Will’s back on fire as Latics keep on rolling

WIGAN were dominant as they cruised to their fifth league win of the season against ten-man Bristol Rovers.

There was no way back following Ryan Sweeney’s first-half sending off, on a day when Will Grigg finally get back among the goals – netting his first since January.

Wigan assistant boss Leam Richardson said: “Despite Bristol going down to ten they made it hard work for us.

“Despite what many people think it’s not always easier to play against ten – we’ve all been around football long enough to know that.

“Bristol are a good side, they’re certainly no duck eggs, as they’ve shown throughout the season so far.

“We’re in a good position now, but we’ve got to dust ourselves down now and get ourselves back up for Tuesday’s game against Northampton.

“We’ve got some tough fixtures coming up this month, and Northampton will be no different. Jimmy Floyd has got them flying again.”

The game swung on 30 minutes when Rovers defender Sweeney saw red for tripping Michael Jacobs as he was charging towards the box.

Nick Powell stepped up and cracked home the resultant free-kick from 20 yards. Minutes after bagging his fourth goal of the season, the former Manchester United youngster limped off injured.

Rovers responded with Ollie Clarke seeing a cracking long-range strike saved at the second attempt by Jamie Jones.

Grigg was thwarted twice in quick succession – first by Sam Slocombe’s breathtaking save and then by sub Tom Broadbent’s goal-line clearance – but celebrated the signing of his new contract in the week by making it 20 in the 49th minute.

In front of watching Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill, he clipped home the long-awaited goal from an acute angle.

Rovers’ miserable day was complete when Jones saved Ellis Harrison’s spot-kick following Lee Evans’ handball, while Gavin Massey wrapped up a routine Wigan win in stoppage-time with a cool finish.

Rovers boss Darrell Clarke said: “Of course the sending off was a game-changer.

“Up until that point we’d looked okay. We’d created a couple of chances and Wigan were finding us tough to break down.

“Once Ryan went off and they scored, we were forced to change and our momentum was affected.

“Credit to the lads for not crumbling but we couldn’t match them with ten men.”