THANK EVANS LATICS ARE LOOKING UP
No fear of another Leeds choke in the mind of club legend Tony who says: If we can put three past Fulham... we’re going up as champions
WIGAN
BLACKBURN
LEE EVANS timed his first goal for nearly a year to perfection, but gave Wigan’s defence the credit for easing their relegation fears.
Substitute Evans had not scored since the opening day of the season, but came off the bench to fire the Latics ahead with 10 minutes remaining.
Then fellow sub, midfielder Michael Jacobs, netted with the last kick of the game as Paul Cook’s team made it six matches without conceding a goal.
“That stat speaks for itself,” said Evans (above). “The defence are working so hard just to keep us in games.
“And we know if we are scoring goals as well, and keeping the back door shut, then things are looking up.
“It’s a massive win for us. It’s nice to win a derby game. A couple of results went against us before the match but we defended brilliantly and got the goals towards the end.”
Scotland international shotstopper David Marshall produced two excellent saves to thwart Stewart Downing and Dominic Samuel, but the Latics deserved their win.
Skipper Sam Morsy, Kieffer Moore and Anthony Pilkington all went close for the hosts, who are now five points clear of the bottom three and unbeaten in their last seven matches.
Frustrated Rovers boss Tony Mowbray questioned a “lack of game management” from his players after his play-off chasers slipped down to ninth.
“We were not enough of a threat ultimately,” he said. “And we paid for it.”
WIGAN: Marshall 8, Robinson 7, Fox 6, Kipre 6, Byrne 6, Lowe 7, Morsy 7, Dowell 6 (Jacobs 73, 7), Williams 6, Pilkington 6 (Evans 56, 6), Moore 6 (Garner 90)
BLACKBURN: Walton 5, Bennett 6, Lenihan 6, Adarabioyo 6, Nyambe 7, Rothwell 7 (Davenport 83), Downing 7, Holtby 6 (Armstrong 64, 6), Travis 6 (Johnson 65, 5), Brereton 6 (Graham 79, 5), Gallagher 6
(Samuel 64, 5)
LEEDS legend Tony Dorigo watched his old club take a huge step closer to the Premier League and then declared: “Nothing’s gonna stop us now!”
Marcelo Bielsa’s men crushed the Cottagers with goals from Patrick Bamford, Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison.
The result lifted the Whites three points clear of West Brom at the summit and eight points ahead of third-placed Brentford in the automatic promotion race.
Leeds have been out of the big time since 2004, but former leftback Dorigo (above), a top-flight title winner at Elland Road in 1992, believes their time has finally come.
He said: “I’ve been confident all season that Leeds will go up because their style of play and intensity makes them the best team in the division for me.
“I also think their mentality is a lot stronger this year and I’m sure they are determined to right a few wrongs from last season’s play-off semi-final defeat by Derby.
“Whenever they have had a hiccup this season, they have bounced back strongly.
“Losing at Cardiff would have put one or two doubts in their mind, but putting three past Fulham showed what Leeds are about.
“I talk to a lot of the lads and every single one of them is very determined to finish the job, so I think Leeds will go up and do so as champions.”
Fulham were dominant for much of a first half which saw Bamford fire Leeds ahead from Helder Costa’s cross.
Yet Bielsa withdrew both at half-time and replaced them with Alioski and schemer Pablo Hernandez in a tactical masterstroke. Alioski rifled home a second goal and Hernandez’s delightful pass sent Harrison clear for the third, with both saluting the ‘crowdies’ in the stands (inset).
Dorigo, who covers Leeds games as a LUTV pundit, added: “In the first half we couldn’t pass for toffee.
“Then Bielsa makes those two changes and we’re a different side. If
Leeds go up, it will be fascinating to see Bielsa pitting his wits against some of the best managers in the world.”
Fulham substitute
Neeskens Kebano was sent off for a second bookable offence. And striker Aleksandar Mitrovic could face retrospective FA action after smashing his elbow into Ben White’s face.
Referee Tony Harrington took no action, but the FA are expected to look at the incident.
Dorigo said: “I’d be surprised if he didn’t face disciplinary action because it was a shocking challenge and the referee has missed it completely.
“Mitrovic is annoying and a bit of a bully too, but he’s a great player. Ben White handled the situation really well and came of age in the second half when he dominated Mitrovic.”
LEEDS: Meslier 6, Ayling 7, Cooper 7, White 8, Dallas 6, Phillips 7, Klich 6 (Douglas 80), Costa 6 (Alioski 46,
7), Harrison 8 (Poveda 83), Roberts 7, Bamford 7 (Hernandez 46, 7; Shackleton 90)
FULHAM: Rodak 6, Odoi 6, Hector 6, Ream 6, Bryan 6 (Le Marchand
75, 5), Reed 7, Cairney 6 (Johansen 75, 5), Knockaert 6 (Cavaleiro 70, 6), De Cordova-reid 7 (Onomah 75, 5), Arter 6 (Kebano 63, 5), Mitrovic 6