Spurs 1-1 Wigan

Ben Watson's goal early in the second-
half was enough for Wigan to claim a
surprise 1-0 win over below-par
Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
A second away win of the season for
Roberto Martinez's side was
completely deserved as Spurs
struggled to make the most of a
positive start and had to listen to the
jeers of their own fans for long spells
of the game.
They controlled the early tempo but
had only a Clint Dempsey shot,
deflected behind for a corner, to show
for their almost complete dominance
of possession.
Spurs came closest to taking the lead
on 20 minutes when a corner fell for
Jan Vertonghen, but the Belgian
defender's sweet volley was well held
by Ali Al-Habsi.
Wigan grew into the game and had a
decent chance of their own just before
the half-hour when Arouna Kone and
Shaun Maloney linked up well and
Kone forced Brad Friedel into a fine
reaction save.
Friedel came to the rescue again
moments later when Maloney beat the
offside trap only to see his shot
bounce back off the keeper as he
spread himself as wide as possible.
Watson wasted a decent chance just
before the break, firing over after more
good work from Kone, and the jeers
from sections of the home support
when the half-time whistle went told
the story from Spurs' point of view.
The goal Wigan threatened as the
opening half wore on came 11 minutes
after the break when Friedel failed to
clear a Maloney cross under pressure
from Kone and Watson volleyed home
from six yards.
Spurs upped the pace, as they clearly
had to, and almost forced an equaliser
on 68 when Steven Caulker headed a
corner back across goal but James
McCarthy headed off the line with Al-
Habsi beaten.
The home side continued to struggle in
the final third despite bringing on
some fresh blood and Wigan
threatened on the break with Kone's
greediness costing them a chance and
Maynor Figueroa not far off target with
a long-range free-kick.
Gareth Bale curled a set-piece of his
own just wide as the seconds ticked
down, but despite plenty of late
pressure an equaliser was not
forthcoming and Wigan headed back to
Lancashire with three valuable, and
hard-earned, points.