A record crowd at the JJB were royally entertained on a chilly winter’s day in a seven-goal thriller. An early City goal gave the travelling fans hope, but Wigan grabbed three before the break. City were 4-1 down with 20 minutes left but set the home fans’ nerves jangling as they reduced the arrears in a grandstand finalé. It was not enough, however, and they will lick their wounds ahead of the visit of Chelsea in two days’ time.
Stuart Pearce stuck with the same eleven that started against Birmingham, which meant that the returning Cole & Dunne only made the bench.
The Match
It was a lively start, with both sets of fans in fine voice, but it was City who raced out of the blocks with a goal after only two minutes!
Sommeil swung in a cross from the right, and an unmarked Antoine Sibierski rose to nod the ball to Pollitt’s right to give the men in yellow a perfect start.
But the lead lasted only a few minutes, as Wigan stole back in through Jason Roberts! The striker collected a ball floated up between Distin and Onuoha, and after touching it beyond City’s skipper he raced towards James and placed the ball wide of the keeper. The ball struck the post but rolled in to level the scores.
It was an open game now, but on 22 minutes Wigan took the lead. Teale crossed from the right and found Lee McCulloch, who headed in powerfully to James’ left.
But a minute later and City were desperately unlucky not to equalise. Vassell found Barton, who chipped the keeper from inside the area only to see the ball hit the inside of the post and roll agonisingly across the face of goal to be hacked clear.
The home side were spurred on and had the better of the next phase of play, the pace of Camara and Roberts really testing Distin and Onuoha.
Sommeil had a chance on 33 minutes, when with other City players appealing for handball in the area, the Frenchman homed in on goal from the edge of the box, but Kavanagh blocked his shot and the ball flew to safety.
Teale could have increased the lead on 39 minutes when he was found in acres of space, but after racing in to the box his attempt to lift the ball over the falling James was thwarted when the ‘keeper’s outstretched hand batted the ball away for a defender to clear.
With four minutes left before the break, Jihai Sun floated the ball across the edge of the area to Sinclair, but his header while under pressure from the defence went over the corner of post and bar.
And on 44 minutes the hosts went further ahead through Roberts again. An off-balance Thatcher headed backwards, and the striker tussled with Distin as they headed towards the area. Roberts looked to barge Distin away and then struck the ball under James into the corner to make it 3-1 at half time.
Barton went close to reducing the arrears on 47 minutes, when he stole through into the box, but his shot was blocked by Pollitt. The midfielder went to head the rebound in, but Chimbonda cleared from a yard out.
City could not create much in the way of meaningful chances for a while, with a Barton free kick easily collected by Pollitt. Sibierski put Barton in the clear on the edge of the box on 63, but his shot was charged down by De Zeeuw and went clear.
With 25 to go, Pearce brought Cole & Dunne on for Reyna and Sommeil. A minute later City nearly got one back, but Pollitt pulled off a fabulous double save, first pushing away a Barton shot before somehow reaching Vassell’s follow-up from the rebound as he scrambled to his right off the floor.
And the Wigan keeper was the hero again two minutes after that, getting down well to block a Sinclair shot that was the result of a Cole lay-off.
Cole himself got a typical shot on the turn in just after that, but again Pollitt was equal to it as he dived to his right just in front of the post.
But a potential City revival was snuffed out on 70 minutes. Henri Camara cut in from the left edge of the box, nutmegged Dunne and slid the ball home to make it 4-1.
City were not done just yet, and on 76 Joey Barton made it 4-2. Sinclair put the ball over, but after a Wigan defender climbed above Cole to head it, the ball looped to Barton, who superbly volleyed it to Pollitt’s left to give the City fans hope.
City pressed, and with three minutes to go they got another back! Sinclair burst through into the box but was denied by another great Pollitt effort, but Andy Cole latched onto the rebound, spun around and drilled it home to make the score 4-3.
Sinclair put a testing cross in on the 90 minute mark, but Sibierski’s header went a couple of yards wide.
City had a corner in the dying seconds, and even David James went up for the kick! The keeper ended up with the ball out on the right, but he was unable to get a cross in, and after the mayhem of the last few minutes Dermot Gallagher called time on a hugely entertaining match.
