Leam Richardson likes what he sees from his promotion hopefuls

Posted Wednesday, January 19, 2022 by PA

Wigan boss Leam Richardson was full of praise for his side after they came from behind to beat a stubborn Morecambe and move up to second in the Sky Bet League One table.

Cole Stockton gave Morecambe an early lead but goals from WIll Keane and substitute Stephen Humphrys gave the visitors a 2-1 win which improves their promotion ambitions.

Richardson said: “The players deserve to take all the plaudits.

“Morecambe kept us honest and made us work and we were a bit off it in the first half but the goal on half time gave us the impetus to go on and I thought we were excellent in the second half and we deserved to win.

“We have surpassed the points from last year which was the first target of the season and the plan now is to keep progressing.

“It was great to see our substitutes make such an impact when they came on as it is a real squad game and we need to stick together.

“We have a lot of games coming up and we will still look to improve and maintain the hard work to make small steps to get us to where we want to be.”

Morecambe manager Stephen Robinson was furious with the officials after the game.

He said: “We are annoyed that we haven’t come away with anything because their second goal was a foul and we had a clear penalty late in the game when James McClean handled the ball but that wasn’t given.

“It was a simple decision to make, a blatant penalty, and I’ve no doubt we will get another apology from the officials – but that doesn’t help us.

“It’s hard for me to be critical of the players. We went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the league and dominated much of the first half but key decisions went against us and we deserved better than that.”

The Shrimps took the lead after just eight minutes when Stockton produced a fine finish from eight yards after Wigan failed to clear Greg Leigh’s left-wing cross.

Wigan hit back and levelled in first-half added-time when the unmarked Keane scored from six yards.

The hosts started the second half well and Stockton struck the post from 25 yards, before firing another effort inches wide.

However, Wigan asserted their authority and Lang hit the underside of the bar before Humphrys sealed the points with a looping header over Carson.