YANIC IS MAGIC AS LATICS DO IT AGAIN
Gary’s late show winners
WIGAN are timing their promotion run to perfection. Almost as well as they’re timing their goalscoring.
You can add Latics’ promotion rivals Walsall to a list featuring Chesterfield, Millwall, Swindon, Peterborough, Bury, Fleetwood and Gillingham – all teams stung by late Wigan goals and comebacks.
The points rescued by Gary Caldwell’s men in the dying minutes runs well into double figures this season as they seek an immediate return to the Championship.
And after seeing Yanic Wildschut’s 90th-minute winner add to that tally – propelling Wigan into the top two for the first time this season – the manager insisted their late shows are not down to luck.
Caldwell beamed: “There’s been moments where we’ve won big games late on and you have to do that if you want to be successful.
“You need those small margins and we have players who can make that difference. It’s not a coincidence, it’s not luck. It’s character and this team is full of it. We’ve had a few breaks this season but we’ve worked very hard to get them.
“After being pegged back to 1-1 we made attacking subs and we had an intent to go and win the game when we could maybe have sat back and settled for a point away from home. We got our rewards in the end and in terms of the whole 90 minutes I thought we were the better team and deserved to win.”
It was difficult to argue with Caldwell. Wigan deservedly led at the break through Everton loanee Conor McAleny’s 25-yard rocket, his second goal in three games.
Saddlers defender Matt Preston tried to walk the ball out from the back but he was robbed and after Wigan advanced swiftly McAleny’s viciously dipping strike flew over Walsall keeper Neil Etheridge.
It could have been more as Will Grigg, once of Walsall, saw an effort foiled by Etheridge, while McAleny whistled a 20-yard free-kick just over.
When Wigan continued to waste chances after the break – a Grigg near-post header flashing wide and both McAleny and Ryan Colclough off target from decent positions – you wondered if it might bite them in the bum. Sure enough, Saddlers Sam