• Wigan Athletic defeated play-off chasing Huddersfield Town 1-0 to move out of the League One relegation zone at the Brick Community Stadium.
• Latics had to survive some concerted pressure from the Terriers who hit the post through Ryan Hardie, with Alfie May’s follow-up cleared off the line.
• Bali Mumba then saw a shot hit the bar, with the rebound from May being superbly saved by Sam Tickle, and the second rebound from Marcus Harness being headed clear by Owen Moxon.
• The hosts were much better in the second half with the introduction of wingback Joe Hungbo at half-time.
• They went ahead on 61 minutes when following a corner Callum Wright found Jensen Weir on the edge of the penalty area and his low shot deflected off a defender through a crowded area past goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.
• Tickle pulled off a fine save to deny Harness in the 90th minute and Gary Caldwell’s Latics held on for a crucial victory in their fight against relegation.
• Latics are now in 19th place and the Terriers are in sixth place in the League One table.

Caldwell made four changes to the starting line-up from last week’s defeat at Stockport County, with Will Aimson, Moxon, Raphael and Dara Costelloe replacing Steven Sessegnon, who is suspended, Matt Smith, Joe Hungbo and the ineligible Joe Taylor.

Latics pressed high from the kick off and the first chance of the game fell to Dara Costelloe who latched onto Christian Saydee’s pass and tried to knock it past Lee Nicholls in the Terriers goal, but the former Latics goalkeeper smothered the ball.

The visitors were creating chances and nearly went ahead when Hardie hit the post with May’s follow-up cleared off the line. 

Latics enjoyed plenty of possession but Huddersfield were putting them under pressure in the final third. 

Mumba saw a shot hit the bar, with the rebound from May being superbly saved by Tickle, and the second rebound from Harness being headed clear by Moxon.

The half-time break allowed Caldwell to make tactical changes and replaced Raphael with Hungbo who quickly made an impact attacking down the left.

Costelloe created an opportunity for Saydee. Saydee took a touch one touch before striking towards goal, with the effort taking a deflection and going wide of the post. 

Latics were now on top. They forced a series of corners and from one of the corners Fraser Murray found Wright who cut the ball back to Weir whose low shot deflected off a defender through a crowded penalty area and past Nicholls.

Smith replaced Moxon and later the FA Cup hero Callum McManaman made a rare appearance and replaced Saydee as Latics strived to maintain their advantage.

In the 90th minute Tickle pulled off a vital save to deny Harness and despite six minutes of added time Latics held on for a crucial victory in their fight against relegation.

Overview

What a difference Caldwell has made to the club. Work-rate, desire and commitment cannot be faulted at the moment. They out-fought play-off chasing Huddersfield and deserved the three points.

Under Caldwell Latics are now playing higher up the pitch and putting the opposition under more pressure. They move the ball forward much more quickly and make the opposition have to work harder to defend.

The Caldwell, David Perkins, Peter Atherton and Graham Barrow coaching combo is working wonders for the Tics.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement particularly in forward areas but the changes the coaches have already implemented have been transformative.

In fact the difference between Caldwell and Ryan Lowe’s coaching is like chalk and cheese.

Post-match comments

Speaking to the media afterwards Caldwell enthused about his players.

“I’m really happy for the players. The effort they’ve put in the short period of time I’ve been here has been incredible, and that effort will take us a long, long way. 

“The players put everything on the line. I thought we played well in moments – we looked a bit open in moments, but sometimes, character, desire and hunger go a long way in football, and we had it in abundance today. 

Caldwell reviewed what a trying first 45 minutes at the Brick, though noted how well his men reacted in the second period en route to consecutive home wins for the first time since August.

“I thought we improved as we came back out. The little details we could show them at half-time really helped in the second half. 

“Even in the first half, I thought we had some good attacking moments. We played slightly differently today, and our understanding of that was very good. 

“The players deserve a lot of credit for taking in information, new information, and they’re taking that in, in a few days and applying it under pressure on a Saturday, which isn’t easy, but again I go back to character and desire, team spirit is taking us a long way at the minute. 

“Some of our play, especially in that second half, was very good. We were aggressive, we won the ball back high up the pitch, and we dominated the game in that second half.” 

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