Wigan Athletic 0 - 2 Swansea City - Match Report

Two sublime goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson wrapped up the win for 10-man Swansea City as they triumphed over former manager Roberto Martinez's Wigan at the DW Stadium. The game started with Wigan fielding a side without some of their stand out performers. Victor Moses, Mohamed Diame and Hugo Rodallega all started from the bench but eventually made their way onto the pitch as substitutes later in the game. Despite their weakened line up, Wigan started the game well. Swansea invited the pressure onto themselves with Wigan taking the opportunity with aplomb. However the resultant pressure rarely turned into any good, solid efforts for the home team with Michel Vorm being rarely tested. After soaking up the initial pressure Swansea decided to turn the tables on Wigan and produce some attacking intent of their own. Gylfi Sigurdsson attempted to pepper the Wigan goal with a selection of long range efforts but Ali Al-Habsi was put into no real danger. Nathan Dyer also had a good chance thwarted by Al-Habsi in the Wigan goal but the best chance of this 20 minute run of play from Swansea was from Scott Sinclair. The winger was played through onto goal and whilst he managed to successfully round Al-Habsi, his shot, from a tight angle, lacked the pace to beat the best efforts of James McCarthy who cleared the ball off the line to save Wigan's blushes. It was in the final 10 minutes of the first half that Wigan's best chance of the game came. Full back Emmerson Boyce latched onto a cross from Maynor Figueora at the far post but his headed effort was kept out by Michel Vorm. However the breakthrough in the match finally came on the brink of half-time. An accurately lofted ball from Steven Caulker found Gylfi Sigurdsson, just outside the Wigan 18-yard box, who struck the ball with absolute finesse to loop over Al-Habsi and into the top corner of the net. The goal would've no doubt changed Martinez's plans after expecting to come in from the break with the scores level but his response in the second half was to revert to a more familiar formation and line up by introducing Victor Moses and Mohamed Diame to the field. With the changes made, Wigan started the second half with a lot more positivity. An acrobatic overhead kick from Franco di Santo was intercepted by Leon Britton and Michel Vorm was called into action to deny Antolin Alcaraz's best efforts. Ironically it was one of the men that Wigan fans were calling to be brought on, Victor Moses, that handed Swansea the opportunity they needed to go two goals to the good. Moses brought down Nathan Dyer in shooting distance of the goal and up stepped Gylfi Sigurdsson to dispatch the free kick into the back of the net with ease. The set piece was taken in true style by the Icelandic international as he notched his goal tally for Swansea up to three since arriving on loan from Hoffenheim in January. Despite being two goals down Wigan still tried their hardest to get back into the game. Moses' fellow half time substiute Mohamed Diame was a constant threat from long range, firing shots toward Michel Vorm's goal, but his efforts couldn't hit the target. In what could've been a major turning point for the game, Nathan Dyer was dismissed with a straight red card on the sixty minute mark. After challenging for the ball with Jordi Gomez, Dyer followed through with his studs up, forcing referee Andre Marriner to give the Swansea winger his marching orders. Rodgers reacted to the dismissal by shoring up his ten man team, substituting goalscorer Gylfi Sigurdsson for Alan Tate to revert to a more defensive 4-4-1 formation. With the one man advantage on their side, Wigan still struggled to make the breakthrough to kick-start a revival in the match. Diame continued to try his long range efforts at goal whilst Hugo Rodallega and Franco di Santo both came close but failed to hit the back of the net. It was a frustrating afternoon for Martinez and his Wigan side as his former team halts what was beginning to be a good run of form for the Latics. Fingers will no doubt be pointed at their reluctance in front of goal and this defeat only further highlights why they are not only at the foot of the table but the lowest scorers in the league. As for Swansea, this win keeps them at 14th place but also places them eleven points above the pack in the relegation zone. Brendan Rodgers has also offered his sympathy to the dismissed Nathan Dyer, stating he "feels sorry" for the player in what was a "harsh" decision. His comments can only suggest that Swansea will appeal the three match ban that Dyer will serve, which if upheld will cause the winger to miss some important games for the Swans including a home game against current league leaders Manchester City. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan was also vocal after the fixture. Whelan, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, stated it was one of the worst performances he's seen his side produce and questioned Martinez's decision to leave out key players such as Rodallega, Diame and Moses. Despite his confusion over the Spaniards team selection and their current league position, Whelan did also state that Martinez's job is safe. A visit to Carrow Road to face Norwich will be next up for Wigan in what could be classed as a must win for Martinez and co.