Leam Richardson bemoans costly Wigan individual errors

Manager Leam Richardson was left to bemoan “costly individual errors” after Wigan crashed to a 3-2 home defeat against fellow Sky Bet League One strugglers Wimbledon.

Wigan remain second-bottom despite fighting back from two goals down to restore parity – only to concede a late penalty and come away with nothing.

“The over-riding factor is again disappointment,” said Richardson.

“I was disappointed with the way we started the game, and individual errors will cost you no matter what level of elite sport you’re at.

“And they’ve certainly cost us.

“We knew the challenge Wimbledon would pose, how honest they are as a team, what they would bring.

“Have we learned anything after the game? Not really. The information was good and we prepared well enough.

“And so it’s extremely disappointing to be on the opposite end of the result again.

“It’s no secret, there’s a few lads who are in there playing together for the first time.

“But with all due respect, there’s enough experience in that dressing room now – myself included – to meet the criteria of what we need to achieve by the end of the year.

“And I still think we have enough in that dressing room to accept the challenge and see where that leads us.

“Okay, we’ve lost an important game of football here.

“But before we know it, we’ll be on the coach down to Northampton on Tuesday, with the same group of lads, trying to get a positive result.”

Goals from Jack Rudoni and Joe Pigott gave Wimbledon a 2-0 lead inside half an hour, with Ethan Chislett also smashing against the crossbar.

Curtis Tilt pulled one back in first-half stoppage-time to give Wigan hope, and Rotherham loan man Jamie Proctor marked his debut with the equaliser midway through the second period.

However, Wigan goalkeeper Jamie Jones felled Chislett in the box with 15 minutes to go, allowing Pigott the chance to convert the spot-kick – giving Wimbledon their first win in 12 league matches.

“I thought we finished the first half well, and we started the second half very brightly, very positive, on the front foot,” assessed Richardson.

“It was pleasing to see Jamie (Proctor) get the equaliser, and in my mind there was only one team who had the energy and the ascendancy to go on and win the game.

“Sadly, we went to sleep at the back, and more individual errors have ended up costing us the game.

“Before it gets to Jamie (Jones), there’s a number of areas where the ball should have been dealt with.

“Goalkeepers will always come under the spotlight because they’re the last line of defence – they can make one or two mistakes over a year, but that’s football.

“The window is closed and there is a certain amount of people now that can affect our situation.

“They’re all in that dressing room and we will all do our best to affect it.”