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Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart delighted with 1-0 win over Wigan ahead of 'massive' Tottenham clash
The England No.1 was pleased with the victory that moves City three points clear of their rivals, while Edin Dzeko was happy to finally get back amongst the goals
16 Jan 2012 23:04:00
By John Stammers
Getty
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has declared himself delighted with the 1-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, while he is relishing the challenge of facing Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Premier League leaders defeated Wigan at the DW Stadium thanks to a header from Edin Dzeko in the first half and the keeper expressed his delight at the team while paying credit to their opponents.
He told Sky Sports: "Yeah we needed it, the big man [Dzeko] needed his goal in the first half. The lads have done great.
"It wasn't a pretty pitch out there but fair play to Wigan, it's a false position for me where they are in the league so it's a great result for us we haven't been great on the road recently so we're really happy."
The England No.1 put in a man of the match performance - including an outstanding save with his foot from a James McCarthy effort - and the 24-year-old insists it was a good team effort.
He continued: "Yeah I'm not having much to do, but recently that's not the case but it was nice to make that save.
"Like Edin said we're all pulling in the same direction whether it be a save or anything.
"I thought Joleon [Lescott] was fantastic and it was nice to see Nedum Onuoha getting on the pitch as well. So I'm pleased for everyone."
The win puts Roberto Mancini's men three points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table with Sir Alex Ferguson's side facing Arsenal on Sunday after City play Spurs in an earlier kick-off.
When asked if it was a good opportunity to further the gap, Hart said that they are focusing on themselves and are relishing the challenge to play a "fantastic" Tottenham side.
He added: "Yeah I think so but I think we're just focusing on ourselves, as cliche as that is.
"We've got a massive game against Spurs, they've been fantastic this season so we're going to relish that and look forward to bringing them to our place."
Goalscorer Dzeko netter for the first time since November, with himself and the rest of the City frontline squandering plenty of other chances in the game. The striker was happy to get back on the scoresheet, however, and grab the three points.
He said: "Yeah I think maybe we could have scored maybe one or two more goals but at the end we are happy with the three points because it was a tough game. Wigan played very good as well at the end there.
"Yeah I'm happy again to score to help my team to win. It's football, sometimes you score sometimes you don't but I'm happy to score again today."
One particular incident saw Sergio Aguero somehow manage to weave his way through the Wigan defence while keeping the ball under close control before Dzeko got in his way and wasted the chance, but the Bosnian laughed it off and said it didn't matter as they got the win in the end.
He added:"I was waiting for him to shoot, to shoot, but at the end the ball came to me he wanted to shoot and I wanted to shoot, but it doesn't matter now."
Aguero also played down the mix-up, with the Argentine Tweeting: "That play during the second half? I'm sure there'll be another chance, haha. What matters is that we won and that we keep the lead."
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The Premier League leaders defeated Wigan at the DW Stadium thanks to a header from Edin Dzeko in the first half and the keeper expressed his delight at the team while paying credit to their opponents.
He told Sky Sports: "Yeah we needed it, the big man [Dzeko] needed his goal in the first half. The lads have done great.
"It wasn't a pretty pitch out there but fair play to Wigan, it's a false position for me where they are in the league so it's a great result for us we haven't been great on the road recently so we're really happy."
The England No.1 put in a man of the match performance - including an outstanding save with his foot from a James McCarthy effort - and the 24-year-old insists it was a good team effort.
He continued: "Yeah I'm not having much to do, but recently that's not the case but it was nice to make that save.
"Like Edin said we're all pulling in the same direction whether it be a save or anything.
"I thought Joleon [Lescott] was fantastic and it was nice to see Nedum Onuoha getting on the pitch as well. So I'm pleased for everyone."
The win puts Roberto Mancini's men three points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table with Sir Alex Ferguson's side facing Arsenal on Sunday after City play Spurs in an earlier kick-off.
When asked if it was a good opportunity to further the gap, Hart said that they are focusing on themselves and are relishing the challenge to play a "fantastic" Tottenham side.
He added: "Yeah I think so but I think we're just focusing on ourselves, as cliche as that is.
"We've got a massive game against Spurs, they've been fantastic this season so we're going to relish that and look forward to bringing them to our place."
Goalscorer Dzeko netter for the first time since November, with himself and the rest of the City frontline squandering plenty of other chances in the game. The striker was happy to get back on the scoresheet, however, and grab the three points.
He said: "Yeah I think maybe we could have scored maybe one or two more goals but at the end we are happy with the three points because it was a tough game. Wigan played very good as well at the end there.
"Yeah I'm happy again to score to help my team to win. It's football, sometimes you score sometimes you don't but I'm happy to score again today."
One particular incident saw Sergio Aguero somehow manage to weave his way through the Wigan defence while keeping the ball under close control before Dzeko got in his way and wasted the chance, but the Bosnian laughed it off and said it didn't matter as they got the win in the end.
He added:"I was waiting for him to shoot, to shoot, but at the end the ball came to me he wanted to shoot and I wanted to shoot, but it doesn't matter now."
Aguero also played down the mix-up, with the Argentine Tweeting: "That play during the second half? I'm sure there'll be another chance, haha. What matters is that we won and that we keep the lead."
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
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