Reading vs Wigan Athletic. Sky Bet Championship.
Select Car Leasing StadiumAttendance21,919.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Reading and Wigan at the Select Car Leasing Stadium as a late Royals goal relegated the Latics back to League One on Saturday.
Saturday 29 April 2023 18:57, UK
Wigan were relegated from the Sky Bet Championship after they could only manage a 1-1 draw at relegation rivals Reading.
The visitors had given themselves a glimmer of hope of avoiding the drop when defender Charlie Hughes headed home from close range nine minutes from the end.
But Reading - still favourites to accompany Wigan into League One - levelled in the third minute of stoppage time through Yakou Meite.
The Royals had not won in 11 games and were without joint nine-goal leading marksmen Tom Ince and Andy Carroll - Ince injured and Carroll suspended.
Wigan had been making a late bid to avoid relegation, winning their previous games against Stoke and Millwall, but had to win at the SCL Stadium to stand a chance of retaining their Championship status.
Blackpool went down after their 3-2 home defeat to Millwall on Friday night and Wigan needed a fast start in Berkshire if they were to avoid joining them.
That did not transpire, however, with Reading making most of the early running.
Tom McIntyre tested Wigan goalkeeper Jamie Jones with a long-range effort, which Jones gathered comfortably, and Lucas Joao narrowly failed to latch on to a searching pass from Andy Yiadom.
Latics stayed solid at the back and were almost rewarded from their first foray forward.
Reading failed to clear their area properly and Hughes, up from the back, volleyed narrowly wide.
It was an isolated attack, though, with Reading soon back in command. Jones had to save smartly with his legs to keep out Jeff Hendrick's attempt from a tight angle.
Reading then almost snatched the lead shortly before the interval but Jones superbly clawed away a goalbound header from Joao at the last moment.
Wigan upped the tempo at the start of the second period, with Max Power crossing from the right and James McClean volleying wildly over at the far post.
Christ Tiehi then made a mazy run from deep inside his own half - only to waste all his good work with a wayward final shot.
Reading responded positively and, following a scramble in the Wigan area, Yiadom cut inside but saw his firm effort blocked.
And as the game became increasingly open, with both sides needing the victory, it was Reading who nearly made the breakthrough - Tom Holmes heading weakly at Jones from a Naby Sarr cross.
But Wigan gave themselves a glimmer of a chance of avoiding the drop in the first minute of time added on following a clever free-kick routine on the left.
McClean crossed to the far post and Hughes rose high to nod downwards and past home goalkeeper Joe Lumley.
But Reading hit back shortly afterwards when, after a frenzied goalmouth scramble, substitute Meite slammed in from close range.
Reading's Noel Hunt:
"Listen, we're relying on other results now. And we'll be keeping a close eye on them. We've just got to wait in hope. And, hopefully, we've got something to play for (at Huddersfield) on the Monday. I'm disappointed and gutted in terms of the result and the scoreline.
"But in terms of the performance, how we dominated the game and the character that we showed, I couldn't be more proud of them. If the ball had dropped for us more, we could have scored four or five more goals. What the boys gave on the pitch today should be the minimum requirement for this club. The players are devastated in the dressing room but they can be proud of what they have done today. They have been written off for much of the season but, from the minute I stepped in here, they've shown just what good people and what good professionals they are."
Wigan's Shaun Maloney:
"It's a really difficult feeling at the moment. It's been a really difficult day for everyone, a deeply painful day. It's been a real mix of emotions. The players have given me everything since I took over and I couldn't have asked for any more effort from them. We've won games and we've lost games but, in terms of the group of players, they've been immense for me.
"It's been such a unique situation here at the club, especially with the three points deduction (for failing to pay players). We then knew it was going to be very difficult for us. But for the players and the fans, just a massive thank you to them for all they have given me and their club. At the end of the season, the table doesn't lie. That's fair. But from what the players have given me, they haven't been one of the worst three teams in that time. I've now got to make sure that we don't ever have a season like this again - on or off the pitch."
