New Wigan head coach Ryan Lowe and Barnsley’s interim head coach Conor Hourihane both felt their sides were unfortunate not to win an entertaining League One encounter which ended 1-1 at the Brick Community Stadium.
Davis Keillor-Dunn gave the Tykes the lead with a brilliant free-kick from 25 yards on eight minutes but Wigan substitute Maleace Asamoah ensured honours ended even when he took advantage of a defensive mix-up between Kieren Flavell and Mael De Gevigney to roll the ball into an empty net with 13 minutes to go.
Hourihane said: “It was disappointing. Just deal with the long ball and don’t let it get as far as it did. Flav made some great saves. He will be a little bit disappointed but it’s just as much Mael’s fault.
“I think Mael should probably deal with it but he was terrific in the game. You get disappointing moments in football and you have to get on with it.
“After they scored we responded well and had some opportunities which was pleasing.”
The Latics created more chances to have won the game but Barnsley will feel aggrieved when substitute Stephen Humphrys – making his first return to Wigan since leaving last summer – was dragged down by Jason Kerr when clean through on goal, only for referee Sebastian Stockbridge to brandish a yellow card.
“That was my biggest disappointment from the game,” added Hourihane. “I thought it was a clear red.
“I know Seb and he’s been good over the years but when he looks back he will probably know he got that wrong.
“He thought Humphs was too far from goal but he was away and he’s quick. There was a recovering player but he was six or seven yards deeper and never getting back. You get some and don’t get some.”
For Wigan chief Lowe, it was a decent enough effort from his first home game in charge.
“I thought it was a fantastic performance,” he said. “I’d like to be sitting here with three points because we had some terrific chances and you could see the intent we had from the start.
“As I’ve always said to every group I’ve been with, if you can’t win a game, make sure you don’t lose it. But it wasn’t for the lack of trying, especially in that second half.
“In the first half, I thought we were comfortable and they got a good goal. We managed to keep our belief to stay on the front foot and I thought we deserved to get a goal in that first half.
“We came in at half-time, we changed one or two things, we told them not to force the press and can we play a little bit further forward.
“We did that, fair play to Barnsley for hanging in there, but we deserved the goal and we had big chances to go on and win it.
“That’s pleasing for me, given I’ve not had that long to work with the group on the training pitch. It was evident what I want and the players gave me it – we just weren’t able to come away with the three points.”
On the possible red card for Kerr, he added: “I’m not going to sit here and say it was a red card am I? Definitely not.
“All I will say is that it wasn’t that close to the goal and we had players covering.”
Ange Postecoglou insisted his controversial cupped ear celebration to Tottenham fans in a 1-0 loss at Chelsea had been misinterpreted on another bad night for the Australian.Spurs slipped to a 16th defeat in the Premier League this season thanks to a 50th-minute header by Enzo Fernandez, but it only told half the story of a typically frenzied London derby.VAR was required to rule out a fine strike...
Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League’s top four as Enzo Fernandez’s header early in the second half earned a 1-0 derby win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.Enzo Maresca’s side were under pressure after limping into the international break playing football that had ceased to excite home fans, but they largely had the better of a disappointing Spurs team that failed to tak...
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender