A fantastic game saw both teams come away with a share of the spoils.The major talking point before the game was not Chimbonda, but the surprise inclusion of Emerson Boyce, just six weeks since breaking two ribs.
The game saw Latics give away the lead three times, this is getting beyond a joke.
The first goal came after just 50 seconds, a free kick was sent into the box and the Spurs defence could not clear their area, Heskey steered the ball home with his head at the second attempt.
The lead lasted just two minutes, Keane passed to Berbatov in the Latics box and he rode two challenges before hitting the ball past Filan with the outside of his right boot.
Latics went back into the lead on 30 minutes.The ball came out of the Spurs box and fell to Baines, he hit a sweet volley that flew into Robinson’s far top corner, leaving the Spurs and England keeper grasping thin air.
This time the lead lasted a good five minutes, a quick counter attack by Spurs saw Baines shove Jenas just outside the area, Jenas stumbled into the penalty area and ‘went down’ with Filan close by. Referee, Graham Poll, pointed to the spot and booked Filan.
Robbie Keane took the penalty and cooly slotted the ball home.
Kevin Kilbane missed an open goal in the dying seconds of the first half, Ryan Taylor whipped in a delightful cross which Paul Scharner headed goal wards, Robinson pulled off a fantastic flying save but diverted the ball right onto Kilbane’s head, with the goal at his mercy Killer headed over.
The second half began with both sides again going at it. Once again it was the Latics that drew first blood. Ryan Taylor swung in a corner from the left with pace, this was met by a towering Kevin Kilbane who thundered his header into the back of the net.
This time we managed to keep hold of the lead for six minutes. A long punt up field by Robinson was misjudged by Jackson and the ball flew over his head and onto the feet of Keane who hooked the ball over the head of Filan and into the net.There were chances for both sides before the final whistle with Scharner going closest with an audacious 40 yarder which Robinson just managed to keep out. Oh I almost fogot, our friend Chimbonda was booed through out the ninety-minutes.
One point gained or two dropped? Time will tell.
Player Ratings
John Filan
7 A solid game from the Ausie, little chance with any of the goals
Emerson Boyce
8 After a shakey start he settled down and looked like his old self
Matt Jackson
6 Arguably at fault with two of the goals, definately with the last
Arajan DeZeeuw
7 Past a fitness test and made a surprise start, solid through out
Leighten Baines
8 Scored an absolute scorcher, good going forward
Lee McColluch
6 Left the game early, picked up an injury to his left ankle attempting a shot
Denny Landzaat
8 Effective midfield display from the Dutch international, lots of energy
Paul Scharner
6 Game past him by in midfield, much better when he replaced Jackson at centre back
Kevin Kilbane
7 Lots of effort, missed an open goal right on half-time, made up for it with a towering header to put us 3-2 up
Henri Camara
7 Busy display from little Henri, caused the Spurs defence problems
Emile Heskey
8 Another star performance from Heskey, scored opener at second attempt after 50 seconds
Ryan Taylor
7 Came on for the injured McColluch shortly before half-time. Fantastic delvery for Kilbanes goal
Caleb Folan
6 Replaced Heskey on 66 mins. Lots of running
6 Came on for Jackson on 72 mins, put him self about in midfield
Vital Wigan is back, so why not join up and join in?
It’s easy to register , simply click the link and enjoy getting involved (you can even win prizes!)
Message Board We also need your help in the forum, so join up and kick off the debate, or if you have a forum at the moment, why not enquire about merging with Vital and get free hosting + an income? To visit the message board, click here. Get involved
This website is your website and we are looking for people to help run the site. Do you go to most of the games and have an opinion? Why not write a match report? Perhaps you are a budding journalist or even just someone who is very opinionated? Well why not join our team? If this interests you please contact Vital Wigan.
