Aston Villa Beats Wigan To Inch Towards Champions League

Thanks to James Milner, Aston Villa made a vital step towards qualifying for the Champions League with a come from behind win over Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night in the English Premier League. The England midfielder fired home in the 63rd minute after Wigan’s Gary Caldwell had cancelled out an own goal from team-mate James McCarthy at the DW Stadium earlier in the game. The win puts Villa just three points behind Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand and also broke a jinx that manager Martin O’Neill suffered that had been known as the March jinx where he had not been able to win games during the month in previous years. However he has since earlier broken that in the FA Cup after their come from behind win over Reading before now doing it in the EPL live.

Wigan have always played much better at home this season but without any reward to show for it. Their last win came against Liverpool and since then they suffered a 4-0 drubbing against Bolton. Hope was high when they started again Villa but were again put on the backfoot when a nightmarish own goal from McCarthy put Villa ahead. But they kept up an electric pace throughout with Hugo Rodallege threatening throughout. It still did not prevent Villa from having two goals disallowed despite looking legitimate both times. Two minutes after Villa scored, Wigan provided the best response possible as Charles N’Zogbia’s free-kick was met by a glancing header from Caldwell that took it beyond Friedel.

However, it was just after the hour when Villa went into the lead as Kirkland flapped at a cross and the ball was only half-cleared as far as Milner on the edge of the box. The midfielder fired the ball straight back at goal and it somehow found its way through a crowded penalty area to hit the net. The points were then sealed as the more experienced team closed the game out. After the match, Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill hailed midfielder James Milner as sensational and also played up the midfielder’s chances to be selected for Fabio Capello’s England World Cup squad at the end of the season.

Match Highlights of Wigan vs Aston Villa: