Wigan boss Shaun Maloney hails Man United loanee Joe Hugill after brace

Posted Sunday, September 15, 2024 by PA

Wigan manager Shaun Maloney hopes Manchester United loanee Joe Hugill has silenced his critics after his brace put the Latics on course for an emphatic 4-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

The 20-year-old striker put Wigan in command with two close-range first-half efforts at the Memorial Stadium.

“Joe is a very good finisher, but whatever the level he’s hoping to reach, there should no ceiling that I’m going to put him on him,” Maloney said.

“He’s got lots of attributes and the two goals will have put him on cloud nine, because I know from experience that this performance will give him a lift.

“But he will have to keep his feet on the ground, work hard and go again because there’s plenty of competition up front, especially from Dale Taylor.”

Maloney hopes the two goals will help silence Hugill’s doubters.

“Man United fans look out for their loan players and I remember reading something that wasn’t positive about Joe’s start with Wigan,” Maloney added

“They were saying he was struggling, but he wasn’t and in reality he was learning to get into certain positions I wanted him to get into, but we weren’t finding him.

“He didn’t score for the first three or four, but I’ll judge him on the ratio of chances he takes rather than just goals scored.

“He’s still got work to do and there’s still different ways to score that he can get better at, but he’s had a good start no matter what goals scored statistics say.”

Hugill put the Latics in control after 20 minutes when he tapped in from close range after the defence had failed to clear their lines following a corner.

He was again in the right place at the right time after 40 minutes when he bundled the ball in after goalkeeper Josh Griffiths had saved following another corner.

Thelo Aasgaard strengthened Wigan’s grip on the contest after 50 minutes with yet another close-range finish when Griffiths dropped Silko Thomas’ cross.

And on-loan Liverpool left-back Luke Chambers underlined his potential when he completed the scoring by catching out Griffiths with a low 20-yard free-kick.

Things went from bad to worse for Rovers after 84 minutes when defender Taylor Moore was sent off following an off-the-ball clash with substitute Maleace Asamoah.

Rovers boss Matt Taylor said: “For 15 minutes it was quite a good game with two teams going at it.

“But then goals change the state of the game and the way people feel and perform.

“It was a real shock to the system the way we went under and how we failed the do the basics of the game first and foremost when the score-line went against us.

“It’s probably not the tie to go into every detail, but there wasn’t enough (players) out on the pitch with enough know-how and experience to get themselves through it.

“You’re looking for leadership and it starts with myself. The first two goals were identical from set-pieces, so it’s about set-up aspects as much as intent.

“We tried to give them clear direction at half-time to change the way we were playing, but there were still too many mistakes and we never had control of their team after the first two goals. We were too fragile.”