Match Reaction: Piece for the papers

Last updated : 08 November 2009 By Paul Farrington

WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 Fulham 1

Not the best match for the neutral and Phil Dowd seemed hell bent on gifting Fulham everything he could, but we're playing some decent football this season.

We certainly had the best of the chances and deserved to win all three points.

Mark Schwarzer had one of those games as he kept out everything we threw at him. In particular, Charles N'Zogbia was a real thorn in Fulham's side.

It has to be said that Fulham looked tired after their trip to Rome in the week and Damian Duff has made a career out of falling over and winning free-kicks. Roy Hodgson has the Cottagers very well organised and hard to beat.

It was particularly frustrating that Fulham's penalty came from a free-kick that should have never been. That's the way it goes in football though and hopefully we'll get a bit of luck at White Hart Lane next weekend.

Star man: Whilst Charles N'Zogbia had a particularly impressive performance on the flank, Mo Diame in the centre of the park was unplayable.

He's proving to be a real bargain at a little over £2 million and his lankly, languid style fails to hide his skill and quality. Certainly one to watch for the future.

Worst performer: Mario Melchiot had an uncharacteristically poor game and Erik Edman struggled on his return to the team after his injury lay off.

But the worst performance of the day was that of Phil Dowd who seemed hell bent on gifting Fulham three points.

Best moment: Emmerson Boyce bagging his second goal of the season early in the first half. It's a shame my 125/1 bet on Boyce 1-0 didn't come up!

Tactics: Aside from the tempo dropping and allowing Fulham a simple penalty for the equaliser, we played very well today.

Martinez has adopted a really entertaining style of football and we dominated possession against a Fulham side happy to sit back and defend.

It was frustrating to see N'Zogbia moved to left back when Sinclair came on, but there was only going to be one winner, it's a shame we were beaten by the full time whistle.

Chant of  the game: I would have to say it was the well observed minutes silence on Remeberance Sunday.

Oppo fans: One of the worst away followings in the top flight. Fulham had less than 200 supporters so it was little surprise that they made no noise. Hats off to those that travelled though.

Paul Farrington, www.WIGANER.net