Three 3's - Blackpool 1-3 Latics

Wigan Athletic got the perfect start at Blackpool yesterday when Hugo Rodallega stroked the ball past keeper Matt Gilks to put the Latics 1-0 up with less than 3 minutes on the clock.

A sloppy free kick by Blackpool defender Craig Cathcart gave the ball straight to Charles N`Zogbia, the Latics midfield man fed Rodallega who burst into the Blackpool box and knocked in his 8th goal of the season and his 21st since joining the Latics, making him Wigan`s all time Premier League record goal scorer.

Latics fans had made the occasion a party atmosphere, akin to a cup final, the support in the away section of the ground was fantastic from start to finish and surely must have gone some way to inspiring the players to dominate proceedings so comfortably in a game with so much at stake.

Blackpool hardly had an effort of note in the first half, their play looked laboured and they struggled to hold onto possession, in contrast the Latics were buzzing all over the pitch, the midfield of Watson, Diame, McCarthy and Cleverley worked hard and looked at ease in possession of the ball, whilst both Rodallega and N`Zogbia were a constant threat to Blackpool`s sluggish defence.

It was no surprise when the Latics increased their lead, with half-time approaching Blackpool lost possession on the half-way line when Diame stole the ball off Adam, N`Zogbia picked it up and ran at the Blackpool defence, he skipped into the area and hit a delightfully weighted effort into the far corner leaving Gilks with no chance.

The second half was much the same as the first, Latics dominant and to be honest looking a class above their opponents. Blackpool made three changes shortly after the break as they went looking to get back in the game, but such was the Latics control that the huff and puff of the home side made no difference and it was Wigan that found the back of the net again.

On 67 minutes Momo Diame received a pass just outside the Blackpool area, he jinked onto his left and hit a shot that cannoned off the backside of the Seasiders defender Neal Eardley and nestled in the far corner of Matt Gilks goal, 3-0 and in dreamland.

Blackpool scored a consolation goal on 87 minutes when DJ Campbell squeezed the ball home at the near post but this was Latics day, a day of the three threes, three goals, three points and out of the bottom three.

Charles N'Zogbia, absolutely superb


By permission of Bernard Platt/Wigan Athletic Blackpool: Gilks; Crainey, Southern, Eardley, Evatt; Taylor-Fletcher (Beattie, 58), Grandin (Phillips, 58), Varney (Puncheon, 58), Cathcart, Adam; Campbell

Subs: Kingson, Ormerod, Baptiste, Sylvestre


Latics: Al Habsi; Boyce, G. Caldwell, Alcaraz, Gohouri; Watson, Diame (Gomez, 80), McCarthy; N'Zogbia (Sammon, 77), Cleverley, Rodallega

Subs: Pollitt, Di Santo, Moses, Stam, Lopez

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