Those Lucky Black Shirts, Hartlepool 0-3 Latics

Roberto Martinez took his beleaguered Latics up to the North East to face League 1 side Hartlepool United in the Carling Cup 2nd round tonight, they were on a hiding to nothing following what can only be described as a traumatic start to the new season and they were prime to be giant killed by a Hartlepool side that was unbeaten in 4 games from the start of the new campaign or so the script read.

The Latics though don`t read scripts and within three minutes the Premier League side had taken the lead and more importantly settled their nerves, Hartlepool skipper Sam Collins heading in to his own net from a Jordi Gomez free kick.

Wearing the swanky new all black away strip Wigan looked the part and with Martinez making six changes from Saturday they started brightly as well, Al-Habsi replaced Kirkland in goal, Gomez, Boyce, Watson, McArthur and new boy Steven Caldwell all stepped up to start from the off and Latics got a firm grip on the game with Collins knocking Gomez` floated free kick past Scott Flinders for an own goal.

Latics dominated for large periods of the first half though Al-Habsi made a tremendous save tipping a Joe Gamble rocket over the bar for a corner to Hartlepool. Hugo Rodallega had Wigan`s best effort of the first half when he raced through one on one with 'pool keeper Flinders but he shot straight at the goalkeepers legs and the chance was gone.

The second half saw Latics make the result certain, firstly Jordi Gomez hit a glorious 25 yard free kick off the underside of the bar and into the net to make it 2-0 on 76 minutes and then substitute Victor Moses, on for Rodallega hit home from the edge of the box following a good ball from Gomez to wrap the game up on 86 minutes.

So Latics have a 100% win record in the lucky black kit and they haven`t conceded a goal whilst wearing it

Hartlepool United: Flinders, Haslam, Collins, Liddle, Horwood, Sweeney, Murray (McSweeney 77), Gamble, Brown (Larkin 57), Boyd (Behan 67), Monkhouse.

Subs not used: Rafferty, Humphreys, Fredriksen, Hartley.


Wigan Athletic: Al-Habsi, Boyce, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Watson, Gomez, McArthur (McCarthy 66), Thomas, Rodallega (Moses 66), Boselli (N'Zogbia 79).

Subs not used: Pollitt, Diame, Stam, Mustoe.

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