The travelling supporters were in amazing voice and out-sung the home support for the duration of the game.
It was delightful to see the players respond with a positive performance to match. There was pace, power and determination in bucket loads as the players fought hard for every ball.
Then to seal the victory, there was the touch of Premiership class as the Latics cruised to a momentus victory.
Roberto Martinez was the organ grinder from the side and he had Ian Holloway in his pocket all afternoon.
With the Latics now having picked up five points from their last four games (including a trio to Chelsea, and Tottenham at home), Steve Bruce will be doing all the twitching ahead of next weekend's game with the Black Cats.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Roberto Martinez
Before the game the players wanted to give something back to the fans after the suffering they went through after the opening day of the season. Their performance today was not possible without the tremendous support that made the journey.
From start to finish they were impressive and the players mentioned after their warm-up how loud the support was. They deserved that winning feeling today because their input had a massive effect on the team's performance.
We were all hurting after the last game against Blackpool, but to see them enjoying themselves and proud of their team was the most important part of today's win.
It's fair to say we finally got the rewards our performance deserved.
Over the last eight games I've been extremely pleased with the players' efforts, and today they gave a complete display that showed how far we've come from when we faced Blackpool on the opening day of the season.
I'm sure many people will highlight the goal-scorers, and rightfully so, but from a team point of view they were all phenomenal.
On the first day of the season there was a naivety about our play, left ourselves exposed and played as individuals.
Today we were a great team who showed strong partnerships all over the pitch and a firm understanding of what was needed to win the game.
All of that is down to the hard-work done by the players on a daily basis, creating fierce competition within the squad making us the strongest we've ever been.
Blackpool are a team you need to stop from playing. If they are allowed to dictate things they can make it very complicated for you, pushing bodies forward pressing the defence.
Getting the first goal in the manner we did obviously helped our cause, but I was delighted in the manner we went on to control the game which is credit to the discipline and desire of the players.
The second goal was a phenomenal piece of football, and that's what people want to see - raw talent in one-on-one situations ending with a goal.
Hugo (Rodallega) and Charles (N'Zogbia) did so much for the team today aside from scoring vital goals; they helped push the team forward, led a high line and worked hard for their team-mates.
When you consider the luck that didn't go our way at Chelsea for the goal, we maybe deserved to have some go our way.
In the end I really wanted the players to keep that clean-sheet to get the full reward for their performance. It was to be but we're delighted with the three points.
Ian Holloway
Momentum is a hell of a thing at this level and we just can't grasp any of it at the moment - when we had it against Arsenal for five minutes, we needed that chance of a penalty.
But we have to start again now, because you are not given anything in life - you have to take it.
I don't think at this level that you can give two goals away like that and get back. We had a go, we huffed and we puffed, but we didn't get a goal early enough and it didn't give us the momentum.
This suits us now. We are like a wounded animal and we know we are the dirtiest in the dog zone and we have to come out fighting for every scrap that is left.
I think we are normally pretty good like that, so that is what I will be talking about (to the players).
We should be the hungriest dog left in this and we have some scrapping and fighting to do. I am just about ready to snarl.
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 | 32 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 23 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 70 | 32 | 69 | +38 | ||||
| 2 | Arsenal | 32 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 32 | 18 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 63 | 31 | 63 | +32 | ||||
| 3 | Chelsea | 32 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 17 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 58 | 26 | 61 | +32 | ||||
| 4 | Manchester City | 32 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 50 | 30 | 56 | +20 | ||||
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 31 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 44 | 36 | 53 | +8 | ||||
| 6 | Liverpool | 33 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 39 | 49 | +7 | ||||
| 7 | Everton | 33 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 19 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 47 | 41 | 47 | +6 | ||||
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers | 32 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 46 | 43 | 43 | +3 | ||||
| 9 | Aston Villa | 33 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 37 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 42 | 54 | 40 | -12 | ||||
| 10 | Newcastle United | 32 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 24 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 47 | 39 | +1 | ||||
| 11 | West Bromwich Albion | 33 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 62 | 39 | -15 | ||||
| 12 | Fulham | 32 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 36 | 35 | 38 | +1 | ||||
| 13 | Stoke City | 32 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 39 | 42 | 38 | -3 | ||||
| 14 | Birmingham City | 32 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 33 | 43 | 38 | -10 | ||||
| 15 | Sunderland | 33 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 47 | 38 | -12 | ||||
| 16 | Blackburn Rovers | 33 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 20 | 40 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 40 | 54 | 35 | -14 | ||||
| 17 | Wigan Athletic | 33 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 32 | 53 | 34 | -21 | ||||
| 18 | Blackpool | 33 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 25 | 33 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 36 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 47 | 69 | 33 | -22 | ||||
| 19 | West Ham United | 33 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 31 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 39 | 58 | 32 | -19 | ||||
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 32 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 31 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 36 | 56 | 32 | -20 | ||||
Next game
A trip to Sunderland next weekend for the Latics who will be hungry for back-to-back wins in the league. Steve Bruce's side are far from on form and Roberto Martinez will be hoping to put one over the former Latics boss.
