Silence is golden as Lowe hits the heights for Latics
WIGAN silenced the Championship’s top two, Leeds and West Brom, at their own grounds before lockdown began.
And they had no problems at all in Huddersfield’s empty stadium.
Latics had only lost one of their previous nine before this – which included wins at both Elland Road and The Hawthorns.
And they quickly got back into that groove as goals from Jamal Lowe and Anthony Pilkington secured three crucial points.
Just one point and one place separated the sides at kick-off but Wigan took a big step forward as they jumped up to 17th.
Now it is
Danny Cowley’s men who are really looking over their shoulders, with the Terriers only one point clear of the bottom three.
After 105 days without football, the Championship was finally back – but in very different circumstances.
Latics boss Paul Cook said: “It would have been a good point for us before the game so to win was great.
“The table looks good tonight but we’re all aware how quickly things can change in this league.”
But Terriers manager Cowley was less than delighted.
He said: “I’m disappointed. We were well short of the levels we’ve got to in training and in our preparation games.
“We knew what today was going to be like and we rehearsed it but we underperformed.”
The visitors had a great chance to take the lead after 20 minutes when former Town star Pilkington made space but his shot was straight at goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
But Latics made no mistake as they went ahead a few minutes later.
Pilkington spread the play out to Wales international Kieffer Moore and his cross deflected up for Lowe to chest home.
It was Lowe’s fourth goal of the season and he celebrated by taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
But it needed two outstanding saves from David Marshall from Chris Schindler and Juninho Bacuna to keep Town out.
Five minutes after the restart Latics doubled their lead at the end of a fine move down the left.
Left-back Antonee Robinson – making his first start since a failed medical cost him a move to Italian giants AC Milan in January – released Lowe who found Pilkington.
The winger dummied and wriggled to create room and his deflected effort crept past Jonas Lossl into the bottom corner.
Lowe could then have finished things off when he outstripped the defence but his shot was into the side-netting.
FOR 87 minutes it looked as though Nathan Jones had reason to be happy that his reunion with angry Luton supporters had been put on hold.
The new Hatters boss is out to build bridges with fans who were left fuming by his abrupt departure from Kenilworth Road for Stoke last January.
And it looked as though Scott Sinclair’s 53rd-minute strike meant Jones’ return would end in misery.
But with three minutes left, substitute Callum McManaman struck to grab a point.
It wasn’t enough to prevent them dropping to the foot of the Championship table – and the chances of them closing a five-point gap to safety looks remote.
But Jones could at least be delighted this side had shown the character to fight back.
He said: “We finished strong and it was a wonderful goal.
“We didn’t create enough chances and that is something we will have to work on.
“It was important that we got something from today. It was a big point for us.”
For Preston boss Alex Neil,
McManaman’s equaliser came as the latest hammer blow.
Four defeats in five before the season was suspended had left Preston looking vulnerable in sixth place.
Swansea’s emphatic win at Middlesbrough earlier in the day did nothing to ease the sense that the chasing pack was closing in.
Neil had said North End were entering a nine-game shoot-out – and he will be concerned that they fluffed their first test.
He said: “That was two points dropped. Once we broke the deadlock we were looking comfortable.
“It was a real kick in the teeth to concede the goal the way we did.
“Nobody should be getting a free shot on goal with three minutes left.”
The visitors had the better of the opening half – but failed to force the opening goal.
Preston striker Sean Maguire saw a shot deflected wide early on after drifting in from the left and letting fly from the edge of the box.
And then home centre-back Matty Pearson had to recover quickly after he almost gifted Tom Barkhuizen an opening inside the Hatters box.
Jones had fired instructions at his new players during the drinks interval midway through the first half but with little effect.
And things went from bad to worse when Sinclair slotted home for North End with a low shot in the 53rd minute, after being played in by Barkhuizen.
But Luton stepped up the pace late on in a move that ended with McManaman firing home across Preston keeper Declan Rudd.