Report by John Patrick Heeley

Wigan manager Bruce Rioch was pleased with his side's performance after they earned themselves a valuable point in the goalless draw at Bristol Rovers' Memorial Stadium.

Results elsewhere mean that the point takes Latics to third place in the second division.

A tale of two defences

A dour nil-nil stalemate at Bristol Rovers' Memorial Stadium was probably a fair result at the end of the day as two strong defences dominated proceedings with neither side capable of carving out much in the way of clear cut chances.

Midfield play was scrappy with neither side taking control of the early exchanges and Latics' first chance came in the 18th minute when a long punt from Roy Carroll was flicked on by Simon Haworth into the path of Liddell whose shot went wayward from 30 yards out.

Liddell was again unlucky in the 21st minute when a clever backhead by Martinez put him through for a shot on goal which was parried away by the Rovers' keeper Matt Glennon, who was only drafted into the squad the previous day on loan from Bolton Wanderers.

From there on in Bristol Rovers started to stamp their authority on the game, winning a succession of free kicks and corners. The Gasheads caused numerous problems down both flanks putting Latics under heavy pressure with the livewire Nathan 'Duke' Ellington and recent signing Micky Evans both going close to breaking the deadlock, while Latics were content to sit back and soak up the pressure.

The 4-4-2 favoured by Rioch failed to exercise their influence and out manoeuvred the home side. Who, it has to be sadi,seemed to be lacking much of the firepower in evidence last season.

However, the likes of Roberts and Cureton surely detracted from what is one of the more solid defences in the lower divisions, and seemed to snuff out most of Wigan's first half attacking prowess.

It was Rovers who finished the half on the offensive after Kevin Nicholls, back in the starting line up at the expense of transfer listed Brian McLaughlin, conceded a silly free-kick after making a rash challenge.

The resulting kick was whipped in at pace and headed out for a corner by Scott Green. The corner was quickly cleared and Latics were then probably relieved to hear the referee's whsitle blown for half time.

Half Time: Bristol Rovers 0 Wigan Athletic 0

The second half started much the same way as the first had finished with Rovers on the attack. However, Wigan did manage to break with Andy Liddell attempting a speculative 35-yard effort, which could have embarrassed the keeper if he had not been on his line.

In the 49th minute, Liddell himself was slightly embarrassed as he failed to control a ball which was then sprayed out to the left wing from the Rovers midfield. Second half substitute Mark Walters whipped in a delightful ball, only for Nathan Ellington to head wide.

The pressure continued, with the partisan home crowd baying for blood, while the Wigan faithful watched their team carry out some stout defending.

Rovers agian came close when Ellington's cross was centred, only for Mark Walters to fail to connect despite raising his leg as high as the half-time cheerleaders.

In the final half hour Latics started to come into the game more with an attack whixh followed a similar pattern - a Haworth flick sending Liddell free and the ball going out off a defender for Wigan's first corner of the game in the 61st minute. The corner was headed wide by de Zeeuw.

Spurred on by this Latics began to increase in cofidence with Kevin Sharp and Ian Kilford combining well, pushing forward and creating opportunities.

Wigan won themselves another corner which Stuart Balmer headed well wide and moments later Sharp and Kilford again worked together to set up Nicholls, who was unlucky with a long range attempt on goal, in what was laregely an ineffectual game for the former Charlton midfielder.

In the 80th minute Alan McLoughlin replaced Roberto Martinez just as Scott Green had started to make his way to the dugout (!) Martinez again had a quiet game, and seems to have lost some of his vision and awareness, relying on Kilford to make all the running, while Nicholls sat back.

It's perhaps unfair to criticise the midfield as everyone knows their abilities as well as their limitations, but I would certainly think that a new midfielder would be high on Bruce's shopping list.

Almost immediately after the substitution, Latics found themselves with their best chance of the game. Once again it happened down the left flank, Liddell broke to the edge of the box and fed the ball through to Haworth. The big Welshman's shot was low and firm, but the Rovers stand-in keeper came out to smother the ball well - a save that was to earn him the match sponsor's Man of the Match award, a choice which baffled boths sets of fans bearing in mind that he was only called into action two or three times.

Haworth's shot proved to be Latics' last chance to steal all three points, and the closing stages saw Rovers exert more pressure, winning a couple of late corners, which were no trouble for the Wigan defence.

As the final whistle went, neither set of fans had cause for complaint about the result, although nobody had much to shout about either. Let's put this one down to experience.

Nice pasties, nice cheerleaders (except the fat one) and nice scrumpy beforehand. The football didn't quite live upto expectations, but it was definitely a point gained on the balance of things.

FINAL SCORE: Bristol Rovers 0 Wigan 0