Stoke City and ten-man Wigan Athletic have played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Britannia Stadium today with the Latics winning a late penalty to earn a share of the spoils.
Both sides stretched their winless runs to three and four games respectively which left the Potters sitting in eighth at the turn of the New Year as Wigan moved clear of Blackburn Rovers, who upset Manchester United earlier today, but remain in the drop zone.
Victor Moses gave the visitors the lead late in the first half when he turned home Hugo Rodallega's cross from the right flank but the mood in the Wigan camp soured just over 15 minutes from time as Gary Caldwell was sent off for handling the ball when Cameron Jerome headed on target. Jonathan Walters stepped up to the spot and hammered home for the leveler with his fifth of the season.
Seven minutes later, Stoke went ahead when Jerome got on the end of Walters' clever header and finished neatly from the left side of the area past Ali Al Habsi and inside the far post.
But as the Potters looked like they would take all three points, disaster struck when referee Michael Oliver awarded a questionable penalty to Wigan when Ryan Shotton made contact with Rodallega in the area which prompted Roberto Martinez to bring penalty specialist Ben Watson off the bench. The midfielder's expertise was vital for the Latics as he sent Thomas Sorensen the wrong way with three minutes remaining to force a draw.
TRIBAL ASKS: Does Martinez now have Wigan on the right track? Can Stoke remain in the top half especially with their Europa League obligations to come?
Stoke City: 2 (Jonathan Walters (p) 77', Cameron Jerome 84') Wigan Athletic: 2 (Victor Moses 45', Ben Watson (p) 87'
Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent - 26,595
Yellow cards:STO - Rory Delap 49', Ryan Shotton 85' WIG - Victor Moses 29', Ronnie Stam 41', Hugo Rodallega 77'
Red cards:WIG - Gary Caldwell 76'
