McCarthy tips balance with coolness amid chaos
Wigan Athletic 4 Blackburn Rovers 3
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Your support makes all the difference.Wigan did their prospects of extending their unlikely Premier League adventurefor at least another season by winning this rumbustious affair and ending their run of seven games without a victory.
This was a rare case of a match that improved as the pitch deteriorated, reachinga climax in the second halfwith five goals, including a quite brilliant second of the afternoon for the 20-year-old James McCarthy.
Blackburn had the better of it territorially in the early stages and it was no surprise when the former Wigan striker, Jason Roberts, put them ahead mid-way through the first half, taking advantage of a lovely angled ball from Junior Hoilett and a pull-back by Brett Emerton.
It looked ominous for a team as goal-shy on their own pitch as Wigan, but within 12 minutes they were level. Emerson Boyce cut in from the right, Paul Robinson could only parry his shot and McCarthy claimed his first from an acute angle.
So far, so good, but this was merely the warm-up act for the main event after the interval. Two minutes after the re-start, Robinson and Christopher Samba got into a tangle, Hugo Rodallega kept his head and Wigan were in front. They looked positively relaxed and secure when the skills of Charles N'Zogbia and McCarthy put them 3-1 ahead. The way the talented young McCarthy chipped the ball up twice on his right foot before finishing with his left was a delight to see. Wigan's manager Roberto Martinez called it "as good a goal as you will see in the Premier League.
Back came Blackburn with Samba's header from Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner and, with referee Mike Dean making sensible allowances for the conditions as players slithered and slid, there was still a feeling that anything could happen. He was not so lenient with two penalty decisions, however. Michel Salgado brought down Mohamed Diamé for Ben Watson to convert the first, but David Dunn kept Rovers in the hunt after he had been tripped by Boyce.
"I still thought we had the momentum," said Steve Kean of Blackburn's increasingly frenzied search for an equaliser. "You take this game and the one against Spurs in midweek and it's very disappointing to have come out with nothing."
"We are staying up," chanted Latics fans. A little early, but they are out the relegation zone.
Attendance: 18,567
Referee: Mike Dean
Man of the match: McCarthy
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