The Latics then went a goal behind as Maynor Figueroa switched off and let Rodrigo run inside him before slotting home from a though ball.
However typical of character of this Latics side, a late goal from Ronnie Stam earned Roberto Martinez' side a valuable point.
There must also be a special note for Mike Pollitt who proved what a terrific servant he is. The veteran goalkeeper came on in the second half as Chris Kirkland suffered a bad head injury and his saves certainly kept the Latics in the game.
Here is the reaction of those involved.
Roberto Martinez
It's a great way to get a point, we know how difficult it is to come here and get a result. We know they've only lost one game here and they have a great partnership up front with Elmander and Kevin Davies which requires great concentration a real high intensity in our defending and we coped with that really, really well and it was a proud day.
Looking at the number of injuries we had; we had four players missing plus the suspension of Charles N'Zogbia and it's been a very busy period in the Premier League, we reacted in a fantastic manner - full of passion and full of desire.
I think today was one them games when we had to face adversity, there was a couple of negative notes, you've got Tom Cleverley's injury which was a real, real shame and a real disappointment and then Chris Kirkland had to come off.
We then conceded a goal that I though was a little bit cheap but all of sudden we do what we always do, we react in the right manner and the fans really got behind us. Then I think we stepped up our tempo in possession and we scored as good as a goal that you're going to see in the Barclays Premier League.
We got a positive report straight away from Chris, obviously it's an unfortunate incident where Elmander slides on the ground and he caught Chris on the head with his elbow.
We feared the worst and we're going to keep him in the hospital for the next 24 hours as a precaution but the initial report is very positive and Chris should be fine.
Owen Coyle
I think anybody who was at the game would know that. Wigan paid us the ultimate compliment by setting up and obviously playing on the counter attack and hoping for a mistake. The first half I thought was quite scrappy if truth be told but in the second there was only one team. Going forward, attack after attack, scoring with Rodrigo and chance upon chance to really put the game to bed. Then we got caught with a sucker punch. Roberto will obviously be delighted with the goal from his point of view but they had very few chances in the game. So we're disappointed not to win the game. The only frustration is in the result not the performance, as in the second half we were terrific.
The table
| Latest match Wednesday, 5th January 2011 |
Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 1 | Manchester United | 20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 43 | 19 | 44 | +24 | ||||
| 2 | Manchester City | 22 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 33 | 16 | 42 | +17 | ||||
| 3 | Arsenal | 21 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 42 | 22 | 40 | +20 | ||||
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 25 | 36 | +6 | ||||
| 5 | Chelsea | 21 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 19 | 35 | +17 | ||||
| 6 | Sunderland | 22 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 22 | 33 | +3 | ||||
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 22 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 34 | 29 | 30 | +5 | ||||
| 8 | Newcastle United | 21 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 34 | 31 | 28 | +3 | ||||
| 9 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 35 | 28 | -6 | ||||
| 10 | Stoke City | 21 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 0 | ||||
| 11 | Everton | 21 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 25 | -2 | ||||
| 12 | Liverpool | 20 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 27 | 25 | -3 | ||||
| 13 | Blackpool | 19 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 32 | 25 | -5 | ||||
| 14 | Fulham | 21 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 22 | 24 | 22 | -2 | ||||
| 15 | Birmingham City | 20 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 25 | 22 | -5 | ||||
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 21 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 26 | 39 | 22 | -13 | ||||
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 21 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 34 | 21 | -13 | ||||
| 18 | Aston Villa | 21 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 23 | 38 | 21 | -15 | ||||
| 19 | Wigan Athletic | 21 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 18 | 33 | 21 | -15 | ||||
| 20 | West Ham United | 22 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 22 | 38 | 20 | -16 | ||||
Next game
Next up for the Latics is the trip to Hull City in the FA Cup Third Round. The game will be the last of Charles N'Zogbia's suspension whilst Tom Cleverley and Victor Moses will be much closer to first team action, whilst James McCarthy and Franco Di Santo will also be well on their way.