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Wigan manager Roberto Martinez delighted with victory over Bolton as he prepares for '13 more cup finals'
Spaniard hails the performance of his side as they record a crucial away win, however Wanderers manager Owen Coyle reveals his disappointment at a missed opportunity
11 Feb 2012 19:05:00
By Alex Fisher at the Reebok Stadium
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was delighted with his side as they recorded their third away win of the season with a crucial 2-1 victory over Lancashire rivals Bolton.
The Spaniard was full of praise for his side as they controlled the game and fought to a much-needed victory to close the gap at the bottom of the league, but he warned his players not to rest on their laurels
“Today is the example of what we need to do from now until the end of the season,” he told reporters.
“We’re still living the dream and we’re going to fight with our lives to carry on in this league.
“I think last week [draw against Everton] was a turning point, I felt we played really well and were the better side and that was a turning point in our season.
“I felt today we showed the same level of performance and that pleases me, we need to know that from now until the end of the season we’ve got 13 cup finals and it’s about ourselves.”
Bolton boss Owen Coyle was disappointed with the way his side began the game and how they allowed the visitors to dominate the first half.
“The first half performance is not good enough,” the Scot told reporters.
“Ultimately goals change games and results.
“I think we made a reasonable start to the game but from that time on Wigan dominated possession and had one or two chances on the counter attack.
“To concede a goal two minutes from half time from a set play is galling because it’s very clear you go on your designated man, you pick him up and that never happened and Gary Caldwell’s got a free header.”
The home side improved after the break and got themselves back into the game thanks to a wonder goal from Mark Davies, but rather than give Bolton the inspiration to go on and win the game they were again pegged back which was something Coyle was unfair on his side.
“We started the second half well," he continued.
“We got the goal [from Mark Davies] which was a tremendous finish.
“And to be honest I’m disappointed not to take anything from the game given our second half performance.”
However Martinez was delighted with the way his side reacted to Davies’ goal, it seemed to spur his side on and another dangerous counter attack resulted in a Victor Moses shot being parried into the path of James McArthur who fired into an empty net from six yards.
“When Mark Davies scored that incredible goal I didn’t feel it affected us too much," he added.
“We just stepped it up and we found a way to get the winning goal and that pleases me.
“I don’t think the way we performed today we looked like a team that is bottom of the table.
“The players deserve huge credit for that.”
The win moves Wigan to within a point of Bolton and two of 16th placed QPR as things begin to get congested at the bottom of the table, and Coyle admitted it was disappointing to miss the chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three.
“We’re disappointed of course we are,” he added.
“We wanted to win to move us up the league but we’ve let opportunity pass us by.
“We can’t allow chances to slip away every week when there are achievable points [on offer] and that’s what we did today.”
The mood was totally different for Martinez who issued a rallying call to everyone associated with the club as they look to make another dramatic escape from the bottom of the table.
“As a football club we’re ready to fight the next 13 games,” he stated.
“The points tally is quite low [at the bottom of the table] and we’re catching up.”
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The Spaniard was full of praise for his side as they controlled the game and fought to a much-needed victory to close the gap at the bottom of the league, but he warned his players not to rest on their laurels
“Today is the example of what we need to do from now until the end of the season,” he told reporters.
“We’re still living the dream and we’re going to fight with our lives to carry on in this league.
“I think last week [draw against Everton] was a turning point, I felt we played really well and were the better side and that was a turning point in our season.
“I felt today we showed the same level of performance and that pleases me, we need to know that from now until the end of the season we’ve got 13 cup finals and it’s about ourselves.”
Bolton boss Owen Coyle was disappointed with the way his side began the game and how they allowed the visitors to dominate the first half.
“The first half performance is not good enough,” the Scot told reporters.
“Ultimately goals change games and results.
“I think we made a reasonable start to the game but from that time on Wigan dominated possession and had one or two chances on the counter attack.
“To concede a goal two minutes from half time from a set play is galling because it’s very clear you go on your designated man, you pick him up and that never happened and Gary Caldwell’s got a free header.”
The home side improved after the break and got themselves back into the game thanks to a wonder goal from Mark Davies, but rather than give Bolton the inspiration to go on and win the game they were again pegged back which was something Coyle was unfair on his side.
“We started the second half well," he continued.
“We got the goal [from Mark Davies] which was a tremendous finish.
“And to be honest I’m disappointed not to take anything from the game given our second half performance.”
However Martinez was delighted with the way his side reacted to Davies’ goal, it seemed to spur his side on and another dangerous counter attack resulted in a Victor Moses shot being parried into the path of James McArthur who fired into an empty net from six yards.
“When Mark Davies scored that incredible goal I didn’t feel it affected us too much," he added.
“We just stepped it up and we found a way to get the winning goal and that pleases me.
“I don’t think the way we performed today we looked like a team that is bottom of the table.
“The players deserve huge credit for that.”
The win moves Wigan to within a point of Bolton and two of 16th placed QPR as things begin to get congested at the bottom of the table, and Coyle admitted it was disappointing to miss the chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three.
“We’re disappointed of course we are,” he added.
“We wanted to win to move us up the league but we’ve let opportunity pass us by.
“We can’t allow chances to slip away every week when there are achievable points [on offer] and that’s what we did today.”
The mood was totally different for Martinez who issued a rallying call to everyone associated with the club as they look to make another dramatic escape from the bottom of the table.
“As a football club we’re ready to fight the next 13 games,” he stated.
“The points tally is quite low [at the bottom of the table] and we’re catching up.”
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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