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Bramble blunder boosts Everton
20/01/2008 18:45 - (SA)
Wigan - Everton moved into fourth place in the Premier League as goals from Andrew Johnson and Joleon Lescott secured a 2-1 win at Wigan on Sunday.
David Moyes's side remain firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot thanks to yet another mistake from Wigan defender Titus Bramble, who gifted Johnson his goal late in the first half at the JJB Stadium.
Lescott added a second three minutes later and Everton held on to claim their third successive league win despite Phil Jagielka's second half own goal.
Wigan will feel hard done by but Steve Bruce's team had only themselves to blame for a defeat that leaves them hovering precariously above the relegation zone.
Moyes must have had a feeling it was going to be his day as Andrew Johnson and Leon Osman returned to the starting line-up ahead of schedule after injuries.
Bruce has sparked something of a revival in Wigan's fortunes. But while they had lost only one of their previous seven matches, the Latics were still in danger of slipping into the bottom three.
Honduras winger Wilson Palacios, making his home debut, showed impressive poise to work space in the Everton penalty area in the first minute and curled a shot past the far post.
Palacios was the source of all Wigan's attacking impetus and his deflected cross gave Emile Heskey a sight of goal, only for the England forward to flick his header wide.
Johnson had Everton's first shot when he hooked over before Mikel Arteta forced Chris Kirkland to parry his stinging drive.
Wigan continued to have the better of it though and Tim Howard had to make a fingertip save to push Marcus Bent's header on to the bar from Antonio Valencia's corner.
Speculative pass
But Bramble is never more than a few seconds away from another catastrophic mistake and so it proved again in the 39th minute.
When Arteta sent a speculative pass down the right wing, Bramble got there ahead of Johnson and only needed to sent a firm backpass to Kirkland to avert the danger.
Instead the error-prone defender completely scuffed his kick and Johnson was able to pounce on the loose ball before calmly beating Kirkland. Bramble looked mortified, while Everton, bouyed by that stroke of good fortune, went for the kill.
They applied the decisive blow three minutes later. Wigan's defending was poor again as they failed to clear Mikel Arteta's corner, leaving Lescott perfectly placed to score his seventh goal of the season from close range.
Wigan were given a lifeline in the 53rd minute when Bruce's decision to send on Jason Koumas paid instant dividends.
The Wales midfielder had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds when he curled in a deep free-kick that Jagielka unluckily deflected into his own net.
That was as good as it got for the hosts. They huffed and puffed but rarely threatened to equalise. A struggle to avoid the drop awaits Wigan but Everton can rightly dream of more lofty goals.
- SAPA
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