What a great feeling it was on Saturday evening enjoying my favourite tipple after the Latics had put Birmingham to the sword in what can only be described as the start of a nine game fight to avoid relegation.
The scoreline of 2-1 certainly flattered the visitors as the Latics dominated the game, particularly in the second half, and could have racked up four or five.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect from a supporters point of view was the hunger on display from the players. Despite going a goal down, the players did not give up and continued to fight for one another safe in the knowledge that they had the quality to beat a one-dimensional Birmingham side.
The game had been highlighted by Martinez and a number of Latics players as ‘must win’ game and those players were going to give everything to come away with the points.
Also pleasing was the appearance of Conor Sammon as a second half substitute. It was a delight to see him barge Roger Johnson out the way before laying the ball infield to Charles N’Zogbia. More of the same will see Sammon emerge as a surprising talent for the fight to survive.
There is a wonderful depth and balance to the forward line up now, even with Mauro Boselli spending some time learning how to play in Italy. Conor Sammon, Hugo Rodallega, and Franco Di Santo are all viable options up front.
There is the argument that Di Santo will never score, but he worked his socks off yesterday, and as Emile Heskey taught us, there is more to a striker than goals.
Behind them there is the threat of N’Zogbia, Moses, Cleverley and McCarthy. All of these players are of the right age, and the right mentality to keep us up.
There are not many teams in the bottom half of the table who can boast a midfield and strike force of that quality and at the end of the day, over 38 games quality usually shows through.
The momentum is building now and hopefully the Latics can continue to turn good performances into points starting with Tottenham in a little over a weeks time. Game one of nine was a resounding success, more of the same against Spurs and we’ll be out the bottom three.
Paul Farrington
WIGANER.net
