Match ends, Wigan Athletic 2, Huddersfield Town 1.
WiganWigan Athletic2HuddersfieldHuddersfield Town1
Goals from Leon Barnett and Nick Powell gave Wigan a first win in five matches as they edged out Huddersfield.
The Latics took the lead when Ben Watson's corner was headed home powerfully from close range by Barnett.
Town equalised on the stroke of half-time when Oliver Norwood's shot deflected in off Ryan Shotton.
But Wigan were rewarded for their positive approach after the break when Powell took Jordi Gomez's pass and rifled past Alex Smithies.
The remainder of the game was not pretty, but the home side held on to send them into Thursday's Europa League trip to Rubin Kazan in good spirits as they extended their unbeaten home run to seven games.
Wigan could have been out of sight by the halfway point.
Powell's pull-back was fired over by Marc-Antoine Fortune with only two minutes gone, while Callum McManaman was making good progress every time he got the ball out on the left wing.
Powell, 19, squandered another decent opening before Chris McCann saw a stinging effort from distance tipped over by Smithies.
From the resulting corner, though, Watson's delivery was headed home emphatically by Barnett for his third goal of the season.
Keith Southern nearly equalised for Town within moments, only for his deflected shot to fly past the far post, and they levelled on the stroke of half-time when Norwood's shot beat Lee Nicholls via Shotton.
Powell restored Wigan's advantage within five minutes of the restart.
After Fortune had fired against a post, Powell was found by a good ball from Gomez and lashed a cracking strike that was past Smithies before he could move.
Huddersfield came close to a second leveller when Danny Ward's effort was saved by Nicholls at the second attempt with Town attackers lurking.
Ward's cross then threatened danger before Barnett headed away in the nick of time.
Wigan Athletic manager Owen Coyle:
"I thought the first half was very much a controlled performance. With a bit of luck we could have had two or three goals, such was our quality. Their goal wasn't even going in before it hit the heel of Ryan Shotton and deceived Lee Nicholls, who looked good value for another clean sheet.
"What we had to do in the second half was win the game again and we did that thanks to a great goal from Nick Powell. The lead we had was fragile but I thought we should have had a couple of penalties in the game.
"We've certainly not had our fair share of decisions this season and we had to stand up and be counted late on. Even then we could have added to our lead and, given the workload we've had, I was delighted with the three points."
Huddersfield Town manager Mark Robins:
"I thought we did well. To come to Wigan and have the lion's share of possession is very good, but obviously the over-riding emotion is one of disappointment because we have gifted them two goals. They have not had to work at all for their goals,
"We're playing against a good team who have just come down from the Premier League, the FA Cup holders, a team in the Europa League and we've given a decent account of ourselves.
"We are a work in progress but we can defend better and make better decisions at times. Overall I'm pleased but also disappointed that we've not taken at least a point - and maybe even three."
Line-ups
Wigan
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Nicholls
- 17Boyce
- 24Perch
- 7McCann
- 4ShottonBooked at 80mins
- 25Barnett
- 14Gómez García-PencheSubstituted forAlbrightonat 59'minutes
- 8Watson
- 32FortunéSubstituted forHoltat 74'minutes
- 19Powell
- 15McManamanSubstituted forMcCleanat 78'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Crainey
- 9Holt
- 11McClean
- 12Pollitt
- 16McArthur
- 18Espinoza
- 33Albrighton
Huddersfield
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Smithies
- 21Richards
- 3Dixon
- 6HoggSubstituted forGobernat 41'minutesBooked at 69mins
- 5Clarke
- 33Lynch
- 12HammillSubstituted forScannellat 61'minutes
- 16SouthernSubstituted forCarrat 75'minutes
- 14Stead
- 4Norwood
- 11Ward
Substitutes
- 2Woods
- 7Scannell
- 10Gobern
- 13Bennett
- 15M Wallace
- 26Carr
- 38Holmes
- Referee:
- Tony Harrington
- Attendance:
- 16,112
Match Stats
Home TeamWiganAway TeamHuddersfield
- Possession
- Home42%
- Away58%
- Shots
- Home15
- Away9
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away3
- Corners
- Home5
- Away6
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away15
Live Text
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Full Time
Second Half ends, Wigan Athletic 2, Huddersfield Town 1.
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Jon Stead (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by James Perch (Wigan Athletic).
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Foul by Peter Clarke (Huddersfield Town).
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Grant Holt (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Grant Holt (Wigan Athletic).
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Foul by Ashley Richards (Huddersfield Town).
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James McClean (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Attempt blocked. Ben Watson (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Chris McCann.
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Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Joel Lynch.
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Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Daniel Ward.
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Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Ashley Richards.
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Offside, Wigan Athletic. James McClean tries a through ball, but Grant Holt is caught offside.
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Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Grant Holt (Wigan Athletic).
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Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Chris McCann.
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Attempt blocked. Oliver Norwood (Huddersfield Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Oscar Gobern.
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Attempt missed. Marc Albrighton (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ben Watson following a corner.
