Fired-up Latics make Derby dig deep against 10 men

Marriott

DERBY keeper Scott Carson was delighted his side kept their heads to win a fiery clash with 10-man Wigan.

The Latics left themselves with a tough afternoon when defender Kal Naismith was given his marching orders for fouling Harry Wilson after only 15 minutes.

Jack Marriott bagged the Rams’ winner shortly afterwards despite a spirited second-half display from the hosts to snatch something at the DW Stadium.

And Carson admitted: “There was a bit of edge to the game and a few tackles going in. When one side goes down to 10 men so early, there’s always a bit of frustration among the players, whether or not they agree or disagree with the decision.

“So it always adds to that and we just tried to calm our players down. The last thing we wanted to do was go down to 10 men as well.”

Liverpool loanee Wilson was a constant threat, but could have been sent-off himself after Wigan skipper Sam Morsy claimed he butted him after an altercation between the pair.

Busy referee Gavin Ward booked both players, but Carson thought the Latics did everything they could to try and get Wilson dismissed.

“I think they tried to get him sent off,” added Carson (getting treatment, above).

“Wigan probably felt a bit frustrated that it was so early on to get a red card and tried to even it up. We maybe got a bit lucky in the second half. We didn’t play as well as we did in the first half when we were really good.

“We let them back into it and full credit to Wigan as they showed a lot of heart and desire to put in a display like that with 10 men.”

Latics midfielder Morsy was frustrated his side did not manage a goal after their spirited second-half showing.

He said: “After the break there was only one team going to score. It was hard with us being down to 10 men, but these things happen in football. We took the game to them early on and with 11 men there would have been only one winner.

“The red card situation can happen to anyone, the ball is on the wrong side and it’s a great run by their lad. Once we steadied ourselves we controlled the game, so credit to the lads for the performance in the second half.

“We wanted to have a go at them in the second half, that’s the way the manager plays.

“They scored a good goal to be fair to them and Marriott is a quality player.

“We had a go at them after that, we stayed strong and they didn’t have any chances.”

MATCH STATS

WIGAN: DERBY: