Bruce bow ends in stalemate

Steve Bruce's first game as Wigan manager saw Paul Scharner's header cancel out Geovanni's opener for Manchester City.

All square in the North West derby as Bramble is let off the hook

Paul Scharner ensured Steve Bruce's tenure at Wigan did not open in defeat, as his header cancelled out Geovanni's quick-fire goal for Manchester City at the JJB Stadium. If Bruce called for calm and caution in the dressing room prior to kick-off then Titus Bramble must be a candidate for amnesiac of the year, as he produced a piece of piece of defending so laughable it will almost certainly make it on to a raft of gaffe DVDs for the Christmas market. City have played some concise and engaging football this term but Geovanni's goal, the fastest in the Premier League this season clocked at 30 seconds, was positively agricultural. A long punt from back to front came down with manure on it but that cannot excuse an inexplicable piece of defending from Bramble, who under little pressure on the edge of the box, fluffed his clearance into the path of Geovanni - who ghosted past Chris Kirkland and rolled into an empty net. Bruce can, though, draw consolation over how his side responded to such an early blow as they levelled before half-time when from Jason Koumas' clever clipped cross to the far post, Scharner dived in to expose some poor City defending. In the second period Wigan were just about the better of the two sides as they showed plenty of fight; in the case of Mario Melchiot too much, as he was sent-off in the final stages for a reckless two-footed lunge on Stephen Ireland.

Bramble howler

To say Bruce's reign got off to the worst possible start was a major understatement as Bramble's howler had the home crowd groaning before Bruce had time to familiarise himself with a new dugout. As Wigan attempted to fight back, Emile Heskey needed treatment after a clash of heads with Micah Richards before Richard Dunne, then Vedran Corluka, blocked shots from Marcus Bent and Scharner. City keeper Andreas Isaksson had already scuffed one clearance when Dunne's short pass allowed Bent to close him down and the Swede was fortunate the rebound flew across his goal rather than in it. Javier Garrido came off worst in a collision with Antonio Valencia, eventually having to be replaced, before Dietmar Hamann got back in the nick of time to seize possession off Koumas just as the Wales international was about to let fly. Wigan deservedly drew level after 25 minutes when Corluka's flicked header out of the City six-yard area fell to Koumas. Corluka tried to close the Wigan man down but did not get there quickly enough to prevent the far-post chip which invited Scharner's firm far-post header. The pressure was now on City and Richards was forced into a hurried clearance as Valencia drilled over a low cross for Heskey. Luis Valencia could not make the most of his crossing chance after he had outpaced Ball down the Wigan right, allowing Richards to intercept. Koumas curled a shot over from 20 yards after Heskey had flicked an intelligent pass into his path.

Even second 45

Ireland had an early shot blocked as City trying to make the same flying start to the second period as they had done in the first. Bent showed admirable enthusiasm to chase down Heskey's through-ball and send a cut-back into the City box, only to find not one team-mate had followed his run. Heskey went down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury and was immediately replaced by Ryan Taylor, a move that saw Koumas pushed into a more advanced role in support of Bent. Petrov's ambitious 25-yard shot flew harmlessly wide before Isaksson pulled off the save of the match to deny Taylor. Valencia acrobatically turned Melchiot's cross into Taylor's path and the former Tranmere man connected with his left-foot volley which would have flown in had Isaksson not turned it away at his near post. Richards was lucky to get away with what appeared to be a blatant handball on the edge of his own box, not long after academy graduate Kelvin Etuhu had replaced Geovanni. Koumas thumped a shot straight at Hamann, then Scharner was cautioned for sending the German flying. Ball was cautioned for tripping Koumas on halfway but two minutes from time Wigan lost their captain as Melchiot was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Ireland, which incensed Bruce but was totally correct even though the Dutchman played the ball.

Wigan Athletic	Team Statistics	Manchester City
1	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
2	Shots on Target	1
1	Shots off Target	3
3	Blocked Shots	2
2	Corners	4
17	Fouls	12
3	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	0
67.2	Passing Success	78.6
25	Tackles	19
76	Tackles Success	89.5
36.5	Possession	63.5
54.7	Territorial Advantage	45.3