Road, live on Sky Sports - just made me feel like we would be back playing at our best.
Shaun Maloney made four changes to the starting eleven that lost to Mansfield Town, with Baba Adeeko dropping out due to injury and James Carragher not involved for ‘tactical reasons’. The only difference from my predicted lineup in the match preview was Carragher over Ramsay, but I was glad to see Maloney choose Rankine and Olakigbe on the wings to attack with pace.
👕 Starting XI: Sam Tickle, Calvin Ramsay, Jason Kerr ©️, Will Aimson, Steven Sessegnon, Tyrese Francois, Matt Smith, Dion Rankine, Thelo Aasgaard, Michael Olakigbe, Dale Taylor
🔄 Subs: Tom Watson, Toby Sibbick, Luke Robinson, Scott Smith, Jonny Smith, Silko Thomas, Joe Hugill
The opening ten minutes felt like a cagey encounter, with both sides having their share of possession but equally pressing well off the ball to force plenty of turnovers. Francois looked lively from the start, and was battling well in our midfield and beginning to link the attack and the midfield early on.
Wigan’s first proper chance came in the 15th minute and started from Rankine feeding the ball to Taylor on the halfway line. He turned and left Evans and Coulson stranded to surge forward. Taylor then found Aasgaard in the centre who quickly fed Olakigbe into space on the left. The winger entered the box, played the ball onto his right foot and took a shot on Richard O’Donnell’s goal. In the end, the shot was low and weak but the build up was great and a strong glimpse of what was to come 👏
Over the next five minutes, Wigan looked the more dangerous of the two and eventually drew first blood. The move started with Aimson lofting a long ball down the left wing in search of Aasgaard, who battled well against Pennington to take the ball to the byline and cross it in.
As you can see from the images below, when Aasgaard crosses the ball only Francois is in the box and there aren’t any clear targets. With some luck, and a floated cross into the centre, Taylor is the one who makes contact and it falls to Rankine at the back post who is unmarked. While Coulson should do better at positioning himself closer to Rankine to avoid this situation, I like how Aasgaard took the risk to play the ball in and see what happens. It worked, and we need to see our attackers take more chances like this from now on.
Rankine looked fired up after his goal, and in the 27th minute he showcased an excellent bit of defending that denied Kyle Joseph a 1v1 goalscoring opportunity against Sam Tickle. The move started with Fletcher picking the ball up inside the Blackpool half and driving it forward to the edge of our box. As you can see below, Rankine read the move early and never stopped tracking back until he eventually intercepted the through ball and allowed Tickle to comfortably deal with it 🧤
This dedication to defending is exactly what the team needs to be doing and everything about this from Rankine was perfect.
The hosts started to grow into the game more after this chance, with Apter and Joseph notably having attempts on goal. The latter latched onto a loose backpass from Aimson and Tickle was forced into an excellent reaction save to deny the former-Latic chipping a ball over the top of him.
I mentioned before about how well we were pressing to force turnovers, and in the 42nd minute Matt Smith put Evans under enough pressure to win the ball off him and unleash a brilliant strike from range to double our lead. Aasgaard and Taylor both played a big role in getting close enough to the two remaining defenders to keep the pressure on, eventually splitting wide to allow the space for Smith to take a clear shot on goal. And, what a finish it was! 🎯
Two goals up, with just moments to go until the halftime break, is not the time to defensively switch off but Latics did and paid the price. A whipped ball into the box was punched clear by Tickle but fell to Offiah who took the ball wide to pull Olakigbe with him. Apter also moved over to receive the ball and drag Aasgaard out, but this left Lee Evans - statistically, one of League One’s most creative players - all alone to fizz a ball into the box and get lucky with a Jason Kerr own goal.
I look in more detail at the repetitive defensive errors that Latics have gotten into a habit of in the next section, but it was so frustrating to concede such a cheap goal like this to knock the enthusiasm out of us just before the break.
For the first five minutes after the restart, Blackpool looked the more dangerous side and you could tell that the goal had given them confidence that they could salvage something. However, Olakigbe should have reinstated our two goal cushion in the 52nd minute.
The move started with Aasgaard winning the ball of Apter on the halfway line and charging forward. He played it into the feet of Olakigbe who had a 1v1 with O’Donnell while Pennington (5) charged back. Olakigbe opted to shoot low and the keeper was able to save with his outstretched leg.
Just like the Rankine effort against Christy Pym last time out, these shots need to have elevation to give a higher chance of sticking the ball in the net. This should have made the scoreline 3-1, and then we are talking about a very different outcome of the game.
Maloney made his first changes around the hour mark, with Francois and Olakigbe coming off for Scott Smith and Thomas. Francois had just been booked and is still building back up to full match fitness at league level, but I felt Olakigbe still had a good chunk of minutes left in the tank. That said, the medical team on the bench has the actual data to make the right decision 🤷🏼♂️
A few minutes later, both of our fullbacks were replaced with Sessegnon and Ramsay making way for Sibbick and Robinson. The latter has not featured since an injury ended his season prematurely while on loan at St Johnstone, but has played a couple of times for our under 21s in recent weeks as he works his way back to full fitness. Jonny Smith also replaced Dion Rankine.
Wigan had one more big chance to score a third goal, with Jonny Smith floating a cross in to an unmarked Dale Taylor who misguided a header over the bar. With this much time and space, Taylor should really be doing better, but perhaps the ball was just a little higher than he would have liked. If Aasgaard is in that position, I feel with his height that ball would have been goal-bound.
We have all heard the saying “lightning doesn’t strike twice”, but at Bloomfield Road on Monday night, it did. Just like in stoppage time at the end of the first half, as the clock went past 90 Blackpool got another goal through a deflection off a centre back. This time, Aimson got the final touch but it was all so avoidable 😩
As you can see from the top two images below, Scott Smith, Matt Smith, and Sibbick are the three closest players to Onomah but they all run towards the box instead. Jonny Smith ends up getting closest to Onomah, but by this time the midfielder has had four seconds to look up and pick a pass when Scott or Sibbick could have closed him down quickly and attempted to dispossess.
The bottom two images show when Apter received the ball on the right and when he whipped the ball in. Robinson does eventually close him down, but ultimately was too slow and is reduced to a desperate lunge to try and stop the cross. The culmination of errors allowed Apter to send the ball into the box and force Aimson into a decision - connect with the ball or leave for Tickle at the risk of Rhodes getting there first - and it ends with another unfortunate own goal 💢
In my opinion, despite Blackpool having 10 more attempts than us, a higher possession, and more passes, this was two points lost for Wigan. To blow a two goal lead with two stoppage time own goals is a heartbreaking way to put another point on the table. That said, the draw does end our small losing streak and is probably the best we have played since returning from the international break.
Repetitive defensive errors 🫠
When Wigan went on the seven game unbeaten run in all competitions without conceding a goal between the international breaks, we looked very solid defensively and made it difficult for our opponents to find space on the edge of our area.
Since returning from the last international break, we have been defending at a level far from the standards set and I would say each of the six goals conceded in the last three games were caused by one of two things; poor decision making in possession or not closing down a danger on the edge of our box.
Cambridge Goal 1: James Carragher takes a short throw in to Matt Smith, who tries to play it back to Carra but Ryan Loft intercepts and charges into our box. The ball is then played across the box and Dan N’Lundulu’s shot takes a deflection off Elias Kachunga and ends up in our net. Unlucky, but ultimately caused by poor decision making in possession.
Cambridge Goal 2: Danny Andrew whips a ball into our box, where all eleven Latics players are, and Aasgaard’s clearance header finds an unmarked Korey Smith lurking at the end of the area. He has time to shoot, and his effort bounces off the post and in off Tickle. Again, unlucky, but caused by not closing down a danger on the edge of our box.
Mansfield Goal 1: James Carragher drills a ball into the midfield for Baba Adeeko, who has a Mansfield player right behind him applying plenty of pressure. Adeeko tries to quickly play the ball back to our defence, but a misplaced pass finds Will Evans who unleashes a great strike to score. Collectively, poor decision making in possession.
Mansfield Goal 2: A long ball from a free kick is sent into the Latics area, where every Wigan player is, and Frazer Blake-Tracy is able to nod a header down to an unmarked Keanu Baccus. He has time to shoot, and drills a ball into the far corner. Not closing down a danger on the edge of our box.
Blackpool Goal 1: Offiah receives the ball on the right and lures Olakigbe away, plays it to Apter who lures Aasgaard away, leaving Evans all alone to take his time and whip a ball into the box. Kerr’s own goal is unfortunate, but this goal was caused by not closing down a danger on the edge of our box.
Blackpool Goal 2: Onomah receives the ball on the left wing, has time and space to pick out his next pass. A bit of pinball in the box leads to Evans receiving on the edge and playing it wide to Apter, who had time and space. Robinson doesn’t close down fast enough, and a whipped ball into the box causes another own goal. Again, unfortunate, but caused by not closing down a danger on the edge of our box.
Even though I have included names of Wigan players directly involved there, I am not having a go at any of them. This is something that we have seen for many seasons with many different players in their roles. It’s a part of football, but if you want to become one of the better sides in the division and get on a strong run of results, the defending has to be much better.
It’s a well-known fact that our goalscoring record this season is lacking compared to the stronger sides in League One, and as that is the case we cannot afford to be making so many repetitive defensive errors that are costing us draws or wins.
Wigan are averaging 10 shots with 3 on target per game, and are facing an average of 11 shots and 3 on target per game. Those stats help to show how finely balanced our games are for the most part and if we aren’t being clinical with our chances, our opponents will have moments in games where they can be clinical with theirs.
The weekly de-brief 🤔
Before I dive into looking back on what happened this week away, I want to highlight an incredible challenge that William Haggerty is taking on to raise awareness of early testing for prostate cancer.
Billy will be taking on the Kilimanjaro Challenge while also raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care. You can learn more about Billy’s story and visit his Just Giving donation page by clicking here.
Some good news that broke on Tuesday night was that James Carragher has signed a new contract with the club, running until the summer of 2027 ✍️. I have been impressed with how well Carragher has taken to his new role at right back, and over the next couple of seasons I am sure will see a strong development in his ability and understanding of how to become more effective in Maloney’s system.
On Wednesday, the draw was made for the third round of the Challenge Cup, and Wigan Athletic Women will travel to Lancaster City. Boyce’s side won 18-2 in their second round tie with Blackburn Eagles after getting a bye in the first round. I am excited to see how far we can progress in this competition 🏆
Our two loan players, Kai Payne and Matty Corran, were both in action again on the weekend.
Payne featured for the full 90 as Oldham Athletic hosted and beat Dagenham & Redbridge 1-0 in the National League thanks to a Mike Fondop goal. The win moves the Latics back up to 5th place with 30 points from 16 games, 6 points inside the Play-Off spots.
Oldham fans have been sending in plenty of praise for the youngster, such as; “He’s been decent so far. Very composed and bellies his youth. Impressed.” and “Played well again. Very mature head on young shoulders.” Great to hear! 🌟
Corran also featured for the full 90 as Marine AFC hosted Scarborough Athletic in the National League North. After a goalless first half, the visitors scored in the 68th minute and took the full three points. The loss leaves Marine 21st in the league with 10 points from 13 games, just three points adrift from safety at this stage.
Academy and Women’s round-up 🔵
Wigan Athletic Under 18s travelled to Sheffield Wednesday U18s in our eleventh game of the U18 Professional Development League season. The Owls had won 5 and drawn 3 of their opening 10 games, placing 3rd in the table with 18 points. Latics had picked up just 1 point in the last 4 games and sat 6th with 13 points.
👕 Starting XI: Jake Spaven, Alex Hughes, Oliver Fairhurst, Sam Bolland, James Knott ©, Liam Flight, Christy Edwards, Harrison Rimmer, Oscar Harris, Cole Simms, Harrison Bettoni
🔄 Subs: Onur Yilmaz, Luca Tobin, Alastair Clifford, Lewis Wilson, Henry Miller
Despite both sides having chances to score in the first half, the game remained level at the break and Latics would have been the happier side in this moment.
Wigan started the second half well and with 51 minutes on the clock Cole Simms headed Harrison Bettoni’s cross past the Wednesday keeper to pick up his 10th goal of the U18 league campaign 🔟
Marc Maddock made his first change with twelve minutes to go in an attempt to cement the Latics’ hold on the game. Lucas Tobin came on for Bettoni.
With just two minutes remaining, Oscar Harris took a powerful shot that rebounded into the path of Harrison Rimmer. He slotted the ball into the net, doubling our lead and earning his second goal of the season after scoring in the previous match ⚽️
Lewis Wilson then came on to replace Christy Edwards as Latics looked to run down the clock, but deep into injury time Oscar Harris saw red and will now miss the next game 🟥
The victory moves Wigan up to 5th place with 5 wins and 1 draw from our first 11 games. The gap to the Owls is now just two points, but we are six points off the top two at this stage.
🏟️ Sheffield Wednesday U18s 0 - 2 Wigan Athletic U18s
⚽️ Goals: Simms (51’), Rimmer (88’)

Wigan Athletic Under 21s travelled to Peterborough United U21s for our twelfth Professional Development League campaign game. The Posh had won three and lost four of their seven games so far, sitting 7th with 9 points coming into this fixture. Latics had a record of one win, two draws, and eight losses, and sat bottom of the table.
👕 Starting XI: Trialist (GK), Llyton Chapman, Oliver Fairhurst, Sam Bolland, K’Marni Miller, Jack Rogers ©️, Lewis Wilson, Trialist, Tom Costello, Finn O’Boyle, Leo Graham
🔄 Subs: Jake Spaven, Alex Hughes, James Knott, Harrison Rimmer, Cole Simms
Before we dive into an overview of the match, it is worth noting that Peterborough usually play first-team fringe players in the U21s to keep them playing regularly. This is nothing new. It is something Darren Ferguson likes to do, and isn’t a bad idea for Maloney to think about more.
George Nevett, David Ajiboye, Cian Hayes, and Abraham Odoh were in the Posh lineup, and they all played when our senior team played them at the start of the month.
Two minutes into the game, Peterborough won a penalty and Harley Mills converted to give the hosts an early lead. Posh were the much more dangerous side in the opening half an hour, but O’Boyle had our best chance with five minutes to go as he ran down the left side and forced Blackmore into a decent save.
Wigan made a strong start to the second half, with Costello missing a big opportunity to level the game early on after latching on to a loose ball in the penalty area. Peterborough regained control of the game and doubled their lead in the 65th minute through Cian Hayes.
Mills almost made it 3-0 fifteen minutes later but his attempt bounced off the post. However, M’Kel Campbell did add another to the scoreline shortly after with a powerful strike into the bottom corner.
Latics remain at the foot of the table and have now played four more games than Coventry City who have a point extra.
🏟️ Peterborough United U21s 3 - 0 Wigan Athletic U21s
Wigan Athletic Women visited Preston-based Sir Tom Finney FC for our eighth game of the FA Lancashire County Championship campaign. Our hosts had lost all seven of their opening games, while Latics won all seven and were second in the table going into this weekend.
Emmerson Boyce named one change to his starting lineup from the 18-2 win in the Challenge Cup, with Faye Moseley replacing Amelia Knowles in goal. Tegen Baker and Poppy Twist returned to the squad after being unavailable last time out.
👕 Starting XI: Faye Moseley, Sara Merican, Abbie Moore ©️, Libby McCoy, Laura Heslip, Niniola Dada, Molly Hassall, Grace Carr, Izzy Worswick, Avagrace Hodson, Ellie Cleary
🔄 Subs: Amelia Knowles, Holly Scott, Chelsea Bloor, Tegan Baker, Poppy Twist
Can I shock you? Wigan Athletic opened the scoring. However, it was not Ellie Cleary who drew first blood, but Izzy Worswick who latched onto a loose ball and struck first.
If Cleary is not on the scoresheet, just give it a few minutes and she will be. With 22 minutes on the clock, the forward dribbled the ball through the midfield and tucked the ball away to double Latics’ lead. She then made it three just before the break after rounding the keeper and passing into an open net. That is 17 league goals in 8 games for Cleary, 23 in total when including the Challenge Cup tally 💫
Moments after the restart, the hosts pulled a goal back to score their first home goal of the season. However, Avagrace Hodson then made it 4-1 in the 55th minute following a solo run through the defence. The teenager then secured her brace after finishing a chance set up by Cleary.
Latics remain second in the division, three points behind Blackburn CSC Reserves who have played a game extra. Boyce’s side have scored 35 goals and conceded just 5 in the league. Impressive work.
🏟️ Sir Tom Finney FC 1 - 5 Wigan Athletic Women
⚽ Goals: Worswick (14’), Cleary (22’, 39’), Hodson (55’, 76’)

Our next week 🗓️
Friday 1st November | Fleetwood Town U18s vs Wigan Athletic U18s | FA Youth Cup First Round
Saturday 2nd November | Carlisle United vs Wigan Athletic | FA Cup First Round
Sunday 3rd November | Fleetwood Town Women vs Wigan Athletic Women | FA Women’s Lancashire County Championship (Tier 7)
Tuesday 5th November | Wigan Athletic U21s vs Sheffield Wednesday U21s | U21 Professional Development League
On Friday (1st November), I will have a full match preview out for our FA Cup tie against Carlisle United. Usually, these de-briefs are out on Wednesday’s with the match previews out on Thursday’s, but as work has been busy they are a day out of sync. Apologies!
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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