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Wigan Athletic 1-0 Villarreal: Victor Moses winner helps Latics to impressive win to cap unbeaten pre-season
Former Crystal Palace man scores goal on stroke of half-time to help Martinez's men to creditable victory against La Liga opposition and complete perfect pre-season
By Alex Fisher at the DW Stadium
Getty Images
Wigan Athletic registered their fourth win of an unbeaten pre-season with an impressive victory over La Liga opposition Villarreal thanks to a well taken first half goal from man of the match Victor Moses.
The win however was soured a little with the injury to James McCarthy in the opening stages of the second half, the midfielder twisted his left ankle and, looking in considerable pain, left the field immediately.
The Spaniards, led by the enigmatic Nilmar and reliable Marcos Senna, settled into the game very quickly and were nearly ahead as early as the fourth minute after a mistake from Ben Watson. The midfielder was caught in possession and his weak back pass towards Ali Al Habsi was intercepted by Nilmar and bthe Omani goalkeeper was able to palm the 25 yard shot away to safety.
Wigan’s first sight of goal came four minutes later from a Jordi Gomez free kick. Maynor Figueroa and Mohamed Diame combined nicely down the Wigan left to release the lively Moses, he cut inside three defenders before being brought down in the middle of the pitch on the edge of the penalty area. Gomez took the free kick left footed but his strike crashed into the crossbar with Cesar Sanchez only able to watch.
Nilmar and his Argentine striking partner Marco Ruben were combining nicely and giving the Wigan defence plenty to think about. In the 15th minute Ruben managed to wriggle the ball between Caldwell and Lopez, and the loose ball dropped to Nilmar but his low shot was pushed round the post by Al Habsi.
With the departure of Charles N’Zogbia to Aston Villa this summer there is a lot of expectation on the shoulders of Moses and the promising youngster looked well up to the challenge with a solid display on the left hand side of a front three. A cross field pass from Gary Caldwell in the 20th minute released Moses to run at the Villarreal full back Mano, after beating his man Moses cut the ball back perfectly to McCarthy but his volley was just wide from the edge of the area.
Chances were few and far between in the first half but Ruben and Nimar both failed to test Al Habsi with good opportunities and Franco di Santo should have done better when one on one with the goalkeeper in the 24th minute.
With the half coming to a close Wigan surprised the guests with a neatly worked goal from the impressive Moses. Mohamed Diame worked hard to win the ball inside the Villareal area before rolling the ball to Di Santo, the Argentine then played a neat ball inside Gonzalo Rodriguez for Moses who fired past Cesar Sanchez with a left foot shot.
The second half began slowly and was disrupted by the injury to McCarthy in the 50th minute, the Irish midfielder picking up his ankle injury in a 50/50 challenge inside his own half.
With the introduction of substitutions the game lost a lot of its pace and was becoming stretched all the time but neither side was really able to take full advantage. Wigan had the better of the chances in the second period but substitutes Conor Sammon and James McArthur both should have done better with good chances, the latter firing wide after excellent work from Moses in the 82nd minute.
Nilmar was struggling to find space in the second period until the introduction of Giuseppe Rossi with ten minutes to go sparked the Brazilian back into life. The coveted two strikers linked nicely on a couple of occasions but a resolute Wigan defence were able to keep them at bay. Even when Rossi was able to evade the challenges of Hendry Thomas and Caldwell in the final minutes his vicious left foot shot had too much on it and Chris Kirkland was able to watch it sail over his crossbar.
Martinez's side start their Premier League campaign next week at home to Norwich.
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The win however was soured a little with the injury to James McCarthy in the opening stages of the second half, the midfielder twisted his left ankle and, looking in considerable pain, left the field immediately.
The Spaniards, led by the enigmatic Nilmar and reliable Marcos Senna, settled into the game very quickly and were nearly ahead as early as the fourth minute after a mistake from Ben Watson. The midfielder was caught in possession and his weak back pass towards Ali Al Habsi was intercepted by Nilmar and bthe Omani goalkeeper was able to palm the 25 yard shot away to safety.
Wigan’s first sight of goal came four minutes later from a Jordi Gomez free kick. Maynor Figueroa and Mohamed Diame combined nicely down the Wigan left to release the lively Moses, he cut inside three defenders before being brought down in the middle of the pitch on the edge of the penalty area. Gomez took the free kick left footed but his strike crashed into the crossbar with Cesar Sanchez only able to watch.
Nilmar and his Argentine striking partner Marco Ruben were combining nicely and giving the Wigan defence plenty to think about. In the 15th minute Ruben managed to wriggle the ball between Caldwell and Lopez, and the loose ball dropped to Nilmar but his low shot was pushed round the post by Al Habsi.
With the departure of Charles N’Zogbia to Aston Villa this summer there is a lot of expectation on the shoulders of Moses and the promising youngster looked well up to the challenge with a solid display on the left hand side of a front three. A cross field pass from Gary Caldwell in the 20th minute released Moses to run at the Villarreal full back Mano, after beating his man Moses cut the ball back perfectly to McCarthy but his volley was just wide from the edge of the area.
Chances were few and far between in the first half but Ruben and Nimar both failed to test Al Habsi with good opportunities and Franco di Santo should have done better when one on one with the goalkeeper in the 24th minute.
With the half coming to a close Wigan surprised the guests with a neatly worked goal from the impressive Moses. Mohamed Diame worked hard to win the ball inside the Villareal area before rolling the ball to Di Santo, the Argentine then played a neat ball inside Gonzalo Rodriguez for Moses who fired past Cesar Sanchez with a left foot shot.
The second half began slowly and was disrupted by the injury to McCarthy in the 50th minute, the Irish midfielder picking up his ankle injury in a 50/50 challenge inside his own half.
With the introduction of substitutions the game lost a lot of its pace and was becoming stretched all the time but neither side was really able to take full advantage. Wigan had the better of the chances in the second period but substitutes Conor Sammon and James McArthur both should have done better with good chances, the latter firing wide after excellent work from Moses in the 82nd minute.
Nilmar was struggling to find space in the second period until the introduction of Giuseppe Rossi with ten minutes to go sparked the Brazilian back into life. The coveted two strikers linked nicely on a couple of occasions but a resolute Wigan defence were able to keep them at bay. Even when Rossi was able to evade the challenges of Hendry Thomas and Caldwell in the final minutes his vicious left foot shot had too much on it and Chris Kirkland was able to watch it sail over his crossbar.
Martinez's side start their Premier League campaign next week at home to Norwich.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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Results
Times In BST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
5 | 1 |
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Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
5 | 0 |
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Heiðar Helguson
Striker QPR |
5 | 0 |
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Jason Roberts
Striker Blackburn |
4 | 1 |
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Wayne Rooney
Striker Manchester United |
4 | 0 |
