Michael Jacobs in fine form

Match report by Jamie Aspinall.

Opening games are not always an accurate indication of how a team’s season is going to pan out, however Paul Cook and the Wigan fans will be hoping this type of performance becomes a regular occurrence in The Championship.

A man of the match performance and two early goals from Michael Jacobs thrust the home side into a dominant first half lead.

A goal from Nick Powell in the second half kept Wigan’s nose in front after Wednesday threatened for an equaliser, through goals from Nuhiu and Forestieri.

In retrospect it would’ve been unfair had The Owls taken points from the game as Wigan’s fearless attacking football was a delight to watch and gave the fans that same positive feeling carried over from Cook’s winning team in League One.

Jacobs was unlucky not to have taken the match ball home after his long range effort struck the crossbar in the first half.

James Vaughan also came close to increasing the score line in the second half after he headed against the woodwork and had a goal struck off for offside.

Latics showed great attacking intent throughout the game, the only negative would be their failure to clear the danger which resulted in conceding to Wednesday’s first goal.

Aside from the result and the attacking intent another positive feature was the performance of the new signings along with the immediate togetherness of the squad after some of the players had only recently arrived at the club.

Every player put in a strong performance, but in particular Antonee Robinson, Cedric Kipre, Darron Gibson and Reece James all provided positive debuts offering new attributes to the team.

Robinson was the stand out player in my opinion showing pace, power and confidence on the ball going forward and defending, he made it very clear why Cook had been chasing him for some time. His positivity down the left side carved out the opening goal after his cross was headed into the path of Jacobs.

Cedric Kipre looked strong and commanding, filling in effortlessly for Dan Burn.

Reece James continued his good form from the Rangers game, he looks composed and means we now have two positive young talents at either side of the defence.

Darron Gibson justified his place in the starting lineup by getting stuck in early on and getting amongst the play by moving the ball quickly and showing great desire.

Many will wonder if Cook has what it takes to lead a Championship team forward but the signs yesterday were that he is building an improved squad from last season, whilst further signings are imminent, and he still has the players fighting to win games for him.

It is very early days but an opening day victory and a positive performance can only breed confidence into the club as they take-off in their Championship campaign.