Team: Andrea Murray, Rachael Taylor,

Amy Garratt, Natalie Dawber, Louise Darlington, Kate Wilcock, Sam Baldwin, Shaz Entwistle, Natalie Kirk, Lindsey Winstanley, Emma Pilling, Kez Hill, Ashlea Hargreaves, Jenni Goringe, Michelle Hunt

Wigan claimed a league double over local rivals Wigan Ladies with a goal in each half from Emma Pilling and Rachael Taylor.

With the home side fighting against relegation the start of the game was tenacious with both sides committing fully to every tackle. Latics edged the early exchanges and forced the home side to play from deep within their own half, but the hosts looked equally dangerous on the break leading to an open game.

Amy Garratt had a couple of shots from distance following up from corners but failed to trouble the keeper. Emma Pilling was causing the home defence problems with her pace as she continually attacked on the left wing, but the Wigan Ladies defence continued to repel the visitors attacks.

Ironically the opening goal fell Wigan Athletic’s way after a mistake in their own defence. Amy Garratt was dispossessed in her own half but the following shot fell straight into the hands of Latics goalkeeper Andrea Murray. Her kick downfield was misjudged by the Wigan Ladies defence and Emma Pilling latched onto the loose ball, rounded the keeper and slotted home into an empty net to give Latics the lead at half time.

The home side started the second half with renewed energy, chasing down every ball and forcing the Latics into some uncharacteristic mistakes. With the visitors looking sluggish in defence, Wigan Ladies drew level after a neat turn and shot from the edge of the box by Hayley Maritious.

Sensing they could still get the win that they so desperately needed, they continued to push forward but the goal had shaken the Latics into life and they got themselves right back in the game.

Sam Baldwin almost broke through after a surging run on the left but she was brought down by Wigan Ladies right back Simone Walley, who earned a yellow card for the tackle. Moments later, Emma Pilling found herself in exactly the same position as she had been for the goal, bearing down on the goal with only the keeper to beat, but was taken down by the advancing goalkeeper after taking the ball around her once more.

A penalty was duly awarded, with Burni Savory in the Wigan Ladies goal being shown just a yellow card, and she then turned from villain to hero as she saved Shaz Entwistle’s effort from the spot. 

With time running out, Dave Maclean sent on two substitutes in an attempt to get something more positive out of the game, and it was replacement centre half Ashlea Hargreaves who set up the deciding goal. Her neat pass out to Rachael Taylor released the winger on the right and her cross-shot looped over the goalkeeper and dropped in at the far post, with Sam Baldwin following in just to make sure.

The home side were visibly shaken by the goal and despite further attacks from both teams, the game ended with a 2-1 victory to the Latics, cementing their mid-table finish in their first season following their promotion with two games still to play.

Wigan returned to winning ways with a sound performance and result over PNE. Wigan raced to an early lead and added a further goal in the second half to secure the points.

Due to injuries, Wigan started the game with just a substitute goalkeeper on the bench and with others playing out of position, but this didn’t show as they pressed the visitors early on. Sam Baldwin opened the scoring for the home side with a confident finish after neat interplay with makeshift striker Amy Garratt. Moments later, it was Garratt herself with the competent finish as she doubled the lead and gave Wigan a 2 goal cushion.

After the second goal, Wigan lost some composure and gave the ball away cheaply on a number of occasions but rarely looked threatened in the final third. Preston did find the back of the net from a half cleared corner but the final touch was deemed offside and Latics maintained their 2-0 lead at half time. 

Showing much more patience on the ball in the second half, Wigan found more and more space in the Preston half as the visitors tired. Lindsey Winstanley was very influential in midfield, playing some excellent balls into Kerryn Hill who again worked tirelessly up front. Baldwin and Rachel Taylor were also working hard on the wings, and Wigan almost found a third when somehow Hill’s delicate chip came back off the crossbar twice!

They did find a third late on to secure the points when Louise Darlington flicked a corner into the path of Carly Gallagher in her comeback game who duly found the back of the net through a crowd of players.

Wigan have a break next week with no game scheduled but will look to take the momentum from today’s positive performance into their next league game in a couple of weeks time.

Wigan suffered their second defeat of the season against a well organised Chorley side at the Soccer Dome on Sunday in a game where both teams missed a penalty.

 Wigan were caught on the hop early on as Chorley raced into a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes. The first saw a cross finished athletically at the far post, while the second came from a well placed free kick right on the edge of the box.

The Latics were shell-shocked but managed to get a foothold back in the game and finished the half with some promising attacking play which unfortunately came to nothing. Half time arrived with the score at 2-0 to the visitors. 

Wigan tried to regroup and improve their passing and possession in the second half but Chorley went 3-0 up with a good strike from their left winger which found the top right hand corner.

Emma Pilling was brought down in the box after a typical mazy run but Kerryn Hill saw her penalty saved, and Chorley made it 4 when a long ball forward reached the feet of their centre forward who rounded the keeper to slot the ball home.

Chorley’s final goal came courtesy of one of Wigan’s own defenders who unfortunately deflected a shot into her own net. Chorley won a penalty in the dying moments when their centre forward was brought down in the box but they couldn’t capitalise as the effort missed wide left. 

Wigan will be looking to get back to winning ways when they travel to Crewe next Sunday following a disappointing performance today.

Team-Jenni Goringe, Amy Garrett, Rachael Taylor, Louise Darlington, Kate Wilcock, Natalie Spendlove-Dawber, Michelle Hunt, Shaz Entwistle (c),

Kerryn Hill, Lindsey Winstanley, Emma Pilling

Subs Used: Sam Baldwin, Anna Dempster

 Wigan grabbed their third consecutive win in awful conditions as they overcame Chester City to maintain their positive start to the season.

The rain fell persistently throughout the whole game which made for treacherous conditions especially for goalkeepers and both teams looked cagey early on as they tried to get to grips with both the opposition and the weather.

Wigan forced early pressure and looked solid once again in defence but it was the visitors who took the lead mid-way through the first half when Wigan failed to clear their lines from a free kick to the far post and the ball eventually fell to the Chester forward who was unmarked in the centre of the goal and made no mistake from a yard out. Latics refused to be disheartened though and levelled the game before half time with a stunning strike from Emma Pilling who found the top corner from 25 yards giving the keeper no chance. The score remained level at the break.

The opening exchanges of the second half went very much in Wigan’s favour as they began to become more dominant in the game and started to open Chester up on both wings. A couple of efforts from distance missed narrowly, and Wigan’s forwards were keeping the Chester goalkeeper very busy.

At the other end Jenni Goringe was called into action in the Wigan goal as she twice palmed goal bound efforts onto the cross bar, before Lindsey Winstanley broke through and found the back of the net for her first of the season.

She was denied moments later by a last ditch tackle just as she was about to fire a shot in, but Wigan were not to be denied and substitute Sam Baldwin added a third to clinch the points with almost her first touch of the game, firing into the roof of the net from 15 yards out.

It was another solid win for the Latics and a good boost ahead of their derby against Chorley next weekend.

Wigan claimed their first win of the season over local rivals Wigan Ladies in a local derby full of tension.

 The visitors had the better start to the game, pushing forward early but found Latics defence well up to the task.

New centre half pairing Lou Darlington and Ashlea Hargreaves (Sausage and Ash to their friends!) looked comfortable in their first start together and repelled the visitors’ attacks easily.

Latics began to get a foothold in the game and Kate Wilcock, making her debut at the centre of midfield, put in some great challenges to keep control of the centre of the park.

Emma Pilling made lots of ground as always down the wings, supported by Lindsey Winstanley who held the ball up brilliantly up front. With both teams looking for their first points, the stakes were running high and neither team backed away from the tough tackles that were a mainstay throughout the 90 minutes.  

With the first half goalless, both teams knew that the odd goal could clinch the important win and both continued to find space to attack into. Latics manager Dave Maclean threw on 2 substitutes early in the second half to try to break the deadlock, and almost found instant success when debutant Katherine Rumsey stole the ball from the last defender but narrowly missed the target with her first effort on goal.

The next chance fell to Emma Pilling who did all the hard work beating the last defender and the keeper but narrowly missed the target. With time running out and the light fading, Latics found the crucial breakthrough when Sam Baldwin was brought down just outside the box and Shaz Entwistle found the back of the net with the resulting free kick to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The visitors tried everything to find the equaliser but the Latics defended stoutly for the last 15 minutes to claim a famous victory and kick start their season.

Wigan began life in the Premier League with a tough away fixture at Burnley and despite an opening day defeat showed promising signs for the season ahead.

Wigan dominated possession and territory for the first 15 minutes and tested the Burnley defence on a number of occasions. A couple of narrow offside decisions went against the Latics as they tried to break the deadlock but they remained tight at the back despite giving Burnley lots of possession in the closing stages of the half and went into the break at 0-0.

The second half started in a similar vein to the first with Wigan keeping possession much better, but it was Burnley who found the opener with a great finish from their captain, finding the top left hand corner with a screamer from just inside the box. Undeterred, Wigan levelled instantly when Nat Spendlove carried the ball up the right and crossed perfectly for Kerryn Hill to finish. Wigan were dealt a double blow though when Burnley scored 2 more goals in quick succession to leave them staring at defeat in the opening game. A positive finish saw Wigan gain a penalty after a typical run from Emma Pilling ended with her being brought down in the box; Shaz Entwistle scoring from the spot. Wigan had the chance to level in the closing moments when Sam Baldwin won a free kick just outside the area, but despite pushing 9 players forward Wigan couldn’t find a finish and the game ended in a 3-2 defeat.

Wigan’s next test comes at home on Wednesday evening in a local derby against Wigan Ladies.