Hugo Rodallega secured a last-gasp victory for Wigan at the DW Stadium with a stoppage time header as Burnley's travel sickness showed little sign of being cured.Martin Paterson had come within a whisker of securing Burnley's first away victory of the season when he charged onto David Nugent's pass in the 71st minute but saw his sublime volley clip the crossbar.
Neither side deserved to win this woeful contest, but the spoils went to the home side when Rodallega beat the helpless Brian Jensen with a diving header to leave Burnley, who remain stuck in the relegation zone with just seven games remaining, with no way back.
Despite their lack of ambition Wigan struck the woodwork in the first half when Gary Caldwell's header came back off the post while Jensen produced two fines saves at the death to deny substitute Jason Scotland and then Mohamed Diame before Rodallega struck.
REACTION:
Brian Laws refused to be too downbeat despite watching his side suffer yet another away defeat in the cruellest of circumstances.
Burnley had been good value for what looked like being a point until Rodallega's header deep into stoppage time earned all three for Wigan to leave the visitors second from bottom of the table.
But Laws is refusing to give up hope of somehow surviving and said: "It's devastating to lose the game in such a manner.
"It's a cruel blow, but that's Premier League football. I thought the performance, committment and desire of the players was fantastic and can still give us great heart for the remaining games.
"We took the game to Wigan and a point was the least we deserved. But what we cannort afford to do is let this affect us. Nobody is kidding themselves and we know we need some wins.
"But we are still in there with a fighting chance and won't go down without a fight. Performances like these encourage you and I hope the supporters and players are not too disappointed.
"We will keep going and have a chance of surviving if we can keep playing like this."
Laws claimed not to have seen the incident when a Burnley fan threw a coin that appeared to strike Chris Kirkland, the Wigan goalkeeper.
He said: "I'm not doing an Arsene Wenger, but I didn't see anything. The referee said something had been thrown from the crowd but I'd prefer to focus on the game."
Roberto Martinez said: "The good thing is that it came (the goal). The way we performed in the second half, I was very pleased with.
"It was a very traumatic finish for us. You could feel the anxiety in the crowd in the first half. It could have been very easy to lose the concentration and allow Burnley to score on a counterattack.
"It's not relief, it's pride. It gives me great, great joy. It's a sense of justice. We think it was a coin. It's not one of those events you want to see in a football match.
"You cannot ban coins from the away fans but it shouldn't be happening in modern football. To go above 30 points at this stage of the season is fantastic. It's going to go to the wire. It's going to be very many twists and turns until the end of the season."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Almost nothing did happen! Burnley started well but fizzled out badly, even though they always remained the more likely to score. Wigan seemed to set their stall out for a draw from the start, despite being at home, although Caldwell did hit the post before half time. Laws tried to win the game and threw on his most attacking players but it was to no avail, even though Graham Alexander flashed a free kick inches wide and Paterson clipped the crossbar with a sublime effort with 20 minutes remaining. Jensen was called into action late on but there was nothing he could do to keep out Rodallega's powerful header.
WHAT IT MEANS:
Wigan keep edging their way to safety. Martinez likes his side to play attractive football but it seems he is prepared to abandon his principles for the time being in order to secure the club's top-flight status. Burnley, on the other hand, appear doomed and to make matters worse don't seem to be getting much luck at the same time.
QUOTABLE:
- "I'll be sulking like mad this weekend."
- Brian Laws is fast running out of patience and humour.
WIGAN 1 (Rodallega 90) BURNLEY 0
PLAYER MARKING:
Wigan (4-5-1): Kirkland 7, Melchiot 6, Caldwell 7, Bramble 6, Figueroa 6; McCarthy 7, Scharner 6 (Scotland 34, 6), Diame 7, Thomas 6 (Moses 75); Moreno 5, Rodallega 6.
Subs (not used): Gohouri, Amaya, Gomez, Sinclair, Stojkovic.
Burnley (4-1-4-1): Jensen 7; Jordan 7, Duff 7, Cort 7, Mears 8; Alexander 7; Paterson 6 (Eagles 82), Elliott 6, McDonald 7, Nugent 7; Fletcher 9 (Blake 69, 7).
Subs (not used): Weaver, Bikey, Thompson, Cork, Edgar.
ATTENDANCE: 18,498.
NEXT UP:
- Wigan v Manchester City ((Away), Premier League, 29/03, 2000 GMT.
- Burnley v Blackburn (Home), Premier League, 27/03, 1200 GMT
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Steven Fletcher (Burnley): Was one of the few bright sparks on an otherwise miserable afternoon and showed genuine touches of class, but he badly lacked the necessary support from his colleagues.
