Wigan Athletic chief 'frustrated' by Mansfield Town stalemate - 'We controlled the game'
Gary Caldwell admitted to being ‘frustrated’ after Wigan Athletic were held to a goalless draw by Mansfield Town
"A frustrating night in all" - that was Gary Caldwell's verdict after Wigan Athletic and Mansfield Town played out a 0-0 stalemate at the Brick Community Stadium.
Brad Burrowes had Latics' two best chances of the game, only to see team-mate Scott Hogan block his first effort, before being denied by Town goalkeeper Liam Roberts later in the first half.
At the other end, Joe Whitworth was grateful to see an unmarked Michael Smith head straight into his hands from six yards seconds before the interval.
All of which nudged Latics to within a point of the safety mark in League One - but perhaps reflecting on what might have been.
"Early on, it looked like two tired teams, who were playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday...you can sometimes get that with a quick turnaround," assessed Caldwell.
"I thought overall we were the better team, and if anyone was going to win the game, it was us.
"So a little bit frustrating in that regard, but plenty of positives...a clean sheet, and the way we controlled the game was good against their biggest, most physical team they could have picked.
"They came here with a clear intention to really get in amongst us, and put us under pressure, and we stood up to that extremely well.
“They’re a real man-oriented team, they go man for man all over the pitch.
“If there’s one thing I thought we could have done more, it’s use the wide areas, and use the space that a man for man team gives you.
“But I thought we stood still a bit, we didn’t play and run.
“We created two great chances...the first for Brad, which Scotty somehow gets in the way of.
“And then there weas the one when Brad ran in behind, which is something we’d worked on for this game. But the finish wasn’t there.
"So I thought we created the better chances, but just couldn't find that goal.
"We had a lot of shots, but not enough on target, and not with the amount of quality we would like. We take a point and we move on."
Caldwell also felt Latics should have been awarded a penalty in the first stanza, when Connor Barrett appeared to be tripped as he entered the Mansfield box.
"Let's not talk about referees," he mused. "It's every week. I lose count, and I feel for Nigel (Clough, Mansfield manager) as well, he's the same.
"I don't think he was bad for us, he just wasn't great."