Bruce happy to hang on

Latics boss delighted to survive Magpies scare

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 26th December 2008

Bruce happy to hang on

Bruce: Secured the right result

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Wigan boss Steve Bruce was relieved to see his side survive a late scare in their 2-1 win over Newcastle.

The Latics dominated the Boxing Day contest at the JJB Stadium, taking a two-goal lead courtesy of a fine free-kick from Ryan Taylor and a penalty from Amr Zaki.

With Newcastle having seen Sebastien Bassong dismissed for his part in the awarding of the spot-kick, the Magpies looked certain to be heading home empty-handed.

However, a spirited fightback, which included a penalty of their own from Danny Guthrie, had the hosts hanging on towards the end.

Gloss

"We definitely got the right result, but the last two or three minutes I don't know what's happened to us," Bruce told Sky Sports.

"It took the gloss off a really good performance, in a game in which we were easy winners up until then.

"All of sudden it went into chaos, but all credit to Newcastle for sticking at it. In the end, though, we got the right result.

"You could see that we have got a really good side here. We had a difficult start to the season, when we didn't pick up as many points as we should have done, and we needed to turn that around.

"But this is arguably the best set of players I have had. They are a terrific group and we have some very, very good players."

Unfortunate

Newcastle had been hindered by an injury to Jose Enrique during the pre-match warm up, while they also lost Habib Beye seven minutes before half-time.

The Senegalese full-back was on the receiving end of a full-blooded challenge from Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole, but Bruce believes his man cannot be held culpable for the problems which followed.

"Lee Cattermole has gone for the ball, and wins the ball, and he has followed through and his knee catches the player," said the Latics boss.

"We hope the player is okay, but it was a genuine challenge to get the ball. Sometimes that happens. It's a man's game and we never want to see serious injuries, but Lee is a tackler and has unfortunately caught the man with his knee.

"It certainly wasn't a red card, the referee got it right."