Wigan manager Cary Caldwell praised his team after a 96th minute header from captain Craig Morgan capped a stunning comeback against Gillingham on Thursday night.
Latics’ once again came back from two goals down in a league match to seal a 3-2 win and deny high flying Gills top spot in the division.
Goals from Dominic Samuel and Rory Donnelly either side of the half-time put the visitors in control, but Gary Caldwell’s men once again battled back from the impossible to seal the win.
Within 10 minutes they were level through Will Grigg and Max Power before Morgan powered home a header deep into injury and leave Wigan just six points behind second-placed Gills.
Caldwell praised his team’s resilience once again and with a game in hand against Sheffield United on Tuesday night the three points could prove invaluable.
“It was fantastic,” said Caldwell. “Another fantastic comeback from a team that never knows when they are beaten.
“We kept going and I think we deserved to win the game because in the first-half, whilst we could have played with more urgency, we still created good opportunities and passed the ball well.
“In the second-half, we didn’t deserve to go 2-0 down but the resilience to get back in the game and then go on and win it was brilliant,” he added.
And, despite praising his side for their resilience and character, Caldwell admitted he wishes his side could find their scoring touch earlier in games.
“I wish they would get into that extra gear in the first minute and that would make it easier for all of us,” he explained.
“I am trying to find how we can do that, the team are trying to find how they can do it.
“I think any great team has the ability to go into another gear and get a response by shifting into it and we have that and it has helped us to get another huge win in our season in terms of where we want to go.
“We have to keep going now, we have to improve our starts to games and our intensity and we need to move the ball quicker and not go 2-0 down!”
But whatever the nature of the win, it was a win that keeps Latics’ within touching distance of the automatic spots.
“This can give us belief,” said Caldwell. “We can kick on from here.”
And Wigan will surely be confident of picking up another three points against the struggling Blades, especially as the Yorkshire outfit travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to face Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Image courtesy of Wigan Athletic via YouTube, with thanks.
