After coming on as a second half substitute, de Ridder injected a much needed impetus to the side and was Wigan's main source of danger.
In a match that will be easy to forget, de Ridder certainly the big plus to come away with.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Steve Bruce
We've missed a glorious chance at the end to grab a goal. I think Zaki might appear on a blooper video at Christmas after that miss, it was an unbelievable chance.
We were a little bit jaded after our exploits on Wednesday, and maybe I should have freshened it up a bit. But in the second half we came out and showed what we're all about.
We came out roaring and it's unfortunate that again we haven't got anything from the game.
Mark Hughes
We've had some good ones and we have had some indifferent ones, we are quite honest about that, but given the circumstances of the game we were excellent.
We felt a little bit aggrieved at half time because I felt we had done enough to get our noses in front. We had two or three good chances in that opening 20 minutes, but got the goal after the break.
It was a great strike from Pablo, who I thought had an excellent game in that midfield position. From that point I thought we would go on and win the game quite comfortably, but we lost Dunnie to the sending off and the game changed. We had to show different qualities, but we showed them in abundance. I thought we were excellent.
We had to dig in and a lot of players had to be tenacious. Wayne Bridge has settled in quickly, we all know he is an outstanding left back and his qualities were evident today.
I felt quite comfortable when we went ahead - until the sending off about a minute later!
The Table
| Latest match Sunday, 18th January 2009 | Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 1 | Manchester United | 21 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 10 | 47 | +24 | ||||
| 2 | Liverpool | 21 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 35 | 13 | 46 | +22 | ||||
| 3 | Chelsea | 22 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 13 | 45 | +29 | ||||
| 4 | Aston Villa | 22 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 24 | 44 | +13 | ||||
| 5 | Arsenal | 22 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 37 | 24 | 41 | +13 | ||||
| 6 | Everton | 21 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 25 | 35 | +4 | ||||
| 7 | Wigan Athletic | 22 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 25 | 23 | 31 | +2 | ||||
| 8 | West Ham United | 22 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 31 | 29 | -2 | ||||
| 9 | Hull City | 22 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 42 | 27 | -13 | ||||
| 10 | Fulham | 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 17 | 26 | +2 | ||||
| 11 | Manchester City | 21 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 39 | 30 | 25 | +9 | ||||
| 12 | Portsmouth | 21 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 34 | 24 | -12 | ||||
| 13 | Bolton Wanderers | 22 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 22 | 30 | 23 | -8 | ||||
| 14 | Newcastle United | 22 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 23 | -9 | ||||
| 15 | Sunderland | 22 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 32 | 23 | -9 | ||||
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 27 | 21 | -6 | ||||
| 17 | Blackburn Rovers | 21 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 36 | 21 | -11 | ||||
| 18 | Middlesbrough | 22 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 33 | 21 | -15 | ||||
| 19 | Stoke City | 22 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 35 | 21 | -16 | ||||
| 20 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 20 | 37 | 21 | -17 | ||||
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