Wigan 1 Bradford 0 - Match Reaction
Last updated : 14 December 2003 By Paul Farrington
The game was not pretty to watch but at the end of the day, we have come away with all three points and Jewell's former club have gone away wondering where it all went wrong.
Bryan Robson must have been in the JJB crowd to see the 2-0 defeat to Reading a week previous as he went with the same team and tactics as fellow-former-United-star Steve Coppell did.
They worked to glorious effect for Reading as they defended stouty and caught us on the counter attack with the blistering pace of Forster.
This week and it was former Wolves player Michael Branch up front for the Bantams, who also looked liked getting a result at the JJB.
However, Bradford are not Reading and they had Jason Gavin foolishly sent off for dissent in the second half which undoubtably cost them the game.
The first fifteen minutes were optimistic for the Latics fans with plenty of chances, none of these were converted and the crowd took just half an hour to get on the backs of the players.
I hate to see this. Bradford came with a game plan to get ten men behind the ball and play for a draw, anything else would have been a bonus. Instead of realising that this was not going to be a pretty day and that it was not a day for pretty football and ripping the opponents to shreds, the majority of Latics fans got upset and started to abuse their own players.
It is always hard against a defensive team and to come out with comments like, "take him off he's *****!" aimed at Nicky Eaden after just 30 minutes of a football game is a bit harsh.
Fair point, Eaden had a stinker, he couldn't find a blue shirt to save his life yesterday but I'm sure that shouting this like this at the lad is not going to help his confidence.
The same went for the majority of the team. Another funny topic of anger was the subject of Bullard.
If Bullard has more ball than any other player on the pitch then surely he is more likely to play stray passes?
If he is our most creative passer of the ball then surely he is going to be playing hte ambitious passes which do not come off every time?
Every single 40/50 yard pass he plays cannot be perfect?
So why do sections of the support insist on shouting that he should be given a "rest"?
What good would this rest period do the lad?
*Rant Over*, and back to the game. Things were not looking too clever for the boys in blue as ever attack was being foiled by the Bantams resiliant defence.
This continued into the second half as the Latics kept banging on the door but to no effect. Gary Teale got some joy down the left flank mid-way through the second half, but then we stopped feeding him and the crosses dried up.
Anyway, it wasn't until the 85th minute when Andy Liddell fed Horsfield on the endge of the box, he controlled the ball well, held off his marker before dispatching the ball beyond Paston in the Bradford goal. The Stadium breathed a huge sigh of relief, and the fans who had been calling for Horsfield to be "taken off" earlier on the game started to sing his name at the top of their voices.
Ficle people are these Wigan Athletic "supporters".
I have to admit though that I was very disappointed with Jewell. It had become obvious after the first 20 minutes that Bradford had come to defend and play the same way that Reading did the previous week and he did not have the sense to change the formation from 4-4-2.
We had four defenders marking Branch on the half-way line when the ball was upfield near the Bradford goal.
Why did he not push Rogers and Eaden up onto the flanks and then push Teale and Liddell up even further onto the front line out wide and play the game camped outside Bradford's area?
I sometimes feel that our manager is lacking in this area. Three more points none-the-less.
Player Ratings
John Filan 6 - Pulled off some good saves.
Nicky Eaden 4 - His worst game in a Latics shirt.
Alan Rogers 6 - Competant both defending and going forward.
Ian Breckin 5 - Struggled with Branch.
Jason de Vos 5 - Very slow
Gary Teale 5 - Had a decent period in the second half, otherwise poor.
Andy Liddell 6 - Our best forward player.
Jason Jarrett 8 - Full of energy in the middle of the field.
M-O-M.Jimmy Bullard 5 - Didn't find his passing range with the lack of space in the game.
Geoff Horsfield 5 - Never really got in the game, but scored the all important winning goal.
Nathan Ellington 5 - Another poor one from the Duke, for a big lad he gets knocked about too easily.
Manager Comments
Paul Jewell - Wigan Athletic
"It was hard work, in the first fifteen minutes we started off really well and could have had a couple of goals. You can tell the team does not have a lot of confidence at the moment. But three points against a team with ten men struggling near the foot of the table might just be another sprongboard for us. Certainly it is a welcome three points but it was very, very scrappy."
"The goal took a few ricochets but it was nice to see it go in, we started off well but we didn't really make their keeper make a save and you could see we were edgy. They came and made it difficult for us, and we were predictable in our play which happens when you are lacking in confidence, and the only way to get around that is to win football matches."
"It's been a tough month after the great start we've had to the season, and we've had to just scrap our way through it, but you take anything when you're struggling for confidence like an own goal or a deflected goal, and that's what we've been doing. We got the three piints now and it feels great, although it was hard work."
Bryan Robson - Bradford City
"It was an incrediable decision. The referee was speaking to Peter Atherton when Jason walked away holding the ball. The referee immediately called him back and said he was goig to send him off for dissent.
"I find it incrediable and it's cost is the game."
