Howe was pleased with the way his side asserted themselves on the game and then how they reacted when under pressure for spells in the second half.
He said: "I thought we were excellent in the first half. Wigan made a decent start but once we got hold of the ball and got our passing game going, I thought we dominated.
"Although the first goal was controversial and gave us a helping hand, I thought it had been no more than we had deserved and, in the end, it was quite a comfortable victory for us.
"Our experience came through in the last 20 minutes because it could have been a tricky one. The Wigan crowd were very good for them and, if we had conceded a second goal, it would certainly have made it a difficult end.
"But we ran down the clock, did what we needed to and, thankfully, didn`t get ourselves in that position."