Joao Pedro scored the only goal of the game as Watford produced one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Championship. Slaven Bilic’s team won their third game in a row thanks to Pedro’s heroics, moving them two points outside of the playoff spots. Wigan, though, has dropped six of their previous seven games and is two points above the drop zone.
Will Keane, Wigan’s leading scorer, headed a close-range free kick from James McClean against the outside of the post. Wigan had the better start and was asking all the early questions of the Watford defense. Given Watford’s lack of danger, the hosts almost created scoring opportunities for Nathan Broadhead and Graeme Shinnie. That abruptly changed after a spectacular one-two split the Wigan defense, giving Ismaila Sarr a clear shot toward the goal. Jamie Jones, the replacement for Ben Amos in the Wigan goal, was quick off his line and made a superb close-range save.
When Keane attempted to pull down a pass over his shoulder while turning, his touch fell half a yard too far in front of him, allowing Daniel Bachmann to recover the ball. Wigan was almost in again. Max Power headed back in a McClean corner into Keane’s path, but Keane struggled to keep his attempt on target.
For the final few minutes, Wigan inserted Josh Magennis and Tom Naylor to provide some additional fresh legs. With only three minutes left, Watford managed to break through when Pedro nodded Yaser Asprilla’s cross into the back of the net. The fourth official’s announcement that seven additional minutes would be played gave the home team some encouragement. And with the very last kick of the game, Whatmough headed Power’s corner against the crossbar, which was immediately followed by the referee’s whistle, almost giving them a dramatic equalizer.
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