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Reading 3 Wigan 2
By Jon West, PA Sport
http://tinyurl.com/293pw9
Wigan's woes continued after Reading came from behind to inflict a ninth successive defeat on Paul Jewell's side -
an unwanted new club record.
The Latics - last year's great success story - remain teetering on the brink of the Barclays Premiership drop zone after
goals from Ivar Ingimarsson, Shane Long and Leroy Lita set up a home success.
The winner capped a day to remember for Long, who had earlier been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad,
along with midfielder Stephen Hunt.
Wigan, who had completed the signing of Nigerian striker Julius Aghahowa earlier in the day, did not initially look like a
side which had not scored for four-and-a-half hours of Premiership action.
Lee McCulloch fired a good chance wide in the second minute but within 60 seconds Emile Heskey had found the
back of the net.
Reading manager Steve Coppell had bought two defenders that afternoon - Colchester's Greg Halford to create
a new club record and Cork's Alan Bennett.
And it was easy to see why as Heskey beat the offside trap, chasing a long ball over the top and leaving Ivar Ingimarsson
trailing, before beating goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann at his near post.
The home side needed time to rally but Hunt sent one effort curling past Chris Kirkland and only just wide of the far post.
More chances came and went with Steve Sidwell and Hunt failing to hit the target and Leroy Lita heading wide with the goal
seemingly at his mercy.
The home fans could have been forgiven for concluding it was not to be their night when Kirkland dropped a high ball
at Sidwell's feet - only for the midfielder to stab wide of the open goal. (sic).
An equaliser arrived on the half hour though and this time it was Wigan's turn to be embarrassed at the back when
they made a hash of Nicky Shorey's free-kick.
Debutant Caleb Folan - who had earlier fired a volley off the bar - could only help in towards where Lita was lurking on
the left and the England Under-21 man was able to loft it back into the danger zone off Kirkland's gloves for Ingimarsson
to nod home.
The setback jolted Wigan back into life and McCulloch forced Hahnemann into another save before Ryan Taylor saw his
free-kick fizz across the box with Heskey millimetres away from turning it goalwards.
Reading started the second period strongly with Little seeing a drive saved and Sidwell firing wide before Long made
it 2-1 in the 51st minute with his second Premiership goal.
Hunt made it possible after Kirkland had punched Little's cross from the left on to his chest - he was 12 yards from goal
and instinctively lofted the ball over the goalkeeper to where Long was lurking at the far post. The little striker nodded
home before David Unsworth could intervene.
Long was booked for a foul on Josip Skoko before Kevin Kilbane came on for Heskey in the 54th minute - and a second
Wigan change was made in the 66th minute when McCulloch was replaced by Andreas Johansson, whose first touch saw
him slice a Shorey free-kick into his own goalkeeper's hands.
Folan, signed from Chesterfield, had been lively but his debut was also marked by a booking for a foul on Lita and
Wigan made a third change by replacing Unsworth with Matt Jackson before Harper saw a chance to clinch the points
thwarted by a timely block by a defender's leg.
Long was replaced to huge applause by Dave Kitson for the final 10 minutes and the newcomer blasted a simple
chance over after Kirkland had parried a Hunt shot straight to him.
Lita made sure of the points with two minutes remaining when he slotted home from close range despite a tight angle
after the ball had fallen perfectly for him when Kitson had challenged Kirkland.
That was his 11th of the season, overtaking the injured Kevin Doyle's tally, and had been a little fortunate too as he
had been well offside when the attack began.
Denny Landzaat netted from close range deep into stoppage-time after Hahnemann had been unable to hang on to
a Taylor free-kick and Folan had played it back in to the box - but there was no time left for the Latics.
Teams:
Reading Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Shorey, Little,Sidwell, Harper, Hunt, Lita, Long (Kitson 80).
Subs Not Used: Federici, Oster, De la Cruz, Pearce.
Booked: Long.
Goals: Ingimarsson 31, Long 51, Lita 88.
Wigan Kirkland, Taylor, Boyce, Unsworth (Jackson 69), Baines,Valencia, Landzaat, Skoko, Folan, Heskey (Kilbane 58 ),
McCulloch (Johansson 65).
Subs Not Used: Filan, Granqvist.
Booked: Folan.
Goals: Heskey 3, Landzaat 90.
Att: 21,954
Ref: S Bennett (Kent).
STAT ATTACK
Reading.........Wigan
12 Shots On Target 14
7 Shots Off Target 7
11 Fouls (Conceded) 11
4 Corners 3
1 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
What the papers say: Wigan
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JEWELL SLAMS SLAPSTICK WIGAN
By Jon West, PA Sport
http://tinyurl.com/243omp
Wigan manager Paul Jewell hit out at his players for conceding the "rank bad goals" at Reading that have left the Latics
still teetering on the brink of the Barclays Premiership relegation zone.
Reading's 3-2 success at the Madejski Stadium was achieved thanks to goals from Ivar Ingimarsson, Shane Long and
Leroy Lita after Emile Heskey had fired the visitors ahead in only the third minute.
Denny Landzaat pulled one back in stoppage time but there was no time left to prevent a club record ninth successive
defeat that leaves them fourth from bottom on a night when West Ham missed a chance to climb above them by losing
at home to Liverpool.
Jewell said: "For half an hour we were excellent. We hit he crossbar and the keeper had a few shots saved and that was as
well as we have played for a while.
"But then we gave our customary Fred Karno goal away and when that happens it is always difficult. That happened twice -
we gave another rubbish goal away and we were up against it.
"The first one was a cheap goal. We finished the half well but gave a daft goal away in the second half.
"The confidence we showed in the first half you wouldn't think we were down at the bottom of the table. But as soon
as we come under a little bit of pressure at the moment we concede.
"We are not conceding good goals, we are conceding bad goals - rank bad goals."
Jewell was convinced Lita's clincher should have been ruled out because substitute Dave Kitson was offside.
He said: "Kitson was offside when he went in with the keeper. That's not why we lost the game but it's a factor because
we ended up getting another goal back. That killed the game effectively."
Reading manager Steve Coppell admitted his side had been fortunate on that occasion, especially as Lita had also been
offside in the build up.
He said: "I didn't see it but we aren't going to hand it back are we?
"There is a grey area at the moment and a certain element distrust of officials because I'm not sure it is clear to them."
Jewell certainly thought so. He said of the linesman who had kept his flag down: "It was not his fault - he's just not very good.
"I know there is a lot of confusion over the offside rules but he is definitely confused more than most.
"We had him at Watford earlier in the season and he was confused then but no doubt he will have a game on Saturday."
Coppell has broken the club record by signing Colchester defender Greg Halford for £2.5million.
He said: "He is a player we have tracked for a while. He is a Reading type of player."
JEWELL SLAMS SLAPSTICK WIGAN
By Jon West, PA Sport
http://tinyurl.com/243omp
Wigan manager Paul Jewell hit out at his players for conceding the "rank bad goals" at Reading that have left the Latics
still teetering on the brink of the Barclays Premiership relegation zone.
Reading's 3-2 success at the Madejski Stadium was achieved thanks to goals from Ivar Ingimarsson, Shane Long and
Leroy Lita after Emile Heskey had fired the visitors ahead in only the third minute.
Denny Landzaat pulled one back in stoppage time but there was no time left to prevent a club record ninth successive
defeat that leaves them fourth from bottom on a night when West Ham missed a chance to climb above them by losing
at home to Liverpool.
Jewell said: "For half an hour we were excellent. We hit he crossbar and the keeper had a few shots saved and that was as
well as we have played for a while.
"But then we gave our customary Fred Karno goal away and when that happens it is always difficult. That happened twice -
we gave another rubbish goal away and we were up against it.
"The first one was a cheap goal. We finished the half well but gave a daft goal away in the second half.
"The confidence we showed in the first half you wouldn't think we were down at the bottom of the table. But as soon
as we come under a little bit of pressure at the moment we concede.
"We are not conceding good goals, we are conceding bad goals - rank bad goals."
Jewell was convinced Lita's clincher should have been ruled out because substitute Dave Kitson was offside.
He said: "Kitson was offside when he went in with the keeper. That's not why we lost the game but it's a factor because
we ended up getting another goal back. That killed the game effectively."
Reading manager Steve Coppell admitted his side had been fortunate on that occasion, especially as Lita had also been
offside in the build up.
He said: "I didn't see it but we aren't going to hand it back are we?
"There is a grey area at the moment and a certain element distrust of officials because I'm not sure it is clear to them."
Jewell certainly thought so. He said of the linesman who had kept his flag down: "It was not his fault - he's just not very good.
"I know there is a lot of confusion over the offside rules but he is definitely confused more than most.
"We had him at Watford earlier in the season and he was confused then but no doubt he will have a game on Saturday."
Coppell has broken the club record by signing Colchester defender Greg Halford for £2.5million.
He said: "He is a player we have tracked for a while. He is a Reading type of player."
the independent
Reading 3 Wigan Athletic 2: Lita prolongs Wigan's losing streak
By Mike Rowbottom
Published: 31 January 2007
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football ... 201139.ece
Wigan tried all they knew to avoid setting a horrible club record last night - without success. They have now lost eight successive
League matches, and one in the FA Cup. For a while, especially after Emile Heskey had given them a third-minute lead,
it looked as if they might manage a surprise against the newly promoted team who aregiving a passable imitation of what
they achieved the season before.
But a Reading recovery that culminated in a controversial third goal three minutes from time by Leroy Lita rendered
Denny Landzaat's 94th-minute effort an irrelevance and ensured that Wigan continue to resemble a falling weight.
As Wigan's manager Paul Jewell pointed out, if this had been a match last season his team would probably have converted
many more of the chances they created in a first half they began with genuine cause for hope.
Now they face what he describes as "a right battle" to avoid a return to the Championship.
"It's going to go all the way to the wire," Jewell said. "And we've got to be up for it."
Before and after Heskey was allowed time to jog on to Lee McCulloch's long ball and drive inWigan's first Premiership
goal since Boxing Day, the visitors might have had other goals, notably when their debutant forward Caleb Folan,
bought for £500,000 from Chesterfield, volleyed against the bar.
Reading's defence, missing the injured Ibrahima Sonko, looked uncertain, with the replacement Andre Bikey looking more
uncertain than most.
The news that the home team had beaten Charlton and Middlesbrough to the services of Colchester United's 22-year-old defender
Greg Halford for a club-record fee of £2.5m, and also signed the 25-year-old defender Alan Bennett from Cork City for £200,000,
was beginning to acquire a strong resonance.
The home side eventually responded, equalising just after the half-hour. Nicky Shorey's free-kick from the left was directed
away from the danger zone by Folan's head, but Lita chased the lost cause and hooked the ball over his shoulder towards goal.
The Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland could only parry the ball onwards and upwards, and Ivar Ingimarsson won the scramble
for it to nod in an equaliser.
It took Reading only six minutes of the second half to take the lead as Stephen Hunt's chip to the far post allowed Shane Long
to head home after Kirkland had punched the ball weakly to the Irishman's feet.
Lita's goal appeared a luxury but turned out be a necessity. When Graeme Murty's cross came in from the right,
both he and Dave Kitson appeared offside, but Lita was on hand to force the ball home after Kitson's header was blocked.
Landzaat then struck at the near post but there was no time for an equaliser.
At the final whistle, Jewell voiced his displeasure to the linesman over Reading's third goal.
The home manager Steve Coppell said he had not seen a replay of it, but acknowledged that the offside rule currently had
its grey areas.
Wigan will hope now for fireworks from their other new signing from Donetsk, Julius Agahowa.
Coppell says he has "one more deal" to settle before the transfer window closes.
Goals: Heskey (3) 0-1; Ingimarsson (31) 1-1; Long (51) 2-1; Lita (88 ) 3-1; Landzaat (90) 3-2.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Shorey; Little, Sidwell, Harper, Hunt; Lita, Long (Kitson, 80).
Substitutes not used: Federici, Oster, De la Cruz, Pearce.
Wigan Athletic: Kirkland; Taylor, Boyce, Unsworth (Jackson, 69), Baines; Valencia, Landzaat, Skoko, McCulloch (Johansson, 65);
Folan, Heskey (Kilbane, 58 ). Substitutes not used: Filan, Granqvist.
Booked: Reading Long; Wigan Folan.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Man of the match: Hunt (Reading).
Attendance: 21,954.
Reading 3 Wigan Athletic 2: Lita prolongs Wigan's losing streak
By Mike Rowbottom
Published: 31 January 2007
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football ... 201139.ece
Wigan tried all they knew to avoid setting a horrible club record last night - without success. They have now lost eight successive
League matches, and one in the FA Cup. For a while, especially after Emile Heskey had given them a third-minute lead,
it looked as if they might manage a surprise against the newly promoted team who aregiving a passable imitation of what
they achieved the season before.
But a Reading recovery that culminated in a controversial third goal three minutes from time by Leroy Lita rendered
Denny Landzaat's 94th-minute effort an irrelevance and ensured that Wigan continue to resemble a falling weight.
As Wigan's manager Paul Jewell pointed out, if this had been a match last season his team would probably have converted
many more of the chances they created in a first half they began with genuine cause for hope.
Now they face what he describes as "a right battle" to avoid a return to the Championship.
"It's going to go all the way to the wire," Jewell said. "And we've got to be up for it."
Before and after Heskey was allowed time to jog on to Lee McCulloch's long ball and drive inWigan's first Premiership
goal since Boxing Day, the visitors might have had other goals, notably when their debutant forward Caleb Folan,
bought for £500,000 from Chesterfield, volleyed against the bar.
Reading's defence, missing the injured Ibrahima Sonko, looked uncertain, with the replacement Andre Bikey looking more
uncertain than most.
The news that the home team had beaten Charlton and Middlesbrough to the services of Colchester United's 22-year-old defender
Greg Halford for a club-record fee of £2.5m, and also signed the 25-year-old defender Alan Bennett from Cork City for £200,000,
was beginning to acquire a strong resonance.
The home side eventually responded, equalising just after the half-hour. Nicky Shorey's free-kick from the left was directed
away from the danger zone by Folan's head, but Lita chased the lost cause and hooked the ball over his shoulder towards goal.
The Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland could only parry the ball onwards and upwards, and Ivar Ingimarsson won the scramble
for it to nod in an equaliser.
It took Reading only six minutes of the second half to take the lead as Stephen Hunt's chip to the far post allowed Shane Long
to head home after Kirkland had punched the ball weakly to the Irishman's feet.
Lita's goal appeared a luxury but turned out be a necessity. When Graeme Murty's cross came in from the right,
both he and Dave Kitson appeared offside, but Lita was on hand to force the ball home after Kitson's header was blocked.
Landzaat then struck at the near post but there was no time for an equaliser.
At the final whistle, Jewell voiced his displeasure to the linesman over Reading's third goal.
The home manager Steve Coppell said he had not seen a replay of it, but acknowledged that the offside rule currently had
its grey areas.
Wigan will hope now for fireworks from their other new signing from Donetsk, Julius Agahowa.
Coppell says he has "one more deal" to settle before the transfer window closes.
Goals: Heskey (3) 0-1; Ingimarsson (31) 1-1; Long (51) 2-1; Lita (88 ) 3-1; Landzaat (90) 3-2.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Shorey; Little, Sidwell, Harper, Hunt; Lita, Long (Kitson, 80).
Substitutes not used: Federici, Oster, De la Cruz, Pearce.
Wigan Athletic: Kirkland; Taylor, Boyce, Unsworth (Jackson, 69), Baines; Valencia, Landzaat, Skoko, McCulloch (Johansson, 65);
Folan, Heskey (Kilbane, 58 ). Substitutes not used: Filan, Granqvist.
Booked: Reading Long; Wigan Folan.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Man of the match: Hunt (Reading).
Attendance: 21,954.
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Jackson Corner
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Jackson Corner STAT ATTACK
Reading.........Wigan
12 Shots On Target 14
7 Shots Off Target 7
11 Fouls (Conceded) 11
4 Corners 3
1 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
26 shots on target between us is very impresive. And just 7 fouls, both sides deserve credit for such an entertaining game.
the shots on target thing is indeed very impressive - record for the season? the total of fouls is actually 22, though.
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