Will Aimson had one of his best games in Latics’ defence

• Managerless Wigan Athletic drew 0-0 with Mansfield Town in a very poor quality game at the One Call Stadium.
• Mansfield had the majority of goalscoring opportunities and should’ve taken the three points but a combination of poor finishing and some desperate Latics defending enabled the visitors to come away with a point.
• Mansfield went close inside five minutes but Baily Cargill failed to convert at the back post, Aaron Lewis then tested Tickle from distance before Stephen McLaughlin volleyed into the side netting.
• Ronan Darcy had a couple of efforts on goal for Latics but they both lacked conviction.
• The Stags upped the pressure in the second half but they couldn’t find the back of the net and in the dying seconds of added time the Stags substitute Ben Waine fired over and somehow Latics hung on for a point.
• Latics remain in 15th place and the Stags stay in 16th place in the League One table.

Following the departure of Shaun Maloney on Sunday, Interim Manager Glenn Whelan made three changes from Saturday’s defeat against Reading, with James Carragher, Scott Smith, and Dion Rankine returning to the starting line-up in place of Toby Sibbick, Baba Adeeko, and Jonny Smith.

The hosts went close to opening the scoring inside the first five minutes after a corner was nodded on, but Baily Cargill could not convert at the back post.

Latics won a corner of their own a minute later and Jason Kerr volleyed wide from eight yards out.

At the other end Kerr then gave the ball away and Sam Tickle had to come to the rescue saving from Keanu Baccus.

Aaron Lewis then tested Tickle from distance with a volley following a Mansfield corner before Caylan Vickers’ shot was straight at the Latics keeper.

A rare Tics attack allowed Dale Taylor to set up Darcy, but the former Crawley midfielder fired over the crossbar from 20 yards out.

The hosts went closest when Stephen McLaughlin volleyed into the side netting from a great position at the back post following a corner.

The Stags continued to dominate in the second half and forced a succession of corners before Whelan made two changes introducing Jonny Smith and Baba Adeeko for Owen Dale and Dion Rankine.

Darcy had another opportunity for Latics, but his effort lacked conviction and it dribbled past the post.

Latics were desperately hanging on now and a comedy of errors in the Latics box nearly allowed the visitors a breakthrough. Aimson managed to clear a Mansfield effort off the line before Tickle dived on the ball to smother the danger.

Latics forced three successive corners as the game went into the final 10 minutes, but they couldn’t make them count.

As the game approached four minutes of added time, striker Taylor was withdrawn and defender Luke Robinson replaced him as Latics ran down the clock.

Mansfield substitute Waine had a big chance in the dying seconds of added time, but he blazed over from inside the box and somehow Latics had managed to get a point.

Overview

The real reasons for the Board’s decision to sack Shaun Maloney remain something of mystery. Maloney had helped to guide the club out of a major financial crisis and had moved the club towards a sustainable future. He had done this by utilising Academy graduates, loan signings and free transfers.

Some fans have criticised the playing style but Maloney had done a good job with limited resources. The club had also sold two of its best assets Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard. The squad had also endured a major injury crisis with up to 11 first team players injured at one time. 

Yes results had been inconsistent but recent away draws at Crawley and Wycombe and the home win against play-off chasing Huddersfield had provided some respite. The narrow late defeat against an in-form Reading should not have been regarded as a crisis.

But to the surprise of most of Latics’ fans Maloney was dismissed on Sunday morning. Maloney had put his heart and soul into the club and he really deserved to be treated better than this.

It was a very strange decision and why dismiss him without another manager lined up to replace him. It’s a very risky strategy at this stage of the season with Latics just above the drop zone.  

Tonight’s performance against Mansfield was dismal and it was obvious that the players had been affected by Maloney’s shock departure. Confidence was low and Latics struggled for any cohesion against a team who had not won in 11 games.

Mansfield had 21 shots to Latics four attempts. It was very much one-way traffic for most of the game. Latics defended desperately at times and a better attacking team would’ve put them to the sword. 

Latics are now seven points clear of the bottom four teams but based on this performance they will be constantly looking over their shoulders for the rest of the season.

League Table

Post match comments

Speaking post-game to the media Interim Manager Glenn Whelan praised the team for their work ethic and performance on the night.

“Coming to Mansfield who are fighting for their lives, we knew it would be a tough game,” he said.

“It’s a tough crowd but a point and clean sheet away from home is something to build on in the coming days.

“It’s been difficult but I’m really proud of the lads for what they’ve given us.

“We’ve had 24 hours to get a couple of messages in, and I think we just needed a little bit more confidence in the final third. We defended with bodies on the line and got a clean sheet. They (Mansfield) are desperate for a win and we knew they were going to come for us.

“It’s been a crazy 24-48 hours. It’s difficult because when someone loses their job, it’s never nice but that’s football. I’ve got huge respect for Shaun (Maloney) and he’d be proud of the lads because he’s a Wigan man at heart.

“We have to dust ourselves down and try and get a tune out of the lads. The lads have worked really hard and we need to rest and recover ahead of another tough game. 

“We’ve not picked up enough points at home and we’ll work as hard as we’ve done all season to try and improve.”

Over 200 supporters made the midweek trip to Mansfield Town, and Whelan paid tribute to the members of the Latics faithful who backed the boys on the road.

“They were brilliant. They travel in their numbers and it’s not easy in today’s climate with ticket prices and petrol money. I’d like to thank them because of the reception I got – I wasn’t expecting it.”

Player ratings

Player ratings courtesy of Whoscored.com