Cheltenham 0 Wigan 2

Scored the opener

Cheltenham Town suffered disappointment in their first ever Division Two game while Wigan Athletic, one of the promotion favourites this season, underlined their credentials with a slick performance.

The Latics took an early strangehold on the game when Andy Liddell scored after only six minutes and they pressed home the advantage 18 minutes later with a goal from Lee McCulloch.

Liddell opened his team’s account for the season after defender Peter Kennedy supplied Nathan Ellington down the right. He crossed for Liddell as the Cheltenham defence hesitated and he was able to touch the ball past goalkeeper Steve Book from six yards.

Superb in the middle

McCulloch added the second after Ellington had hit the bar with a flying volley, the rebound being cleared behind for a corner. Gary Teale’s kick landed at the feet of Matt Jackson out wide, and he crossed for McCulloch to score with a free header.

Wigan could have added to their score when Liddell fired on to the crossbar after a slip by Jamie Victory, and referee Richard Beeby waved away penalty claims after Ellington went to ground under a challenge from Michael Duff.

Cheltenham, who adopted an ambitious three-man attacking formation, continued to press forward with Tony Naylor shaving the crossbar with a firm shot and Martin Devaney also going close.

Player Ratings

John Filan (7) Looked quite unsettled at times in the first half.
Ged Brannan (7) Our new right back?
Peter Kennedy (7) Nothing wrong, nothing special.
Jason De Vos (8) Superb and commanding.
Matt Jackson (8) Helped De Vos hold the line well.
Lee McCulloch (8) Impressive out wide on the left.
Gary Teale (6) Fairly quiet.
Tony Dinning (6) Annonymous.
Jason Jarrett (9) Absolutely superb in the centre of the park. Nothing beat him. M-O-M.
Andy Liddell (7) Wasted two chances and nearly made a hash of his goal!
Nathan Ellington (8) Inspiring performance, held the bal up well. Always looked dangerous.