Match report: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

It was a case of another game, another late goal conceded and more disappointment for Bolton Wanderers fans on Saturday afternoon.

Neil Lennon has tried to put a positive spin on the result, we broke the losing run away from home and are still 10 points clear of the relegation places with one less game to go. However, the late Wigan Athletic goal still makes it feel like a defeat just as it did in similar circumstances against Wolverhampton and Reading FC.

As always, Bolton were well backed by over 4000 travelling fans and made a bright start to the game. Perhaps the return to the 3-5-2 formation caught Wigan by surprise but Bolton couldn't really create anything of note despite seeing plenty of the ball. Rochinha looked lively early on with some neat footwork but on a difficult pitch soon faded out of the game.

Once Wigan settled into the game they finished the half the stronger, Perch hit the bar, Clarke had a goal ruled out for offside and Ben Amos was forced into a brilliant save to deny Fortune.

The second half started poorly for Bolton with Pennant curling a free kick off the post and Wigan started to look dangerous down their wings with the back 3 of the whites looking stretched.

Rochinha was sacrificed by Lennon on 55 minutes as Josh Vela was introduced and this seemed to bring a bit more composure to the side. With 20 minutes to go it was a Vela cross from the right that was half cleared before the ball found its way to Tom Walker on the edge of the box. Walker hit a speculative effort that looked like it would trickle into Al Habsi's grasp but a kind deflection from a Wigan defender saw the ball nestle into the corner of the net.

It looked like a stroke of luck that we had been missing these past few weeks as the Bolton fans relished the possibility of helping Wigan on their way to League 1.

Rather than the goal giving us the confidence to go on and see the game out we immediately sat deeper and invited pressure. Wigan took the invitation and piled forward as Bolton failed to make the ball stick up front, Amos made late saves from the sub Ojo and Clarke. With one last throw of the dice a long throw saw Tim Ream fouled at the near post, however that doesn't excuse the 3 or 4 green shirts stood ball watching as Waghorn hooked the ball in from 6 yards.

It really was a dreadful goal to concede and sums up the collective lack of responsibility that has plagued us recently through all these late goals.

With 7 games to go, including tough trips to Brentford and Bournemouth, the next home game against Blackpool becomes a must win or a nervous finish could be on the cards.