Why Wigan Athletic chief was out of pocket after Boreham Wood triumph

Morgan Fox's fabulous free-kick at Boreham Wood proved to be costly - for his own Wigan Athletic boss Gary Caldwell!

The veteran defender curled home a wonderful set-piece to put Latics 2-0 up at the weekend.

And no-one was more surprised to see Fox placing the ball 25 yards from goal, before netting his first goal of the campaign.

"Foxy's free kick...I questioned him taking it," smiled Caldwell. "I even said on the bench: 'I'll give you a tenner if he scores'...and he stuck it right in the top corner, so I'm out of pocket."

Two unnamed players on the bench took Caldwell up on the bet - possibly after watching him hone his craft at Christopher Park!

"He does practice them, and when you practice something, and you have confidence in yourself, you've every chance," acknowledged the Scot.

"You'll remember the David Beckham viral clip when he practiced and practiced, and then it came off against Greece (in 2001).

"All that matters is that you're able to put it in the back of the net on a Saturday, and he did just that.

"He didn't try to hit it too hard, he placed it in the top corner, and that's the quality he has in that left foot.

"And I'm probably even happier he then scores with a header from a corner, because I've been saying that's something we need more from as a group."

Caldwell also revealed Fox wasn't the first centre-back to try his luck from a dead-ball situation outside the box.

"I scored a couple myself, back in the day," he laughed. "Not for Wigan, but during my Hibs days, if you want to check!

"They might not have even have been videoing games back then, but I assure you it definitely happened."

Fox was one of a number of senior players who took to the field at Boreham Wood for a cup-tie that looked tricky as soon as the draw was made.

Caldwell explained that was a deliberate policy of fielding as much experience as possible.

"A few people dropped out of the team who haven't been playing badly...such as Charlie Gray and Reggie Walsh," he added.

"I just felt we needed an experienced team - or at least the most experienced team we could put out.

"I felt we needed men, I felt we needed physicality to deal with their possession-based game, and I felt we could hit them on transition.

"The team was specifically picked for this game - Foxy came back in, Max was in, Mells came back in - and it was probably the oldest team I've picked this season.

"I thought they did an amazing job in controlling the game, controlling the crowd, understanding what an away FA Cup first round tie looks like, in terms of the atmosphere and the occasion.

"And I thought we thoroughly deserved our win."