Wigan 0 Blackpool 1

Murphy, J 11

back to his usual self?

Match Report

A first half goal from John Murphy was enough to give the three points to a Blackpool side that tasted its first victory in 11 games.

And the Seasiders were well worth their triumph as they had more pace, bite and ideas than a lackluster Wigan outfit that struggled to find any cohesion in front of their home supporters.

The first quarter belonged to a Blackpool side that was the more aggressive right from the first kick.

Wigan keeper John Filan was in constant action as the shaky defence was given all kinds of problems by the lively Blackpool duo of Scott Taylor and John Murphy .

But ironically it was Wigan who created two of the better openings early on and might have gone in front after just four minutes when Andy Liddell and Simon Haworth combined well for Simon Haworth to shoot inches wide.

And after ten minutes in another rare Wigan raid Andy Liddell saw his fierce drive beaten away by Philip Barnes.

But a minute later Blackpool deservedly went in front as a raid down the left saw the Wigan defence caught hopelessly out of position and although John Filan beat away a fierce angled drive from Scott Taylor the home side failed to clear the ball and John Murphy fired the visitors in front from close range.

Blackpool should have gone further in front eight minutes later when Scott Taylor found himself unmarked in the Wigan penalty area but shot inches wide with the goal gaping.

Wigan were seldom in the hunt although in a rare break midway through the first half, midfielder Ged Brannan blazed high over the bar from a great position.

somebody wants a new contract

John Murphy then sent a spectacular 35 yard drive inches wide as Blackpool kept up the pressure and it was the same story after the break with the visitors looking comfortable with their lead.

They had a number of scares and the home side were unlucky just four minutes after the restart when Andy Liddell and Simon Haworth combined to set up Tony Dinning but Philip Barnes saved well from the Wigan midfielder.

At the other end Rick Wellens almost added a second for the visitors when he weaved his way through a static Wigan rearguard but then blazed inches wide.

There was yet another let off for the nervy home side after 80 minutes as Martin Bullock sped past three Wigan defenders with ease only to be denied by the reliable John Filan .

Blackpool had to withstand some intense pressure in the later stages as Wigan threw everything at them in search of an equalizer but a Simon Haworth close range header into the arms of Philip Barnes and a Andy Liddell drive that failed to trouble the Blackpool keeper were the only clear cut chances created by the poor home side.

It is no coincidence that Wigan's performances have dipped in the last two games since first team coach Colin Lee left to take up the managers role at first division Walsall 10 days ago.

Player Ratings

John Filan - 8
Scott Green - 9
Gary Croft - 5
Arjan De Zeeuw - 10
Pat McGibbon - 6
Stevie McMillan - 7
Gary Teale - 6
Ged Brannan - 5
Tony Dinning - 6
Simon Haworth - 5
Andy Liddell - 5

M-O-M

It was a toss up between Green and De Zeeuw but Arjan just sneaks it.

Post Game League Table

Last game played on Saturday 2nd February 2002		Pld		Home						Away						Overall						Pts	GD
				W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A
1	Reading	31		10	2	4	27	13		9	3	3	21	12		19	5	7	48	25		62	+23
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	29		10	2	1	25	11		5	8	3	16	19		15	10	4	41	30		55	+11
3	Stoke City	31		9	4	2	26	10		6	5	5	19	21		15	9	7	45	31		54	+14
4	Bristol City	30		8	4	3	24	15		7	3	5	23	17		15	7	8	47	32		52	+15
5	Brentford	30		10	3	1	35	9		4	4	8	18	24		14	7	9	53	33		49	+20
6	Oldham Athletic	31		9	4	2	31	13		4	6	6	24	27		13	10	8	55	40		49	+15
7	Huddersfield Town	30		9	4	3	25	15		4	6	4	19	17		13	10	7	44	32		49	+12
8	Queens Park Rangers	31		7	7	2	26	14		6	2	7	17	19		13	9	9	43	33		48	+10
9	Tranmere Rovers	28		8	6	2	32	13		5	2	5	15	21		13	8	7	47	34		47	+13
10	Cardiff City	29		6	6	3	24	19		5	5	4	17	14		11	11	7	41	33		44	+8
11	Wycombe Wanderers	29		9	4	1	28	11		2	6	7	14	25		11	10	8	42	36		43	+6
12	Swindon Town	31		7	4	4	18	16		4	5	7	18	25		11	9	11	36	41		42	-5
13	Port Vale	31		8	4	4	27	18		3	3	9	12	26		11	7	13	39	44		40	-5
14	Colchester United	32		8	3	5	27	21		3	4	9	21	33		11	7	14	48	54		40	-6
15	Wigan Athletic	31		4	5	7	21	19		5	6	4	21	19		9	11	11	42	38		38	+4
16	Blackpool	30		5	7	3	21	20		4	3	8	16	28		9	10	11	37	48		37	-11
17	Peterborough United	29		7	2	5	30	17		3	3	9	10	22		10	5	14	40	39		35	+1
18	Chesterfield	28		6	1	7	25	24		3	7	4	12	14		9	8	11	37	38		35	-1
19	Bournemouth	30		7	2	5	22	17		1	7	8	16	29		8	9	13	38	46		33	-8
20	Bury	31		4	6	6	17	20		4	2	9	13	29		8	8	15	30	49		32	-19
21	Wrexham	32		4	5	7	18	25		3	2	11	20	43		7	7	18	38	68		28	-30
22	Northampton Town	30		4	2	9	13	24		4	1	10	19	29		8	3	19	32	53		27	-21
23	Notts. County	31		3	5	7	16	24		3	3	10	19	31		6	8	17	35	55		26	-20
24	Cambridge United	29		5	6	4	19	21		0	2	12	9	33		5	8	16	28	54		23	-26

Match Stats