Our day started in New Street Station. I, along with several other Baggies and a Blues fan, caught the 10:20 train to Wigan North Western. Once we arrived in the north we decided to take in a few of the local watering holes. Upon discovering that Wigan was actually made up of mainly Albion fans we headed into a pub near the Station. This place had a good atmosphere and quite a few songs were sung by our blue and white contingent. The beer was really cheap too!
We then took the culinary delights of the one pound bakery before setting off for the ground. The DW as it’s now known is a fairly generic new ground that sits like so many next to a retail park. We went in and found our seats. Wigan have got very, very poor support for a top flight football club. The attendance of 16,000 did flatter them somewhat as Albion took around 4,000 supporters to the north-west.
The Team
Just the two changes from midweek at West Ham as Mulumbu was brought back into the side and Nicky Shorey started at left back.
First Half
A huge Albion following was not treated to much Baggies action in the first period in truth. Neither side managed to get a foothold in the game. The ball retention from both sides was poor and as soon as Youssouf Mulumbu won the ball we gave it straight back to a poor Wigan team. An Albion break courtesy of a quick ball over the top into the channel for Peter Odemwingie showed promise in the 26th minute. Tamas played a good looking ball and Odemwingie pulled the ball back to the six-yard line only to find a well placed Wigan defence.
Further Albion pressure ensued during the latter stages of the half however, we didn’t really look like actually putting the ball in the back of the net. Paul Scharner looked lively but not completely composed. The former Latics man probably went closest to breaking the deadlock as he threw himself at a late first half corner but failed to make a telling connection. Scores left at 0-0 at the break. Half time can only described as mental. The concourse under the stand was crazily full and once the songs started raising the roof, the floor might have been giving way!
Half time turned into something that wouldn’t have been out of place at a rock concert as Baggies fans went crazy. Clearly, the rest of our lot found the beer quite cheap too as a lot of it was being chucked into the air!
Second Half
After being soaked from the beer, I sat and watched a pretty dull, drab half of football. Albion, this season anyway have been a lot better in the second period of games so there was a bit more optimism from the fans. Just after the break Jerome Thomas, who wasn’t having his most influential game, disposed the Wigan fullback on the left before managing to find Odemwingie. The Albion front-man was then brought down right on the edge of the area, we screamed for a penalty in unison, so the ref gave a free kick and yes, you guessed it, we failed to score.
Midway through the half, Scharner was replaced by Giles Barnes and three minutes later Wigan went ahead. A break by N’Zogbia from a Baggies free kick saw the winger find one time Albion target Victor Moses who slotted past Scot Carson in the Albion goal. 1-0 Wigan. The Baggies then supplied quite a bit of pressure only to see a sturdy Wigan defence keep their heads and clear. A Simon Cox volley from Brunt’s half-cleared cross went wide and a scramble in the area which the Wigan keeper blocked were the only real threats to the home side’s goal. The final whistle went. A poor result matched by an uninspiring performance.
On Reflection
It seems that the recent run of fixtures has taken its toll on a tired looking Albion side. On the brighter side of life, the chips, gravy and meat & potato pie sampled by myself and a few other Baggies was something to be smiled at. At 2.70 we were all full up ready for the train home.
A fantastic day out with some great mates, it really was a shame about the result. We will stick them however. Stoke @ home next, a guaranteed return of zero points.
Wbamatt- a slightly worried baggie.