• Wigan Athletic were held to a 0-0 draw by relegation threatened Port Vale in a game of poor quality at Vale Park.
• Latics had some early chances with Joe Taylor twice and Morgan Fox missing the target.
• Early in the second half Taylor blazed well wide with another good opportunity.
• As the half progressed Vale gradually started to create chances and a strike by Ethan Archer produced an excellent save from Sam Tickle.
• In added time Tickle produced a brilliant reaction save to keep out substitute Ben Waine’s close-range effort and the points had to be shared.
• Latics had mathematically secured their League One status after Saturday’s results but Vale now need to win all of their four remaining fixtures to have any hope of survival.
• Latics are in 13th place and the Valiants are in 23rd place in the League One table.

Gary Caldwell made one change to his side from the midweek victory over Rotherham United, with Morgan Fox coming in to replace the injured Jason Kerr. 

Latics started brightly and they could’ve gone ahead after only three minutes when Taylor broke clear but he volleyed over the crossbar. 

Just four minutes later, Latics had another opportunity. Fox latched onto a Fraser Murray corner and looked to guide into the top corner of the net, but the header just cleared the crossbar.

Taylor then had another opportunity when Callum Wright’s ball across the face of goal found the striker but the effort was straight at Joe Gauci.

The hosts first attempt at goal came in the one minute of added time with Liam Gordon firing high and wide.

At the start of the second half Latics could have taken the lead when Taylor capitalised on a mistake and unleashed a powerful strike but it was once again wide of the target.

As the half progressed the hosts upped their game and Latics retreated into defence.

Archer created an opportunity for Ryan Croasdale but his effort was straight at Tickle.

Tickle then came to Latics rescue in added time as Vale pressed for the winner.

A cross from the right came into the six-yard box where substitute Waine was able to flick towards the near post, but Tickle produced an excellent reaction save low down to his left keep the score level and earn a point for Latics.

Overview

Latics 1500 away fans were hoping for a celebratory performance but it never materialised as they rarely got out of second gear against Port Vale.

The normally reliable Joe Taylor had an off day and missed several good chances to open the scoring.

Latics players looked a little jaded after their recent three game winning streak and maybe having their League One status confirmed on Saturday took a little edge out of their game.

They had some good opportunities in the first half but in the second half they were mainly pegged back in their own half.

Against more clinical opponents they might easily have lost the game, but thanks to some excellent goalkeeping from Tickle they came away with a point.

Caldwell’s Tics Transformation

Latics looked destined for relegation under Ryan Lowe and Gary Caldwell has produced a remarkable turn around since he took over in February.

They have picked up 24 out of a possible 39 points and their safety was confirmed on Saturday afternoon following results elsewhere. 

Caldwell’s men having recorded three successive victories over Northampton Town, Mansfield Town and Rotherham United and are now one of the form teams in the division.

If only Caldwell and his coaching team had been appointed at the beginning of the season instead of Lowe, Latics might now have been preparing for the playoffs.

Post-match comments 

Afterwards Caldwell spoke to the media and said, 

“It was a really tough game – and we knew it would be before the game.”

“They’ve only lost one in 10 here and have been on a brilliant run since Jon Brady came into the Club.

“I thought we started the game well and created good opportunities in the first half, and probably needed to take one of them to make the game easier.

“In the second half, we had to defend because they put us under a lot of pressure and put a lot of balls into our box. We defended well, and Sam (Tickle) came up with an unbelievable save at the end of the game.

“It was a hard, well-earned point, and we’ll take it and move on. 

“We have to be a team that is hard to play against and hard to beat. It’s another clean sheet, which is a really important foundation that any good team needs to be defensively sound. I am pleased with a lot of aspects – there are areas we can definitely improve.”

After a magnificent run of results from February under Caldwell’s leadership, Latics’ 2026/27 Sky Bet League One status was confirmed yesterday following results elsewhere. 

While the travelling supporters celebrated survival, Caldwell struck a measured tone about what it means for the Club moving forward.

“Staying up was the first task since I have come back, and it should never be the case that we celebrate that, because we should be looking at a much different challenge next season in trying to be up the other end of this league.

“In the situation we were in, the players have really performed well and got the points we needed, and it’s important we never find ourselves in this position again.”

Jason Kerr missed Sunday’s match through injury, while Ryan Trevitt had to go off late through injury. The Gaffer is hoping the pair both return to action before the end of the campaign.

“Jason (Kerr) is injured and will hopefully be back at some point next week. It’s not a serious one. 

“I don’t know what Ryan (Trevitt) has done yet, but we had made all of our substitutes, and he had to go off. It’s really frustrating for him because he’s worked so hard to get to the level he is at. 

“Fingers crossed it’s not serious, and he can get back quick.”

Player ratings