FA Cup Champions Wigan in need of another Houdini act

 

 QPR and Reading are down.

The trap door underneath Wigan Athletic to send them down to the Championship is creaking ready to give way and complete the relegation honours for the season.

Tonight, Roberto Martinez and his Latics travel to the Emirates to face Arsenal and will be in search of a priceless win that will push the battle for relegation into the final day of the season. The result from tonight's Premier League game in London could either drop them or prop them up to live to fight another day.

Wigan, newly crowned FA Cup champions, will be on a high after their giant killing act of Manchester City at Wembley saw them lift the FA Cup this past Saturday. A thoroughly deserved win it was for Martinez and his charges, but they have had no time to celebrate with just 2 days between the Cup final and tonight's game. A loss to Arsenal will seal Wigan's fate and consign them to playing in the Championship next season.

Currently lying 18th in the table, Wigan find themselves 4 points behind 17th placed Sunderland. Aston Villa are 16th a point ahead of Sunderland. These 3 clubs are the primary candidates to endure the drop as they sit perilously close to that 18th place. Five other teams - Stoke City, Southampton, Fulham, Norwich City and Newcastle United - are just inches ahead and will be looking behind their backs. A loss for Wigan tonight will see all these clubs breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Roberto Martinez is one of the finest young managers in the game at present. His standing has now significantly gone up even higher after he led Wigan to FA Cup honours over the weekend. For all the praise showered at him, him and his club have a habit of leaving it late in the season. They spend too much time in the relegation zone year after year. Yet, somehow they have endured and ensured their continuation in England's top flight for 8 consecutive seasons pulling off one Houdini act after another. However, one just gets the feeling that they may have left it too late this time around.

Last year they were pretty much in similar troubled waters before managing to pull themselves out of it. They spent much of last season in the relegation zone, often at the very bottom. Then came the usual March turnaround that we have come to expect from the Latics. Wigan won 7 of their last 9 games to keep themselves afloat in the Premier League. Teams that fell to them included Liverpool, Stoke City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United. One of their 2 losses was a controversial 2-1 defeat against Chelsea, where both of Chelsea's goals were clearly offside.

The Gunners succumbed to a 2-1 defeat when Wigan came calling towards the end of last season. Martinez will take no time to remind his players of what they pulled off last time around. Arsene Wenger and his side have their own troubles as they will look to leapfrog North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the UEFA Champions League spots. A Wigan win will take them to 38 points, 1 behind Sunderland and 2 behind Villa. And it will leave us with the prospect of some final day drama as Roberto Martinez's Wigan welcome Paul Lambert's Aston Villa to the DW in a tantalizing clash for survival. A straight shootout!

Can they do it again? Can Wigan upset Arsenal again to push it to the final day? Can they perform the Great Escape yet again?

The answer will be revealed when the final whistle goes at the Emirates tonight.

FA Cup Quarterfinals: Saturday, March 09

Everton 0-3 Wigan Athletic

It was a day to forget for David Moyes’ side as they were thrashed 3-0 by Wigan Athletic in front of their home fans. The Blues put in an insipid performance and didn't really look like recovering after they conceded 3 goals in as many minutes in the first half. Maynor Figueroa’s header followed by goals from Callum McMannaman and Jordi Gomez left the home fans at Goodison Park stunned as they saw their side being put to the sword by Roberto Martinez’s men. Marouane Fellaini, who has been one of the star performers for Moyes this season looked a forlorn figure and was jeered when he was subbed later in the game evincing a reaction from the Belgian who got into an altercation with some sections of the fans.

Manchester City 5-0 Barnsley

It was a 5-star performance, quite literally, from the English champions as they romped home in this mismatch of a semi-final against Championship side Barnsley. Carlos Tevez’s hat-trick set City on their way as their opponents were simply outclassed at the Etihad stadium. Tevez, fresh off being arrested for driving while being ineligible, continued his recent good run when he tapped in from close range to give City the lead on 10 minutes after David Silva’s shot rebounded off the post. The two were involved again for the second goal with Silva this time a willing provider as he set up Tevez for another simple finish. The Argentine then completed his hat-trick in the second half running on to a pass from Samir Nasri to finish beyond the keeper. He also added 2 assists as he repaid Kolarov and Silva for their assistance early in the game as they added City’s 4^th and 5^th goals of the evening. Barnsley who had reached the quarters felling some big names had no answer to the Sky Blues’ firepower as they were comfortably brushed aside.

SUNDAY’S FIXTURES

Milwall vs Blackburn Rovers

Manchester United vs Chelsea

PREMIER LEAGUE Results: Sat, March 2nd

Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City

Shinji Kagawa's became the first Asian player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League as his well taken goals along with one for Wayne Rooney took United 15 points clear at the top of the league with Manchester City playing away at Aston Villa on Monday night. Rooney who started up top with leading scorer Robin van Persie had a stellar game providing 2 assists and rounding off proceedings with a thunderous finish. Kagawa though was the undoubted star for a classy performance filled with some sublime finishing in front of goal.

Chelsea 1-0 West Bromwich Albion

Demba Ba on his return to the Chelsea starting line-up scored the only goal of the game as his first half strike was enough to see the Blues hold on to a narrow victory at home. Playing without their lead striker Romelu Lukaku, West Brom did fashion a few chances but the Blues saw off a nervy last few minutes to take 3 points that puts them temporarily back in third place. Following manager Rafa Benitez's outburst midweek, there were banners mocking his 'Interim manager' status and seeking his exit, but the protests quietened down once the game began.

Wigan Athletic 0-4 Liverpool

Luis Suarez's hat-trick saw Liverpool rout Wigan at the DW stadium emerging victorious by 4 goals after Stewart Downing opened the scoring with a header in the 2nd minute. The win takes Liverpool 7th in the table within 3 points of city rivals Everton.  With the 3 goals, Suarez is now the leading scorer in the league with 21 goals moving 2 ahead of Van Persie.

Everton 3-1 Reading

Everton eased to a comfortable home win against relegation embattled Reading with goals from Marouane Fellaini, Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas that saw them end a run of 4 league games without a win. Everton dominated the game and though Robson Kanu grabbed one back for the Royals, it was merely compensation.

Southampton 1-2 QPR

Harry Redknapp's campaign to keep QPR in the top flight received a much needed boost as Rangers came away from St.Mary's with a precious win in a relegation 6-pointer. Loic Remy returned to the starting line-up after coming off the bench in the last couple of games and gave QPR the lead. Gaston Ramirez then levelled for the Saints when Julio Cesar spilled Jay Rodriguez's shot on the stroke of half-time. Jay Bothroyd then popped up with the winner for QPR in the 74th minute tapping in a Park Ji-Sung cross. Rangers are still bottom though 3 points off Reading in 19th place. Southampton remain 16th thanks to Wigan's loss against Liverpool.

Sunderland 2-2 Fulham

Sunderland fought back from 2 goals down to grab a point as their home game against Fulham ended 2-2. Dimitar Berbatov gave Fulham the lead through a coolly taken penalty literally passing the ball into net. Fulham then doubled their lead through Sascha Riether, but Sunderland hit back immediately with a penalty of their own which Craig Gardner converted. Stephane Sessegnon, who put in a man of the match performance for the Black Cats, then scored the equalizer in the 70th minute, finishing off a move that started and ended with him.

Swansea 1-0 Newcastle United

Substitute Luke Moore's late strike gave League Cup champions Swansea City a narrow win over form team Newcastle United. The 85th minute strike gave the Swans a hard-fought win in their return to league action after their demolition of Bradford in the League Cup final last Sunday.

Stoke City 0-1 West Ham United

Substitute Jack Collison's goal in the dying minutes of the first half was enough for West Ham to hold on for a rare away win in their clash against Stoke at the Britannia stadium. Both teams had been struggling for form , West Ham with the win move level on points with Stoke on 33.

PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND-UP: Saturday, Feb 23

Fulham 1-0 Stoke City

A fantastic volley from Dimitar Berbatov on the stroke of half-time was enough to secure a much needed win for the Cottagers. In his 200^th Premier League appearance, the Bulgarian with a pacy right footed volley broke the deadlock off Robert Huth’s clearance. Stoke had a chance to equalize from the spot in the 56^th minute, but Mark Schwarzer saved Jonathan Walters’ penalty. The hosts had further chances in the 2^nd half to extend their lead with Berbatov, Riise and Sidwell all going close.

QPR 0-2 Manchester United

An absolute screamer in the first half from right-back Rafael and a neat finish in the second from veteran Ryan Giggs gave Man United a 15 point lead at the top of the table as they came away from their Loftus Road encounter with a 2-0 win. United were largely untroubled, controlling the game for the most part. The only worry for United was when striker Robin van Persie suffered a hip injury as he fell into a cameraman on the side-lines.  He was replaced by Danny Welbeck at half-time.

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa

Santi Cazorla was the hero at the Emirates, as his brace helped Arsenal to a much needed win over a fighting Aston Villa. Goals 5 minutes into the match and 5 minutes from the end of the match from the Spaniard helped ease some of the pressure on the club and their manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal move within a point of 4^th placed Tottenham who play away at West Ham on Monday.

Norwich City 2-1 Everton

Norwich left it late against Everton, scoring 2 goals in the final 6 minutes to earn a come from behind victory against the Toffees. The home side created the better chances, but it was Everton who took the lead through Leon Osman on 39 minutes. Fighting back in the second half, the Canaries equalized through new boy Kei Kamara who powered a thumping header past Everton keeper Tim Howard. Captain Grant Holt then scored the winner in injury time ghosting in at the far post to tap the ball in to end Norwich’s barren run of 10 games without a victory.

West Brom 2-1 Sunderland

Two goals from Romelu Lukaku, one of them a penalty, saw the Baggies past Martin ‘O O'Neill's Sunderland at the Hawthornes. A first half penalty had given West Brom the lead, before Lukaku took advantage of a horror back pass from Titus Bramble to close down keeper Simon Mignolet forcing a clearance from his Belgian colleague that struck the onrushing Lukaku and went into goal. Sunderland did pull one back through Stephane Sessegnon, but West Brom held on for the win.

Reading 0-3 Wigan Athletic

Wigan took made full use of the man advantage, as they put 3 past Reading in a relegation 6 pointer at the Madejski stadium. Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak was given his marching orders in the second half for a cynical foul on Maynor Figueroa. It was Figueroa who finished things off with the third goal on 48 minutes after Arouna Kone had scored a quick double in the closing minutes of the first half. With the win, Wigan leapfrog Reading into 17th place.

Chelsea, Manchester City cruise in FA Cup

 Chelsea and Manchester City posted convincing wins taking care of their lower league opponents with minimum fuss to progress in the FA Cup.

In the early kick-off, Chelsea dished out a 4-0 thrashing of Brentford in their 4th Round replay at Stamford Bridge. Having held the Blues to a 2-2 draw at Griffin Road, Brentford got to half-time level at 0-0, though they could have easily been in front with a goal disallowed for offside.

That was the last positive note for the visitors, as the Chelsea picked up the pace in the second half to smash 4 past them with Juan Mata starting the proceedings with a fine effort from outside the box on 54 minutes. Brazilian Oscar then scored for a 2nd game running after netting the winner midweek at Sparta Prague to double the lead. Veterans Frank Lampard and John Terry then netted 1 each to seal Chelsea's progress into the 5th Round. Lampard, who tucked away Mata's cross with a neat volley, has now scored in 6 consecutive domestic games and moves closer to breaking Bobby Tambling's record of being the all time leading goal scorer for Chelsea.

Manchester City, not to be left behind, scripted a 4-0 demolition of their own; Neil Warnock's Leeds United being at the wrong end of the scoreline at the Etihad Stadium. Sergio Aguero scored a couple while Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez added 1 each to ensure City's smooth progression into the Quarterfinals.

After Saturday's results, Sunday turned out to be a good day for Premier league sides. Wigan Athletic also won their game away at Huddersfield 4-1, Arouna Kone leading the way with a brace. 

Chelsea face Middlesbrough in the 5th Round and if they were to come through that, they could potentially undertake a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, if the Red Devils beat Reading in their 5th Round tie on Monday.