Leeds beat Wigan 1-0 at the DW Stadium as Alex Mowatt hits winner

Alex Mowatt scored the only goal of the game as Leeds beat struggling Wigan 1-0 in their Sky Bet Championship clash at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

The Latics had won back-to-back away matches at Blackpool and Norwich in the last week to reduce the gap between themselves and safety to only six points with 11 matches to go.

But their home misery - they have not won a game on home soil since August 30 - continued to leave an eight-point buffer between themselves and fourth-bottom Fulham.

Wigan had plenty of possession and the territorial advantage after Mowatt's 50th-minute goal to take at least a share of the spoils.

But a succession of crosses from the left-hand side were allowed to drift away to safety as Wigan's lack of cutting edge in front of goal again cost them dearly.

The afternoon started with a bang as Dave Whelan addressed the crowd after stepping down this week as Latics chairman.

That prompted chanting from the away end, which was halted somewhat with a quick barb from Whelan about the West Yorkshire outfit not having won the FA Cup "for 25 years".

When the game got under way, it was the visitors who looked more of a threat as Luke Murphy's cross found the head of Sol Bamba, only for Scott Carson to make a routine save.

At the other end, Jermaine Pennant's cross was headed well wide by Emmerson Boyce.

Leeds had half a shout for a penalty midway through the first period when Gaetan Bong and Billy Sharp collided in the Wigan box.

Thankfully for the home side, the official waved play on with the Leeds man furious.

Sheyi Ojo, recalled to the Wigan starting XI, was seeing plenty of ball down the left, one cross drifting inches past the far post with no blue-and-white shirt near it.

Kim Bo-kyung saw a shot deflected wide for a corner which was cleared, before Ojo was again involved down the left.

The cross from the on-loan Liverpool man found Marc-Antoine Fortune, whose shot was disappointingly wide of the mark.

Wigan had their own shout for as penalty shortly after the restart as a shot from Don Cowie - on for Pennant at the break - appeared to hit the hand of Giuseppe Bellusci, but again the official was unimpressed.

Goalkeeper Marco Silvestri was called into action to deal with a James McClean effort, before the visitors took the lead on 50 minutes.

Mowatt picked up a bouncing ball 25 yards from goal, and unleashed a magnificent volley that flew past Carson and into the top corner.

Credit to Wigan for their response, and they were almost level from their next attack.

A wonderful cross from the left by Fortune somehow evades everyone in the box, and it was the same story moments later only for Ojo and Cowie to fail to get on the end of the striker's inviting delivery.

Wigan had another half-shout for a penalty when Ojo thought his cross had hit the arm of a defender, before a rocket from Kim looked as though it was goalbound only to strike McClean and deflect away to safety.

Not even the introduction of William Kvist and Billy Mckay in the final quarter - and seven minutes of added time - could tip the balance back Wigan's way.

A McClean snap-shot briefly raised excitement in three sides of the stadium before nestling in the side-netting, before another delightful delivery from Ojo cross was allowed to roll through the corridor of uncertainty and out for a goal-kick.