Wigan Athletic '˜lucky to escape' - Alexander

While Latics twice led in the first half through Chey Dunkley and Will Grigg, a brace from Tom Hopper restored parity before the interval.

And when Ivan Toney put Scunthorpe ahead eight minutes into the second half, it looked as though the visitors might be on the verge of a famous win.

However, Latics substitute Gary Roberts popped up with an 87th-minute equaliser - leaving Alexander to lick his wounds.

“My thoughts are the same as the players - we’re disappointed we didn’t take the three points,” he moaned.

“We felt the performance warranted it, as we came to a fantastic club doing exceptional things, and scored three goals.

“We could have had more, and I thought it was a fantastic game of football.

“What we put into it, how we played, the discipline and focus shown, and courage on the ball was excellent.

“Yet again, the opposition had a little bit of luck on their side with two deflected goals.

“What can we do about them? It’s difficult.

“We will focus on the positives like we have done this week, and try to set standards for the players.

“They’ve set a level today where, if it’s anything less than that, they’re letting us and themselves down – that’s the biggest thing.

“As footballers, you want to show what you can do and they’ve certainly done that today.”

Hopper deserved his two goals for an energetic display, while there was an inevitability about Toney finding the mark, having struggled to make much of an impression during his loan spell at Wigan over the first half of the campaign.

“It will do the team the world of good, knowing you have strikers in the building that can score goals,” acknowledged Alexander.

“We’ve come to one of the toughest places in the league, with them only letting six goals in here this season, and we’ve managed to score three.

“The quality of the goals was superb. We should be standing here with three points, but it’s a point away from home at a very tough place.

“We have to build on it, replicating that level of performance between now and the end of the season to take advantage of the opportunity we’ve got.”