Wigan 1 Ipswich 0

Last updated : 27 August 2003 By Paul Farrington

A Nathan Ellington goal 11 minutes into the second half of a pulsating encounter brought Wigan their first home victory in Division One at the expense of highly fancied Ipswich Town.

Wigan's record signing, who has been out of action for four months, bagged his second goal in two games with an instinctive flick from Jason Jarrett's mishit shot to wrong-foot Ipswich keeper Kelvin Davis to give the home side a deserved lead.

In a match full of flowing football, the lead was nothing less than Wigan deserved as they had mastered their opponents almost from the first whistle.

Ipswich keeper Davis produced two stunning first-half saves to deny Jimmy Bullard and Ellington while Andy Liddell's close-range effort was disallowed.

After the break, Wigan kept up the tempo and Daves again came to his side's rescue with saves again from Ellington, Peter Kennedy and substitute Mark Burchill.

But it was far from one-way traffic and at the other end Wigan keeper John Filan stood firm in the face of some fierce Ipswich pressure in the latter stages.

He produced tremendous stops from Jermaine Wright and Marcus Bent and when he was beaten by substitute Pablo Counago, defender Ian Breckin made a desperate goal-line clearance.

Wigan might have added a second in the closing stages when substitute Burchill broke clear of the visiting defence only to see his fierce drive parried by Davis.

Player Ratings

Wigan Athletic

John Filan 8
Nicky Eaden 7
Steve McMillan 6
Matt Jackson 8
Ian Breckin 8
Andy Liddell 7
Peter Kennedy 8
Jason Jarrett 8
Jimmy Bullard 8
Nathan Ellington 8
Neil Roberts 6

SUBS: Yeomans, Mitchell (Kennedy 80), Dinning (McMillan 87), Teale, Burchill (Ellington 76)

Ipswich Town

Kelvin Davis 7
Fabian Wilnis 7
Chris Makin 6
Richard Naylor 7
Drissa Diallo 8
Thomas Miller 6
Jermaine Wright 6
Jim Magilton 5
Richards 6
Marcus Bent 7
Darren Bent 6

SUBS: Price, Counago (Darren Bent 46), Bowditch (Richards 61), Santos, Westlake (Miller 71)

Referee

Trevor Parkes -
Poor. He had a decent first half, but lost consistency in the second and seemed to drift off onto a different planet at times. 2/5.

The Managers

Paul Jewell:
"I thought we played high tempo, good football, defended well in front of ourselves, and I thought we fully deserved the three points. I thought we played well for the full ninety minutes.

"I don't normally get carried away but I thought on Saturday we looked like we were there just to make up the numbers. Tonight the players showed themselves that they could compete against a very good Ipswich side, who have some very good players, despite their tricky start. They're a good team and I expect them to be up there.

"For the full ninety minutes it was a decent game of football played at a high tempo. Even if we had lost that game and got no points I would have been happy with the performance. I wasn't happy on Saturday even though we won. Tonight was a big improvement.

"I love the scrappy goals, those taps ins that I used to score every week. Not many people can do that but those goals make a difference. Ellington was shattered after 75 minutes because he hasn't had a lot of training, but then Burchill came on and gave us a bit of pace as well.

"John Filan made a great save late on. Ian Breckin cleared one off the line and we had to defend corners and free kicks ever so well. You can see the effort the players have been putting in. It's paramount to us. I don't want to get too carried away but some of the football we've seen tonight is as good as we've seen for a while.

"I thought the whole team looked good. It was a team effort all the way through, including the lads on the bench, that's what we are about."

Joe Royle:
"Wigan over-ran us, especially in midfield where we had put three in to counter their two.

"It is not about formations it is about personnel; people are not doing what is asked from them and that will have to change.

"That was by far the worst performance since I have been at Ipswich and it was not acceptable. Fair enough we had chances towards the end but if we had have nicked a point from them it would have been a travesty.

"I felt sorry for the supporters who travelled and tried to get behind us but even from six yards with the keeper to beat we can't score.

"But it was not just the forwards, you can't blame them."

Last Night's Results

Tuesday 26th August 2003
Barclaycard Premiership
Charlton Athletic(1)2Everton(1)226,366
Leeds United(0)0Southampton(0)034,721
Portsmouth(0)4Bolton Wanderers(0)020,113
Leicester City(0)0Middlesbrough(0)030,823
Nationwide League Division One
Stoke City(0)0Millwall(0)013,087
Norwich City(2)3Wimbledon(0)216,082
Crystal Palace(0)1Sheffield United(2)215,466
Wigan Athletic(0)1Ipswich Town(0)08,292
West Ham United(1)1Bradford City(0)030,370
Natiowide League Division Two
Colchester United(0)2Bristol City(0)13,079
Nationwide League Division Three
Mansfield Town(2)5Scunthorpe United(0)05,142
York City(1)2Southend United(0)04,202
Nationwide Conference
Chester City(1)2Shrewsbury Town(0)14,665
Nrth West Cnts Div.Two
Holker Old Boys(0)5Nelson(0)0
UEFA Champions League
3rd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg
Chelsea(1)3Zilina (SVK)(0)023,408
Bells Scottish Challenge Cup
Quarter-Final
Inverness Caledonian Thistle(0)1Ross County(0)02,631
Forfar Athletic(0)0Airdrie United(0)2752
Raith Rovers(2)3St. Mirren(1)21,949
St. Johnstone(0)1Brechin City(2)21,919

League Table

Last game played on
Tuesday 26th August 2003
PldHomeAwayOverallPtsGD
WDLFAWDLFAWDLFA
1Crystal Palace 41012220063301859+3
2West Bromwich Albion 42005110124301759+2
3Reading 41103011043220738+4
4Stoke City 41102111041220628+4
5Millwall 41103111010220418+3
6Sheffield United 41101011021220318+2
7Norwich City 42005201123211757+2
8Cardiff City 41014311021211647+2
9Wigan Athletic 41102110122211437+1
10West Ham United 41101010122211327+1
11Crewe Alexandra 420020011242114470
12Sunderland 41012110122202436+1
13Walsall 41105201101121535+2
14Rotherham United 41101001102121125-1
15Gillingham 40110311010121135-2
16Bradford City 401123101211124440
17Wimbledon 41014400235103793-2
18Nottingham Forest 31013200103102353-2
19Burnley 40022510144103693-3
20Coventry City 201000010110201120
21Ipswich Town 40202200202022242-2
22Preston North End 40021401112013261-4
23Derby County 400226011140133101-7
24Watford 30010100203003040-4

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