REPORT: Wigan Athletic 1 Leyton Orient 0 - Jase is Tics' ace after netting off the bench

Kerr had only been on the field a matter of seconds when he rose to meet a cross from Jonny Smith – who had come on in the same substitution – to give Latics the win they undoubtedly warranted.

From the moment the visitors were reduced to 10 men with three minutes left in the first half, when Ethan Galbraith was shown a second yellow in the space of 13 minutes for a second foul on his Northern Ireland international colleague Jordan Jones, it was attack against defence.

Despite knocking on the door throughout, however, Latics had another frustrating afternoon until Kerr’s late intervention.

Skipper Josh Magennis fired wide in the first half when he ought to have scored off Callum McManaman’s delightful through ball.

After the break, substitute Charlie Kelman nodded an even better opportunity wide from eight yards, off a brilliant Jones cross.

Boss Shaun Maloney couldn’t have done any more to tip the game his side’s way, finishing the game with an outfield line-up consisting of two centre-backs, two attacking midfielders, four wingers and two centre-forwards.

And in the end, Latics got the three points they undoubtedly deserved, with Stephen Humphrys twice coming close to adding icing to the cake in the closing stages.

The result leaves Latics in 13th spot – now 13 points clear of the relegation zone with nine matches to go.