'Direct' secret behind Wigan Athletic's FA Cup comeback win

Max Power and James McClean enjoy a spot of banter with the Blackburn fans

After dominating the first half, Rovers took a deserved lead shortly after the restart through Reda Khadra's low strike.

But Power's long-range strike brought Latics level just past the hour mark.

Despite Daniel Ayala equalising Jack Whatmough's header, substitute Thelo Aasgaard's wondergoal at the end sent Latics through.

And Power credits a change in approach from the home side that dragged the ascendancy back from the hitherto dominant visitors.

“I felt in the first half and the start of the second we were laboured in our passing, and Blackburn were allowing us to keep the ball in an area of the pitch where we weren’t hurting them," he said.

“The game changed when we started to go more direct.

"We went forward quicker, got into better areas and it paid dividends in the end.

"Keano (Will Keane) and Langy (Callum Lang) were causing problems all day, and then the substitutes came on and made a good impact.

“That’s all part and parcel of being a good squad and a good team."

It was the latest cracker against a local rival with plenty of recent history with Latics.

“It was a brilliant game," acknowledged Power. "It was a north-west derby between two good clubs.

"I remember in my previous spell, we were neck and neck with them for the League One title all the way through that season, so we’ve always been involved in good games with Blackburn.

“They're flying high at the moment in the Championship, and the greatest respect they paid us was the team they put out.

"It’s always nice when you are on the right side of the result, and I think anyone coming away from here will recognise that was a good game of football."

Despite the result meaning Latics will be forced to postpone another league fixture - the visit of Crewe on February 1 - Power wants the cup adventure to last as long as possible.

We are delighted to get through and we want to win every game we go into," he added.

“We want to go as far as we can in the FA Cup.

"This club has a great history with the FA Cup, and we can look forward to watching the draw."

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