Toon and Wigan share spoils

Former Toon defender earns late point for Latics

By Shaun Moseley   Last updated: 15th November 2008  

Toon and Wigan share spoils

Taylor: Early Wigan strike

Man of the Match:
Titus Bramble. Commanding performance on his return to St James' Park.
Played with a composure he rarely displayed in his time in the North East.

Moment of the match:
Ryan Taylor's third minute goal from outside the area. Not many people can beat Shay Given from that range and it was a deft piece of skill by the young defender.

Save of the match:
Chris Kirkland's tip over from a powerful point blank Michael Owen header. Owen did get on the score sheet a few minutes later, after coming on as a second half substitute, but it was a great effort by the big Latics shot-stopper.

Goal of the match:
Obefami Martins' scorching shot from the edge of the 18-yard area which gave Kirkland no chance. It deserved to win the game for Newcastle but Bramble had other ideas.

Talking point:
Emerson Boyce's controversial sending off. Steve Bruce is convinced it was a fair challenge and it was a decision which turned the balance of the game.

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Three goals in the last ten minutes after an early Wigan strike resulted in a highly entertaining 2-2 draw with Newcastle at St James' Park.

Wigan fully deserved to go into the lead after just three minutes as Ryan Taylor's spectacular effort from outside the box left Shay Given helpless.

The resilient Lancastrians had been far more disciplined than lacklustre Newcastle, who left the park at half-time with boos raining down from the unhappy faithful.

However, the second half brought far more in terms of effort, controversy and all-round entertainment.

Emmerson Boyce looked to have been harshly dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 55th minute, but Wigan reorganised and did not appear in too much danger until the arrival of hit-man Michael Owen.

After missing a gilt-edged opportunity on 79 minutes, poking the ball wide from point-blank range, Owen scored two minutes later after Chris Kirkland spilled a Shola Ameobi shot.

Obafami Martins netted a second with a powerful shot from inside the area in the 87th minute before former Newcastle player Titus Bramble rifled a header past Given in the last minute of normal time to rescue a deserved point for battling Wigan.

Newcastle were awful for much of the match, and it was not until Wigan had been reduced to ten men that they started to make their presence felt as an attacking force.

Zaki absence

Having slipped back into the bottom three after last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Fulham, the home side ran out knowing nothing other than a third successive home win would do.

Wigan arrived with both first-choice strikers - Emile Heskey and Amr Zaki - sidelined by hamstring injuries, and with Mario Melchiot having joined them on the casualty list.

But within three minutes of the kick-off, they were in front when Taylor's dipping 22-yard volley looped past an astonished Given into the top corner.

If the opening goal represented a setback, more worrying was the home side's failure to respond in anything like the fashion manager Joe Kinnear would have expected.

Given had to make regulation, by his standards, saves from Taylor and Wilson Palacios as Nicky Butt, Joey Barton - before he limped off injured - and Danny Guthrie thereafter were given the run-around.

It was perhaps telling that the most frequent ball-carriers for Newcastle as they attempted to fight back were full-backs Habib Beye and Jose Enrique - with the Spaniard in particular wasteful in possession.

There was little doubting the tone of Kinnear's half-time comments - although whatever he said appeared to have little effect as the game resumed.

That changed six minutes later when Boyce, who had earlier been booked for a foul on Jonas Gutierrez, felled Ameobi and was dismissed - despite his claims he had got the ball.

Target

Butt, Fabricio Coloccini and Martins failed to hit the target with headers as the home side piled on the pressure - and Jonas was unable to collect Butt's through-ball after running in on goal.

But in the meantime, Antonio Valencia had forced a fine 57th-minute save from Given as Wigan made light of their numerical disadvantage.

Kinnear made his move with 22 minutes remaining when he sent on Owen and Charles N'Zogbia for Jonas and Enrique, and the England striker's big chance arrived within two minutes when Martins skipped around Taylor and squared - only for the £17million man to side-foot wide from six yards.

Owen then saw a header tipped over by Kirkland, although the game would have been over had Henri Camara's 76th-minute shot not come back off the post with Given beaten.

But the former Real Madrid front man made no mistake when, after Kirkland had parried Ameobi's long-range effort, he slid in to convert the rebound.

Martins thought he had won it when he hammered a left-foot shot past Kirkland with three minutes remaining, but Toon old boy Bramble chose the perfect moment to exorcise his Tyneside ghosts at the death.

Newcastle UnitedTeam StatisticsWigan Athletic
2Goals2
01st Half Goals1
7Shots on Target7
10Shots off Target5
2Blocked Shots1
4Corners10
9Fouls15
0Offsides7
1Yellow Cards2
0Red Cards1
72Passing Success68.4
23Tackles29
78.3Tackles Success72.4
66.7Possession33.3
53Territorial Advantage47
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