Hot-Rod sinks Pompey

Hugo Rodallega's first-half strike saw Wigan deservedly beat a below-par Portsmouth 1-0 at the JJB Stadium.

Rodallega's first-half strike sees Latics home

Hugo Rodallega's first-half strike saw Wigan deservedly beat a below-par Portsmouth 1-0 at the JJB Stadium. The Latics dominated and took the lead in the 26th minute through a Rodallega tap-in after Sol Campbell missed a Charles N'Zogbia cross from the left. Mario Melchiot then had a chance ten minutes after being allowed to run on goal and playing a one-two with Rodallega but his close range shot was well stopped by Pompey keeper Asmir Begovic before he put the rebound over. In the second period, Pompey improved but could not fashion a chance, while at the other end Rodallega shot into the side netting. Rodallega's winner was his third goal in four matches as Wigan ended a run of three successive defeats. It meant he somewhat stole the limelight from winger Antonio Valencia, who put in a man-of-the-match performance on what is expected to be his final appearance for the club before a big-money summer move. Victory ended a dismal spell that had seen the Latics take only one point from the previous seven matches and was only their fourth win since the turn of the year. It was that form that put paid to their hopes of European football next season as they dropped out of contention for seventh place having secured their top-flight future at the end of March. However, they finished 11th in the league table, their best since the all-time high of 10th under Paul Jewell in 2005/06. For Portsmouth this was a 13th match on the road without victory.

Trickery

Valencia soon displayed the kind of trickery that has reportedly attracted interest from Real Madrid and Manchester United, to name but two. He cut inside left-back Hermann Hreidarsson, weaved his way past a static defence and into the penalty area but, when he pulled his cross back, Rodallega blazed over. Pompey goalkeeper Begovic, deputising for the injured David James, then had to face a flurry of action. He tipped over Daniel de Ridder's free-kick from right on the edge of the penalty area before producing a smart double save from Emmerson Boyce and Rodallega from the resulting corner. Valencia was obviously enjoying his finale, looking more threatening than he had since the turn of the year, and he gave Hreidarsson a torrid time. In the 25th minute a sharp passing move between Rodallega and Valencia put De Ridder through but he delayed his shot and Richard Hughes got back to make a crucial tackle. However, the hosts' persistence was rewarded with a goal less than a minute later. N'Zogbia's cross from the left had a number of defenders to beat before it reached Rodallega but Campbell missed his kick and the Colombia striker had a simple three-yard tap-in at the far post. Mario Melchiot then had two golden chances in the 35th minute and, had they fallen to a more offensively-minded player, the Latics would probably have been further ahead. The right-back drove towards the penalty area, exchanged passes with Rodallega but fired straight at Begovic and blasted the rebound over. Valencia then sliced a shot into the side-netting from 12 yards before Hreidarsson, who had been given a rough ride by the Ecuador international, was booked for yet another foul on the winger. He was lucky not to be punished further after booting the ball away and then arguing with referee Phil Dowd.

Second period

Early in the second half, Titus Bramble, Wigan's player of the year, and Melchiot both produced timely tackles to deny John Utaka and Peter Crouch in the same attack as Portsmouth began the second period more positively. But it was not long before the hosts re-established control and Hughes and Crouch were both booked for crude fouls on De Ridder and N'Zogbia. Rodallega then squandered a 59th-minute opportunity to make it a more comfortable for Wigan. Hreidarsson's poor game continued as he lost the ball in midfield, allowing Valencia to break and slip a pass into the goalscorer but he failed to test the keeper by shooting into the side-netting. Boyce did the same from De Ridder's cross after he was allowed to chest the ball down in the penalty area by Portsmouth's motionless defence. Teenage forward Callum McManaman, making his first-team debut as a late substitute, set up Valencia when he rolled the ball under his foot only for his team-mate to blaze over from a narrow angle. But the result never really seemed to be in doubt as most of Portsmouth's players appeared already to be thinking of their summer holidays.

Wigan Athletic	Team Statistics	Portsmouth
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	1
10	Shots off Target	7
5	Blocked Shots	1
8	Corners	2
9	Fouls	23
1	Offsides	1
0	Yellow Cards	4
0	Red Cards	0
76.5	Passing Success	72.2
28	Tackles	17
78.6	Tackles Success	88.2
54.5	Possession	45.5
57.8	Territorial Advantage	42.2