Source: Telegraph
Wigan Athletic shame insipid Sunderland
Ricky Sbragia's charges took the walk of shame after an insipid display that left Sunderland hovering just above the relegation zone as goals from Charles N'Zogbia and Ben Watson maintained Wigan's unlikely Uefa Cup dreams.[LNB]'That's probably the worst we've played since I took charge, to be truthful,' said Sbragia. [LNB] Related ArticlesTelegraph player rater[LNB]Sunderland captain Dean Whitehead infuriates supporters with attack[LNB]Wigan's Ben Watson scores the winner against Hull City[LNB]Tony Adams "surprised" by Portsmouth's decision to sack him[LNB]John Ward pays price for Carlisle United's disastrous run[LNB]Sunderland in great hands under Ellis Short, says chairman Niall Quinn[LNB]'The fans are entitled to boo – they pay good money and we haven't delivered. We need a couple of wins quickly.' Watson struck in the 12th minute when he was given space to unleash a 25-yard volley that flew past the diving Marton Fulop after defenders failed to clear their lines and midfielders failed to close down.[LNB]Sunderland lacked the energy to consistently trouble Wigan's five-man midfield while Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse again showed that they cannot hit it off together.[LNB]Eventually, Grant Leadbitter rose above his colleagues' torpor in the 41st minute, nutmegging Maynor Figueroa before calmly guiding the ball beyond Chris Kirkland following Fulop's punt and a flurry of headers by Cisse, Dean Whitehead and Jones.[LNB]N'Zogbia exploited opposition lethargy to restore Wigan's lead as Sunderland were hit on the break in the 45th minute. He burst past Whitehead after gathering possession in his own half and held off Tal Ben-Haim's half-hearted challenge before drilling the ball beyond Fulop.[LNB]Fulop redeemed himself by denying Paul Scharner but an uninspired Sunderland created next to nothing in attack, save for Steed Malbranque and Leadbitter's offside 'goals' and Daryl Murphy's dreadful mis-kick that said it all.[LNB]Wigan manager Steve Bruce said: 'The vast majority of the crowd would think we could just turn up and beat them. Both sides found it very difficult with the wind swirling around but the more the game went on the more comfortable we became.'[LNB]
