Weekly De-Brief: Wigan Athletic have the best defensive record in League One.
The second international break of the season is here, and Wigan Athletic sign off with an impressive seven game unbeaten run with seven clean sheets.
Another week has passed, and another two games have been played with Latics extending our unbeaten run to seven games with two more clean sheets to go under our belt.
League One football has now been paused as our international players jet off to represent their nations, allowing our remaining squad to rest up and get ready to go again when we return next weekend.
Let’s dive into what we saw this week and try to make some sense of it 👇🏼
Part One: 655 minutes without conceding.
Part Two: A trip to Wembley is still possible!
Part Three: The weekly de-brief.
Part Four: Academy and Women’s round-up.
Part Five: Our next week.
655 minutes without conceding 🧤
With the October international break here, League One football for Wigan Athletic has been paused for a second time. The last break came in early September, following our EFL Trophy fixture against Morecambe FC on September 3rd, and that is the last time Latics conceded a goal.
To sum up Latics’ defensive work, it has been simply sensational for seven games in a row. In total, 655 minutes have passed without Sam Tickle or Tom Watson seeing a ball whizz past them. The best part is that we haven’t even looked under too much pressure for that to be a surprise.
Our most recent League One game at Edgeley Park against Stockport County looked to be the biggest test over the last seven games, but only for the second half in truth. Shaun Maloney will have been the happier manager at the halftime break, with his side unlucky not to be 1-0 up due to a disallowed goal just before the break. I am still scratching my head as to what the goal was ruled out for… 🤷
👕 Starting XI: Sam Tickle, James Carragher, Jason Kerr ©, Will Aimson, Luke Chambers, Matt Smith, Jensen Weir, Dion Rankine, Thelo Rankine, Callum McManaman, Dale Taylor
🔄 Subs: Tom Watson, Toby Sibbick, Scott Smith, Baba Adeeko, Michael Olakigbe, Jonny Smith, Josh Stones
Both sides set up in a basic 4-2-3-1 shape, with the left side bringing the most success for each attack until the defenders got involved to nullify the threat.
Louie Barry’s chance after 15 minutes was well blocked by the ever-dependable, James Carragher, and Dale Taylor’s effort from the edge of the penalty area moments later stung the palms of Corey Addai. That was about it for the semi-dangerous chances in the first period.
Dave Challinor made three changes at the break, with Jay Mingi, Jack Diamond, and Lewis Fiorini coming off for Odin Bailey, Nick Powell, and Callum Connolly. Maloney brought on Michael Olakigbe for Callum McManaman, who looked to be tiring and struggling after a hefty impact with Mingi midway through the half.
Mingi and Diamond had been pinned back in their own half for the majority of that first period due to Luke Chambers and Callum McManaman having the freedom to play high, and Fiorini struggled to make any real impact in the final third. The substitutes all worked well to give Stockport that 20-30 yards increase up the field, allowing the hosts to cause Latics more problems in the remaining forty-five.
Barry had a trio of chances within the first ten minutes of the restart, but each were dealt with fairly comfortably through defensive blocks. Jonny Smith and Scott Smith then came on for Dion Rankine and Thelo Aasgaard on the hour mark, and that helped Latics to freshen things up with Scott able to get stuck into the midfield battles, and Jonny able to receive the ball and run with it to start pinning County back again.
Once Baba Adeeko came on for Jensen Weir with twenty minutes to go, I felt that Maloney was happy to tighten us up defensively and play out for the point. I don’t see anything wrong with that, as a point at Edgeley Park is a good one to pick up. We need to take what we can get at this stage to just keep putting points on the board but overall, it was an entertaining game that neither side deserved to win. Don’t be fooled by Stockport’s shooting stats.
Latics defensive efforts have not gone under the radar with the league either, as Will Aimson was nominated for the League One September Player of the Month award alongside Ethan Galbraith (Midfielder - Leyton Orient), Tomoki Iwata (Midfielder - Birmingham City), and Kwame Poku (Winger - Peterborough United) 🏆
Aimson has been excellent for Latics this season, and thankfully his early mistakes in possession have seemed to fizzle out to make him even better alongside Jason Kerr. They are performing like John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho at the moment.
A trip to Wembley is still possible! 🏟
Our final game before the international break presented a very different challenge for Shaun Maloney, as his heavily rotated side travelled up the M6 to face an injury-hit and struggling Carlisle United side in matchday two of our EFL Trophy group stage.
Maloney handed senior debuts to two players; K’Marni Miller and Tyrese Francois. Miller signed to our Under 21s a month ago after a successful trial period, and Francois secured his first senior minutes after joining from Fulham in the summer. Francois did feature for 45 minutes in a recent Under 21s game to build up match fitness, and he may link up with them again next week while first team football is paused.
Latics were without Sam Tickle, Calvin Ramsay, Baba Adeeko, Thelo Aasgaard, and Dale Taylor as they are away on international duty for their remaining Euro U21 qualifiers, while Luke Chambers is currently recovering from a shoulder injury that forced him to drop out of the England U20s squad on Monday.
👕 Starting XI: Tom Watson, Harry McHugh, James Carragher, Toby Sibbick, K’Marni Miller, Scott Smith ©, Kai Payne, Jonny Smith, Tyrese Francois, Michael Olakigbe, Josh Stones
🔄 Subs: Andy Lonergan, Will Aimson, Matt Smith, Callum McManaman, Dion Rankine, Silko Thomas, Maleace Asamoah
It was a proud night for Scott Smith who found out that he was captaining the side just an hour and a half before kickoff. Smith captained our Under 18s during their 2018/19 treble-winning campaign when they won the EFL Youth Alliance Cup, EFL Youth Alliance League, and Lancashire FA Youth Cup, and then captained our Under 23s side for two seasons. He deserved that armband on Tuesday night and put in a brilliant shift ©
Six minutes into the game, Josh Stones won a penalty after Tyrese Francois ran the ball down the left side, battled with a defender, and the Carlisle man tripped Stones who joined in the battle. The penalty was brilliantly struck by Stones, and if the keeper went the right way he would still have plenty to do to stop that with the power on it.
Stones almost had a second minutes later, as Francois’ high press helped him win the ball back to play it to our captain, who set Stones up for a rasping strike from outside the box which the keeper had to tip over the bar.
K’Marni Miller almost got on the scoresheet in the 22nd minute, after Toby Sibbick played a beautiful ball straight through the entire Carlisle team to set the debutant one-on-one with the keeper. Unfortunately, his strike was straight at Gabriel Breeze, but the play to get in that position was excellent.
Carlisle were awful in possession, especially when relentlessly trying to play it out from the back, and they were caught out again in the 25th minute when Breeze’s searching ball into the midfield was easily cut out by Kai Payne. The young midfielder fed it through to Olakigbe who was coming in off the left and he smashed the ball in off the post. Two nil, thank you very much ✌
Throughout the remainder of the game, Carlisle did very little to trouble Latics in and out of possession, and Latics’ mentality remained strong until the very end to avoid any costly mistakes. The game was reminiscent of a preseason friendly, or a training match. In fairness to Mike Williamson’s side, they have been depleted by injuries and this game was focused on providing minutes to their younger players.
The commentator did share a lovely story that their number 34, Dan Hopper, made his first team debut and is the son of Carlisle United legend Tony Hopper, who passed away six years ago today (October 9th). It must have been an emotional day for Dan’s family to see him follow in his father’s footsteps, who I am sure was looking down on him over Brunton Park. His performance off the bench for the final 10 minutes was decent, and I wish Carlisle all the best for their season.
Wigan Athletic’s win now means that we are on three points in the group with one game left, against Nottingham Forest U21s in November. Morecambe are already through to the knockout stages, and Latics just need to beat Forest in the 90 or on penalties to progress with them.
There is a chance we can win the group, but only if we win in the 90 and Carlisle beat Morecambe. The most important thin is that our trip to Wembley is still possible as the EFL Trophy is one that we have a strong chance of lifting in April.
The Weekly De-Brief 🤔
As far as weeks in the life of a Wigan Athletic supporter go, this has been a great one! Extending our unbeaten victory to seven games is excellent by itself, but when you add in that we have kept our run of clean sheets going alongside that, it could not get much better.
After our disappointing loss against Morecambe, Callum McManaman stated: “It doesn’t matter how old you are. You have got to turn up. Old, young, anything - no excuses. None left. We cannot keep getting beat.”. Since then, we have not been beaten once, nor conceded, and that is a testament to the mentality of this group of players and the influence our senior players are having on the squad 👏
I feel like this break has come at the right time, as our recent fixture congestion has tested our players with plenty of travel and game time. The next week and a half will give Maloney more time on the training pitch to work out ways we can turn these draws into more wins, and will allow the players to rest and recover from any knocks or injuries they have picked up.
Joe Hugill has been out with an ankle injury for the last couple of weeks but should be in contention to face Cambridge United after the break. Steven Sessegnon has unfortunately suffered a setback in his recovery which could extend his time on the sidelines by a couple of weeks at least.
Over the last week, three more players joined Calvin Ramsay, Thelo Aasgaard, and Dale Taylor in being called up to represent their nations during the international break.
🏴 Sam Tickle has been called up to represent England U21s.
🏴 Luke Chambers was called up to represent England Elite Squad, but he has had to withdraw due to injury.
🇮🇪 Baba Adeeko has been called up to represent Ireland U21s.
On Thursday (10th October), I will have a full preview of the international fixtures that include Latics players, and what the outcomes of these games could mean for their participation in the European U21 Championship next summer in Slovakia.
Under 21s goalkeeper, Matty Corran, joined Marine AFC on a one-month youth loan on Friday afternoon and made his debut on Saturday at home to Radcliffe FC, where he kept a clean sheet as Marine won the game 1-0 🧤
The Merseyside-based club compete in the National League North, where they sit 22nd after 2 wins and 3 draws in their opening 10 games. Our Academy has a goalkeeper on trial at the moment, and this loan move will provide Corran with some senior-level minutes to help in his development. A clean sheet is a great start to his spell in Merseyside.
Academy and Women’s Round-Up 🔵
Wigan Athletic Under 18s visited Sheffield United U18s in match day two of our PDL Cup campaign. Latics lost the first game 3-2 against Preston North End, with the Blades beating Burnley 1-0 in their opener. The four clubs compete in Group D.
👕 Starting XI: Trialist (GK), Alex Hughes, Mason Goulding, Sam Bolland, James Knott ©️, Charley McKee, Christy Edwards, Harrison Rimmer, Cole Simms, John-Paul Cavanagh, Lewis Wilson
🔄 Subs: Rohan Taylor, Zac Edwards, Oliver Fairhurst, Liam Flight, Oscar Harris
Within one minute of the start, the Blades had the ball in the back of the net after Riley McLachlan followed up our goalkeeper’s parry from Zach Giggs’ - son of Ryan Giggs - shot, but the linesman had the flag up for offside.
Latics kept their focus, and both sides engaged in a strong midfield battle with neither keeper overly tested for the most part. However, Jevan Beattie put the hosts ahead just before the break, following up on his saved effort to head home to the rebound.
Throughout the second half, a strong defensive performance from the Blades meant Wigan could not overly trouble their goalkeeper, but Latics defended well to prevent United from doubling their lead. Matchday two of our PDL Cup campaign ended in defeat, with one final game remaining against Burnley taking place in November.
🏟️ Sheffield United U18s 1 - 0 Wigan Athletic U18s
Wigan Athletic Under 21s hosted Sheffield United U21s in the Professional Development League, with the visitors topping the table after six consecutive wins followed an opening day draw. Latics have struggled so far this season, picking up one win and two draws in the opening eight games.
👕 Starting XI: Trialist (GK), Llyton Chapman, Luke Robinson, Jack Rogers ©️, Harrison Rimmer, Charley McKee, Harrison Bettoni, Finn O’Boyle, Oscar Harris, Trialist, Leo Graham
🔄 Subs: Matt Corran, Alex Hughes, James Knott, Christy Edwards, Cole Simms
The initial happiness at seeing Luke Robinson involved after his long-term injury was quickly replaced by disappointment. A challenge in the 10th minute caused a lengthy delay as a Sheffield United player received treatment, with Robinson being replaced by James Knott before play resumed 18 minutes later. When it rains, it pours. Hopefully, Robinson is back soon 🙏
Latics battled well against the league leaders throughout the first half, and a short corner routine deep into injury time saw Finn O’Boyle send the ball to Harrison Bettoni, who set himself and struck well to put Wigan ahead at the break.
Moments after the restart, Jili Buyabu’s cross was diverted goalbound by Marshall Francis to level the game. The Blades continued their early pressure, and after Billy Blacker was brought down in the box, Francis converted the penalty to put United into the lead.
Wigan struggled to regain strong momentum from this point, and after plenty of Blades attacks, their trialist volleyed an effort into the top corner from outside the penalty box. Heads didn’t drop, and with five minutes to go Wigan won a corner. The ball was sent into the box, and James Knott struck to add a second.
A comeback was not meant to be in the end, and Latics fell to a 3-2 defeat with United extending their winning run to seven games. Sheffield United have one of the best academies in the country, and it was good to see Latics push them right to the very end.
🏟️ Wigan Athletic U21s 2 - 3 Sheffield United U21s
⚽️ Goals: Bettoni (45+11’), Knott (86’)
Wigan Athletic Women hosted Chipping FC Ladies in the FA Lancashire Women’s County Championship League on Sunday, with our visitors picking up just one point from their opening four games. Emmerson Boyce’s side won six out of six on the run-up to this game and topped the table by 3 points before kickoff.
👕 Starting XI: Amelia Knowles, Laura Heslip, Libby McCoy, Abbie Moore ©️, Holly Scott, Niniola Dada, Molly Hassall, Grace Carr, Tegen Baker, Ellie Cleary, Izzy Worswick
🔄 Subs: Faye Moseley, Louisa Black, Chelsea Bloor, Avagrace Hodson
Emmerson Boyce made two changes to the starting eleven from our last game, with Holly Scott and Tegen Baker coming in for Avagrace Hodson and Sara Merican, the latter was unavailable for the game. New signing, Chelsea Bloor, was named on the bench for her first involvement.
Wigan started well, and an early cross by Abbie Moore was deflected into the Chipping net by their own player. The visitors looked to respond quickly, but Amelia Knowles pulled off a brilliant save to keep Latics ahead. Despite a few big chances to extend the lead, including a Grace Carr freekick that struck the crossbar just before the break, Boyce’s side went into halftime 1-0 up.
At the restart, Latics charged forward as a team with Ellie Cleary burying the chance to double our lead and take her season tally to 15 goals. Our top scorer turned provider five minutes later as Cleary slipped a ball through to Avagrace Hodson to finish off. After pouncing on a goalkeeping error, the 16-year-old netted another on the hour mark.
Hodson went in search of her first hattrick of the season, and after Izzy Worswick crossed a searching ball into the box, the trio of goals were secured to put Latics 5-0 up. In regular fashion, Boyce’s side were not done just yet, and Laura Heslip scored her first goal for the club after a quick link-up with Molly Hassall presented the opportunity to shoot. Heslip was awarded player of the match for her efforts 🏆
🏟️ Wigan Athletic Women 6 - 0 Chipping FC Ladies
⚽️ Goals: Own Goal (2’), Cleary (46’), Hodson (51’, 60’, 85’), Heslip (87’)
Our Next Week 🗓️
Saturday 12th October | Wigan Athletic U18s vs Barnsley U18s | U18 Professional Development League
Sunday 13th October | Preston North End Women vs Wigan Athletic Women | FA Lancashire County Championship League
Tuesday 15th October | Fleetwood Town U21s vs Wigan Athletic U21s | U21 Professional Development League
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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