Sean Maloney’s tenure as Wigan Athletic manager began with an attritionary Championship stalemate at Blackburn Rovers.
The newly appointed Latics boss, one of Wigan’s 2013 FA Cup heroes, saw his bottom of the table side enjoy the better of the Ewood Park exchange with a spirited display against their play-off-chasing hosts. Enjoyed.
Although the goalless draw – Wigan’s first clean sheet since the same match in October – was not enough to lift them off the foot of the table, the performance pleased the visiting supporters more than the angry home fans.
Blackburn were the brighter of the two sides early on but Maloney’s men grew in confidence.
Despite a promising start the game became increasingly difficult, with few clear chances created.
At full-time it was Wigan who were the happiest of both clubs with strong and resilient displays – a far cry from their defensive woes under Maloney’s predecessor Kolo Toure.
It was a disappointing night for Jon Dahl-Thomasson at his Blackburn side who had little imagination.
And yet the early stages offered hope. Ben Amos came to Wigan’s rescue in the fourth minute when he got down quickly to block Ben Britton Diaz’s shot. The Blackburn man was given plenty of space on the right side of the Wigan half but his finishing was poor, with the striker marking his shot as he prepared to pull the trigger.
Wigan continued to press throughout the first half as Blackburn ran out of ideas. A cross-field ball from Omar Rakik gave fellow debutant Daniel Sinani some space to slot in. He cut inside and seized the space created by Max Power’s overlapping run, only to see his shot deflected wide of Ainsley Pearce’s goal.
Blackburn responded with their own break from first-half pressure – Amos rushing again to answer Sorba Thomas’ 45th-minute shot.
New boy Martin Kelly made his mark for the visitors just after the hour mark. Blackburn’s low cross looked destined to reach Bradley Dyke, only for recent loan signings from West Brom to fend off the threat.
And Latics can count themselves unlucky not to take the lead within minutes. James McClain’s corner was met by Kelly at the far post, but Callum Lang’s entanglement disallowed the goal as Lewis Travis was adjudged a foul in favor of the hosts – replays inconclusive. even so.
Kelly’s night was to end on a sad note, with the defender forced to twist his knee badly in obvious pain.
Blackburn had a late shout for a penalty when Pickering appeared to stumble in the box. No fouls were called.
The result leaves Wigan bottom of the table, despite drawing level with Blackpool on 26 points.
There was a sense of loss of points for Blackburn despite going above Millwall and level with sixth-placed West Brom.
