- English Barclays Premier League
- 13 May 2012, 3:00pm
- DW Stadium
- Attendance: 21,986
Wigan | v | Wolves |
3
| 2
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live commentary
90 mins:FULL-TIME: WIGAN 3 : 2 WOLVES
88 mins:Crusat with a strong strike that Ikeme does well to tip around the post.
84 mins:Goal. Wigan 3 Wolves 2. Fletcher gets a goal back. Al-Habsi saved from Doyle and the ball lands with Fletcher and he puts it in.
83 mins:Boyce gets in a good position and decides to pass when he could have had a shot for his hat-trick. It comes to nothing ultimately.
80 mins:Final sub for Wigan as Gomez brought on for Maloney.
79 mins:Goal. Wigan 3 Wolves 1. A second goal for Boyce. A stunning strike from the end of the area with the outside of his foot.
78 mins:Di Santo taken off by Martinez and it's Rodallega coming on.
77 mins:Maloney drills a great ball through to Crusat and only a great tackle from Henry stops the Wigan man.
76 mins:The game has finally become stretched and it's end-to-end as both sides start to attack. Are we in for an exciting final period?
74 mins:A final change from Wolves as Ebanks-Blake comes off for Fletcher. Wolves searching for the equaliser to end on a mini-high.
70 mins:A shot from Crusat, but his attempt is driven into the side netting and some fans thought it was in. Wigan are on top still.
68 mins:Maloney gets a good shot in after nice work from Crusat, but the shot is saved well by Ikeme in the Wolves goal.
65 mins:Another chance for Wolves as Doyle heads towards goal but it goes straight at Al-Habsi.
63 mins:A yellow card for Berra.
62 mins:A chance for Wolves, the first for a long while. Ebanks-Blake gets on the end of a Jarvis cross but his header goes over the bar.
60 mins:Closely followed, Di Santo fires a shot straight at Ikeme.
59 mins:Beausejour is rolled a short free-kick and his shot goes straight at the Wolves keeper.
57 mins:Forde replaces Hunt for Wolves.
56 mins:First change for Wigan as Crusat is brought on for Moses.
55 mins:Wigan dominate possession as they did in the first half but are just lacking a bit of a cutting edge in the final third. It's all Wigan and it looks that if anyone will score, it'll be the home side.
53 mins:Wolves are making some big mistakes at the back and they don't seem completely switched on and its very easy for Wigan.
51 mins:An enforced change for Wolves and goalkeeper De Vries comes off for Ikeme.
50 mins:It was a great chance for Moses but he mis-kicked badly, should have done much better.
49 mins:Di Santo has a shot blocked and Moses fires the follow-up wide of the Wolves goal.
47 mins:Wolves will be hoping they can improve in the second 45 minutes and sign off for the season on a high. But they need to do better.
46 mins:The second half gets underway at the DW Stadium and there are no changes by either manager.
47 mins:HALF-TIME: WIGAN 2 : 1 WOLVES
45 mins:There is two minutes of added time to be played in the first half.
44 mins:Lopez booked for Wigan.
43 mins:Wigan continue to dominate the possession and Wolves are really struggling to make any impact on this game. After the bright start it's starting to feel like an end-of-season encounter.
40 mins:No goal mouth action to speak of for some while now, as the pace of the game continues to drop.
38 mins:After all the excitment of the three quick-fire goals the game has definitely subdued, with little chances created by either side since.
35 mins:Berra with something positive for Wolves, he carries the ball 40 yards into the Wigan half but ultimately it comes to nothing.
33 mins:If new boss Solbakken is watching this game, he might not be too impressed with what he's seeing of his prospective players. Wolves just want this miserable season to end.
32 mins:Wigan patiently looking to build but Wolves are offering very little. The away side have lacked anything since the Latics took the lead.
29 mins:Moses created a good opportunity and his shot on the turn was deflected over the bar.
27 mins:Beasejour looked to play in Di Santo when he was in a good space to have a go himself. Wigan looking dangerous coming forward against a nervous Wolves defence.
25 mins:Wigan are very much on top and knocking the ball around nicely. They have a grip on midfield but not a lot is happening in dangerous areas.
23 mins:Quality possession from Wigan as they crank the pressure up and Wolves sit back deep.
20 mins:This game certainly isn't the end-of-season dead rubber that many people predicted. Both teams are looking to attack and there could be more goals.
18 mins:Yellow card for Stearman.
15 mins:It had been a shot from Maloney that was tipped wide for the corner, but Wolves' defending was poor as Boyce had a simple header to put Wigan ahead.
14 mins:Goal. Wigan 2 Wolves 1. Wigan go ahead, it's Boyce with an unmarked header from a corner. Three goals in 5 minutes at the DW Stadium.
11 mins:Goal. Wigan 1 Wolves 1. An equaliser for Wigan from Di Santo. He strikes from the edge of the area and it takes a deflection on its way in.
9 mins:Goal. Wigan 0 Wolves 1. A strike from Jarvis, he cut in from the wing and curled an effort from a tight angle into the net.
8 mins:Wigan are knocking the ball around smartly and with speed, often leaving Wolves chasing shadows.
5 mins:Wigan definitely brighter and they are looking confident given their recent successes, but no shots as of yet.
3 mins:Wigan enjoying majority of the early possession as they look to end the season on a high.
1 mins:The match kicks off, the sun is out in the north-west and the home fans are in party mood.
4 mins:Wolves: De Vries, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, Edwards, Hunt, Ebanks-Blake, Doyle Subs: Ikeme, Elokobi, Fletcher, Johnson, Milijas, Jonsson, Forde
3 mins:Wigan: Al Habsi, Lopez, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Moses, Di Santo, Maloney Subs: Pollitt, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, Sammon, Rodallega, Diame
2 mins:Wigan have enjoyed a great few weeks and their future is safe, but Wolves fans will be happy to see the end of this season - and of course they'll be under Stale Solbakken in the Championship.
1 mins:Welcome to the text commentary feed for Wigan Athletic versus Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
- English Barclays Premier League
- 13 May 2012, 3:00pm
- DW Stadium
- Attendance: 21,986
| Wigan | v | Wolves |
3
| 2
|
match report
Wolves departed the Premier League with a whimper as Wigan showed their visitors exactly what is required to survive with a 3-2 home victory.
The Molineux side finished the campaign having conceded 82 goals and it was their leaky defence which saw them concede an early lead at the DW Stadium.
Even a late consolation to improve the scoreline could not gloss over their problems and new manager Stale Solbakken will have much to address over the summer.
Wigan capitalised on some weak defending as Emmerson Boyce, who has excelled on the right of midfield since manager Roberto Martinez adopted a 3-4-3 formation, scored twice and could easily have had a hat-trick.
Matt Jarvis had put Wolves ahead but Franco Di Santo and Boyce turned things around very quickly and when the latter spectacularly volleyed home in the second half the result was put beyond Wolves despite substitute Steven Fletcher's late consolation.
The first-half action was encapsulated in a manic six minutes which perfectly summed up Wolves' dreadfully disappointing season and highlighted why Wigan survived against the odds.
In the ninth minute Stephen Ward played in Jarvis down the left but when he collected the ball out wide he still had plenty to do. But having cut inside on to his right foot he curled a perfectly-weighted shot around Gary Caldwell, Wigan's player of the season, and past goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi into the far corner of the net.
The joy of the self-deprecating Wolves fans, who frequently sang about going to Barnsley next season, was short-lived, however, as Wigan were level soon after.
Stephen Hunt dawdled in possession 30 yards out and James McCarthy required no second invitation to nick the ball off him. Even though he eventually ran into traffic on the edge of the penalty area Di Santo was on hand to fire home a low shot.
Wolves' lackadaisical attitude to defending cost them again barely three minutes later when Jean Beausejour flicked over a corner from the left and Boyce headed in from 12 yards.
The visiting fans had clearly decided they were determined to enjoy themselves with the Championship lying in wait next season and celebrated the goal with possibly more vigour than they had when Jarvis had put them in front.
Early in the second half goalkeeper Dorus de Vries had to be replaced by Carl Ikeme, who a month ago was playing at Doncaster before being recalled after injury to Wayne Hennessey and Rovers' relegation to League One.
With 45 minutes to end their top-flight stay on a high, Wolves had the first chance of the second half when Kevin Doyle's header was well saved by Al Habsi at the foot of the far post.
But Wigan responded with two good attempts of their own with Shaun Maloney's shot saved by Ikeme after a through-ball from substitute Albert Crusat, who also drove a shot into the side-netting having been put through by Di Santo.
Hugo Rodallega, whose contract is up next month, came on for what was more than likely his farewell appearance and immediately set up the third. His header down dropped right into Boyce's path and he smashed a swerving volley into the top corner from 20 yards.
With six minutes remaining Boyce had a chance to shoot for his hat-trick but sentimentality - or a defender's instinct - took over and he squared for Rodallega but the ball was hacked clear before it reached the Colombia international.
A mistake by Adrian Lopez allowed Doyle to dispossess him on the edge of the area and when the ball dropped to substitute Fletcher he knocked in a consolation.
Rodallega almost signed off in fairytale fashion by hitting the post seconds from the final whistle, which brought a sea of fans flooding on to the pitch to celebrate securing an eighth successive season in the top flight.
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