• Wigan Athletic succumbed to a disappointing 3-0 defeat to play-off chasing Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
• Reading were ahead with their first attack on eight minutes when Kamasi Doyle’s cross was headed home by Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan from close range.
• Matters got worse for the visitors on 18 minutes when Will Aimson turned Charlie Savage’s cross into his own net.
• Latics were improved in the second half but the game was effectively over as a contest on 63 minutes when Ehibhatiomhan added his second goal and Reading’s third after the visitors failed to clear a corner.
• The visitors miserable afternoon was compounded when substitute Caylan Vickers was denied a consolation goal when Aimson was ruled to be in an offside position.
• Latics are in 19th place and the Royals move up to sixth place in the League One table.

Gary Caldwell made one change from the side that defeated Exeter City last Saturday with Callum Wright replacing Caylan Vickers.

Leam Richardson’s Royals were ahead with their first attack on eight minutes when Doyle’s cross was headed home by Ehibhatiomhan from close range.

With Latics looking out of sorts and defending poorly it didn’t take Reading too long to double their lead. 

Savage was allowed to run in behind and cut the ball back towards the edge of the six-yard box, and Aimson could only turn it into his own net.

Matt Smith and James Carragher replaced Moxon and Chapman at half time and Latics were improved in the second half. 

However, just like the first-half, Latics defending was at fault as Ehibhatiomhan added his second goal and Reading’s third.

Following a corner Latics failed to fully clear and from the second cross into the area the Reading striker managed to scramble the ball over the line and past Sam Tickle. 

Latics’ miserable afternoon was compounded when substitute Caylan Vickers was denied a consolation goal when Aimson was ruled to be in an offside position.

Vickers was denied again in added time when he cut in from the right and sent a curling effort towards the top corner, but Joel Pereira did well and tipped around the post. 

Latics host Leyton Orient in a crucial game at the bottom end of the table on Thursday night and they will be looking for a major improvement in their performance.

Overview

This was an uncharacteristically poor performance by Gary Caldwell’s men.

They got off to a disappointing start by conceding after only eight minutes and they never really threatened until the latter stages of the game.

Latics normally reliable defence was at fault for all three goals. Aimson, Jason Kerr and Llyton Chapman all had an off day and the whole team looked jaded and disjointed.

They offered very little going forward with star striker Joe Taylor given little or no service. Latics failed to register any shots on target in the first half and they faired little better in the second half.

Former Latics manager Leam Richardson will be pleased that his Reading team have now moved into a play-off spot but he will have been surprised by how easily they defeated an out of sorts and lacklustre Latics.

Caldwell must now rally his troops after this setback and look for a big improvement in their remaining seven fixtures to secure the points for survival.

League One Table

Post-match comments

Afterwards Caldwell spoke to the media, he said, 

“We didn’t start the game well,” 

“We didn’t have the intensity required out of possession. I thought that in possession, we looked okay. 

“We started on the front foot, played a lot of the game in their half, but when you give a team who are pushing for the Play-Offs a two-goal headstart, you give yourself a mountain to climb.

“I thought we huffed and puffed in the second half, but not enough, and it’s another setback we have to recover from quickly.

“We had to be a really aggressive team out of possession and defend much better than we did. 

“If we did that, we would’ve given ourselves a chance to win, but we never got into the game to give ourselves an opportunity to win it. 

“I said after Plymouth that we accept accountability, and today is a similar day. We have to regroup on Monday and focus on Thursday night because there are still seven big games to go.

“I said to the players that we can’t ever rest, never mind this season, but any time when you play for this Football Club. It has to be the next day, next hour, and you have to get better all the time. We have to take today on the chin and move on.”

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