A late strike from Hugo Rodallega gave Wigan a hard-fought 1-0 win against Tottenham
Colombian striker leaves it late to shock Redknapp's side
A sensational late strike from Hugo Rodallega gave Wigan a hard-fought 1-0 win against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
After enduring a Spurs onslaught for the majority of the match, Rodallega scored the decisive goal with 10 minutes remaining to give his under-fire manager Roberto Martinez a timely boost.
Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul was guilty of a last-gasp miss when he headed wide from close range in added time.
It was a remarkable result for a Latics side who had conceded 10 goals in their opening two Premier League games and nine in the corresponding fixture last season.
Spurs made a sluggish start and Rodallega flashed an early warning shot wide before poor defending from an eighth-minute corner saw Steve Gohouri smash the ball against the crossbar from Mauro Boselli's knockdown.
The home side eventually got going and Jermain Defoe was given the freedom of the Wigan penalty box to fire a low shot which brought the best out of Ali Al Habsi, the on-loan Bolton keeper starting ahead of Chris Kirkland, who was not in the squad.
On the half hour mark, Michael Dawson became the first player booked for cutting down Mohamed Diame 25 yards from goal.
The visitors were demonstrating the kind of defensive nous sadly lacking in their opening two Premier League thrashings, with Peter Crouch effectively shackled by Gohouri and Antolin Alcaraz.
Close
Crouch did clip a ball through to Defoe five minutes before the break, which the latter poked narrowly wide with the outside of his right foot.
Hendry Thomas joined Dawson in the book after felling Aaron Lennon shortly before a disappointing half drew to a close.
Spurs made a double-substitution at half-time, bringing on Roman Pavyluchenko and Niko Kranjcar for Crouch and Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
Despite a comfortable first half, Wigan would have been wary it was only 1-0 at the same stage of the corresponding fixture last season.
The visitors replaced lone front man Boselli with Jordi Gomez midway through the half, while Spurs soon followed suit by bringing on Giovani Dos Santos for Lennon.
Kranjcar saw yellow for sending Thomas tumbling 16 minutes from time, before he himself got Maynor Figueroa cautioned.
Having spent almost the entire half penned in, Wigan suddenly went on the attack.
Alcaraz somehow missed the target from point-blank range after the assistant referee wrongly kept his flag down and Gomez also volleyed over the top.
Fumbled
Both chances came from crosses by Rodallega, who found the net himself 10 minutes from time after Cudicini fumbled his weak shot into the net.
Tottenham poured forward in search of an equaliser and Tom Huddlestone volleyed just wide, Defoe found the side-netting and Kranjcar and Dawson both forced acrobatic saves from Al Habsi.
Kaboul wasted a glorious chance to equalise in stoppage-time when he glanced Kranjcar's free-kick wide.
But Wigan defended superbly to deny Harry Redknapp's UEFA Champions League qualifiers as Spurs slipped up at home.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Wigan Athletic |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
8 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
6 |
| 16 |
Corners |
7 |
| 12 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80.5 |
Passing Success |
68.9 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
27 |
| 64.7 |
Tackles Success |
77.8 |
| 63.8 |
Possession |
36.2 |
| 57.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.6 |
|
