Wigan Athletic chief Shaun Maloney hails ‘brilliant’ win with opening period associated to club’s DNA

Charlie Hughes’ 90th minute effort saw Latics end the hosts’ 16-game unbeaten streak that dated back to New Year’s Day, with Jonny Smith opening the scoring at the LNER Stadium with a curling effort.

The Imps equalised through Danny Mandroiu five minutes from the break, while Lincoln City had three goals ruled out due to offside across the 90 minutes - two from Joe Taylor and another from Reeco Hackett.

And it looked like the points would be shared until Hughes’ late first-time volley struck gold.

“The first goal, Charlie starts it and it’s an amazing piece of play,” Maloney said.

“And then from set plays or any sort of strike, he’s so clean when he hits the ball.

“They’re a really good side, and we tried to control the game.

“It’s a brilliant result against a big team.

"I like their manager, I like what he’s done and they’re very difficult to beat. It’s a really good club.

"A credit to the players, we’ve really challenged them across the season and we’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve, but you still want to win.

"Jason Kerr was brilliant up until his back injury that he tried to play through, Liam Morrison was brilliant when he came on, Josh Magennis made a big difference. The substitutes made a big impact today, as they probably have all season.

"I’m really happy with that result and our performance.”

Maloney further stated that he was impressed with the opening half hour against the high-flying opposition, with Wigan’s League One spot having been mathematically secured during the week.

“The first 30 minutes was as high a level as we’ve had in any game this season, it was brilliant,” he continued.

“I mention a lot about the Wigan DNA and bringing it back, you watch that first goal and the talent and the players that we had in that move – it was an amazing goal and a real joy to watch.”

Just two games remain for Wigan Athletic, with a trip to Portsmouth followed by the final game of the season at home against Bristol Rovers.