Wigan Athletic 3-2 Blackburn Rovers
by Jacque Talbot at Loire Drive

WIGAN continued their dominance in domestic competitions with an impressive 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup Third Round following an outstanding late goal from Thelo Aasgaard.

Just days after their 6-0 thrashing of Oldham Athletic in the EFL Trophy, the Latics beat the promotion-chasing Championship side in dramatic fashion, each of the five goals from coming in the last 30 minutes. 

Reda Khadra put their away side ahead, before Max Power equalised with a long-range effort.

Jack Whatmough then gave Wigan a surprise lead with a header. But it wasn’t long until Daniel Ayala made the game square once more, burying the ball into the net from a set-piece.

But Aasgaard, a 19-year-old Liverpool academy graduate, truly saved the best until last, with a delightful curling effort from outside the box to secure the game late on.

After the game, Rovers boss Tony Mowbray rued putting out a strengthened side.

“We have to be careful,” he said. “ We could have rested a few and yet I don’t feel I have enough players to change the team. You’ve seen the rest of the bench, they’re a couple of young lads that are going to play for the Under-23s tomorrow. 

“We don’t have the team behind the team like we did last year where we might have been able to change the squad and still looked strong. Let’s move on very fast and put it behind us.”

Wigan survived an early scare as Jamie Jones came out to claim a loose ball — the keeper fluffed his shot and it went straight into the feet of Lewis Travis, who was just outside the semi-circle. But he too miskicked and the ball sprayed towards the corner flag.

On 10 minutes, Ben Brereton Diaz was found by Joe Rothwell with a long ball after the Chile international made a galloping run out wide.

The attacker manager to cut inside on the edge of the box but his shot was safely caught by Jones. 

Just a minute after, John Buckley’s dazzling break on the right flank had Brereton Diaz screaming out for a lay-off — but the forward went for goal himself, despite being in a worse position, forcing a save and a subsequent corner.

Sam Gallagher came off with a suspected pull hamstring, with Khradra taking his place on the half-hour mark.

Mowbray’s use of fixed back-three with attackers interchanging positions in-game led to several instances of a flummoxed Wigan side leaving gaping holes.

The most obvious example of this was just before the half. Brereton Diaz made a neat run into the box, skipping past Jones in slick fashion and tucking the ball home. The assistant’s flag was immediately up, however.

Tyrhys Dolan skidded an effort past Jones’s right post at the beginning of the second half. And the barrage continued.

Brereton Diaz’s breathtaking close-control in the build-up before switching to the left flank enabled Khadra to finally open the scoring for Blackburn on 48 minutes, cutting inside and finding the net with a low strike.

Rothwell, who had ran things from midfield for the first 60 minutes of proceedings, wiggled through and fired a shot on 58 minutes.

At the opposite end, Tendayi Darikwa was adamant a penalty should’ve fallen Wigan’s way on 59 minutes but referee Tim Robinson waved it on. 

But whatever injustices Wigan felt was answered a minute later. Power — who had in the previous game against Oldham scored a thunderous free-kick — hit another outrageous strike to bring the home side level.

Jason Kerr almost scored when Aynsley Pears misjudged a corner. Pears was nowhere to be seen after running out to collect the ball on the right flank and the Wigan player headed the ball against the bar, before being desperately booted out by the defence.

But a subsequent cross from the same side and the Rovers keeper made a similar error. This time he was punished, with Whatmough pouncing on the loose ball to put Wigan up on 73 minutes.

Rovers started to fall apart. The grace and composure they had shown up until that point turned into ill-judged and hasty decisions and Wigan enjoyed their brightest period of the game in the final 20 minutes.

The pendulum had indeed swung and the home side started to ask more questions, be more bullish in tackles, and authoritative in possession.

Rovers substitute Danny Butterworth’s long shot that sailed over Jones’s bar on 84 minutes came because options had to start run out on the flanks of which Rovers had been so brilliant at utilising up until that point.

Ayala then buried a header from an incoming free-kick from Khadra on 89 minutes.  A mist of a red flare emanated from the Rovers fans who had occupied the entirety of the North Stand — but the jubilant scenes would not last.

In injury time, following a corner, the ball was recycled to substitute Aasgaard, who drove an outrageous looping shot outside the box.

The ball dipped at the perfect moment and fell under Pears’s bar to provide Wigan progression to the fourth round, with the stadium exploding in delight and surprise in equal measure.