Here is the reaction of those involved.
Once again it was a case of two points dropped as the Latics got their noses in front after good work from Moses set up Charles N'Zogbia to net the opener.
However a petulant free-kick given away by Ben Watson allowed Ashley Young to fire in the equaliser.
The game itself wasn't too lively and although Darren Bent had a good opportunity to take all three points for Villa late on, Ali Al-Habsi's one-on-one save earned a deserved point for the Latics.
All eyes now turn firmly to next weeks clash with West Ham.
The Latics, Blackpool, and West Ham all earned a point this weekend and so the table looks very much as it did at present with Blackpool the happier of the three in seventeenth place.
The Hammers travel to the DW Stadium next week for a game that is going to be a real six pointer for the club and every player and supporter needs to be up for that one.
Here is the reaction of those involved.
Roberto Martinez
It's not a surprise the quality that Ali possesses and his concentration levels were outstanding. When you need your goalkeeper, he was there to give us a real lift.
The first goal, from my view, went in from a difficult angle and was a quality strike. He saw it really late and I don't think it is a mistake at all. Overall, coming away from home we wanted to win and we always want to win and I think we showed that.
I'm extremely pleased with the performance. The points are coming very slowly but it's fair to say the least we were going to get at Villa was a point.
I didn't see the incident [Emile Heskey] but the players are adamant his reaction was out of order and it should have been a red card. I know Emile really well. He is a true pro, a fantastic player, and he showed the passion that he brings with football.
Unfortunately in those moments, if you don't keep your cool, you can get a red card.
At the moment decisions don't seem to be happening for us. It would have been a key moment in the game.
Gary McAllister
I don't think it was a game of high-quality. It was a grinding point by us. It was wee bit frustrating I have got to say. It wasn't pretty at times. We went a goal behind from an enforced error and then we fought our way back into the game.
We had two or three chances to get our noses in front but Wigan had a good chance too when they pulled it just wide of the post. I've got to say a draw was a fair result.
It's been tough. We had that run of four games which enabled us to move away from the immediate danger and then maybe since then, the draw against Stoke was similar.
Losing to 10 men at West Brom was hard to take. So it has not been free-flowing at all. We have grinded it out. We now need to get to the summer.
It's very uncharacteristic from Emile. He was feeling he wasn't get protection from the referee. He felt the centre-backs went into the back of him and he was looking for a wee bit of help from the referee.
He didn't get it but it's an over-the-top reaction. Knowing him the way I do - because he's someone I admire and someone I have played with - that wasn't Emile.
The decision to make a change at half-time was purely for the team. We had to make sure we finished the game with 11 men.
I didn't make the change straight away because I caught his eye and I felt he was going to be in control until half-time. That was enough for me.
The table
| Home | Away | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD | ||||
| 1 | Manchester United | 35 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 28 | 24 | 21 | 10 | 4 | 71 | 33 | 73 | +38 | ||||
| 2 | Chelsea | 35 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 28 | 70 | +38 | ||||
| 3 | Arsenal | 35 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 36 | 23 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 68 | 36 | 67 | +32 | ||||
| 4 | Manchester City | 35 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 8 | 9 | 54 | 33 | 62 | +21 | ||||
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 35 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 28 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 26 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 51 | 44 | 56 | +7 | ||||
| 6 | Liverpool | 35 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 54 | 39 | 55 | +15 | ||||
| 7 | Everton | 36 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 30 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 21 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 50 | 44 | 51 | +6 | ||||
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers | 36 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 34 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 28 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 49 | 50 | 46 | -1 | ||||
| 9 | Fulham | 35 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 20 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 43 | 36 | 45 | +7 | ||||
| 10 | Newcastle United | 36 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 38 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 28 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 51 | 52 | 44 | -1 | ||||
| 11 | Sunderland | 36 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 29 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 41 | 53 | 44 | -12 | ||||
| 12 | Stoke City | 35 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 0 | ||||
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 35 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 29 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 22 | 35 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 51 | 65 | 43 | -14 | ||||
| 14 | Aston Villa | 36 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 39 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 45 | 58 | 42 | -13 | ||||
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 36 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 41 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 42 | 56 | 39 | -14 | ||||
| 16 | Birmingham City | 36 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 34 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 36 | 54 | 39 | -18 | ||||
| 17 | Blackpool | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 37 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 49 | 71 | 36 | -22 | ||||
| 18 | Wigan Athletic | 36 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 32 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 27 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 36 | 59 | 36 | -23 | ||||
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 35 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 35 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 38 | 61 | 34 | -23 | ||||
| 20 | West Ham United | 36 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 28 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 36 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 41 | 64 | 33 | -23 | ||||
Next game
Next Sunday afternoon sees the crucial visit of West Ham United to the DW Stadium as the Latics fight with their relegation rivals in what Roberto Martinez has described as our 'cup final'. The players will certainly be up for this one and it is a game not to miss.
