Charlton Athletic 2-1 Wigan Athletic
- Published
Franck Moussa came off the bench to score the winner as Charlton claimed a dramatic late victory over Wigan.
The hosts had taken the lead after only eight minutes at The Valley with a superb strike from Jordan Cousins.
Callum McManaman levelled for the visitors before the break after some good work from James McArthur.
But Moussa secured all three points for the Addicks when his deflected shot beat goalkeeper Scott Carson in the third minute of injury time.
The late winner sparked an ugly row on the touchline after Charlton boss Bob Peeters celebrated wildly in front of Wigan manager Uwe Rosler.
It was Wigan who grabbed a last-gasp goal in their opening-day draw with Reading, but Rosler's team were this time on the receiving end.
Wigan break their Valley hoodoo | |
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It was Wigan's first goal at The Valley in the fourth meeting between the clubs in south London. |
The Latics were stunned early on after midfielder Cousins collected Johann Gudmundsson's pass, cut inside and struck into the top corner beyond Carson.
But they responded well and equalised 15 minutes later when Burnley target McArthur set up McManaman, who steered his left-footed effort past goalkeeper Stephen Henderson.
Emyr Huws, on loan at Wigan from Manchester City, fired over the crossbar from distance, while Rhoys Wiggins saw his shot well saved at the other end.
England international Carson was forced into action again in the second half when he gathered from Igor Vetokele's shot, which deflected off James Perch.
Charlton were forced to make a change in goal when Henderson limped off injured to be replaced by 22-year-old Nick Pope, who had just one previous appearance for the Addicks.
But it was summer signing Moussa who initiated the late drama when his shot deflected in off defender Rob Kiernan.
Peeters apologised to his players for his part in the celebrations that followed the goal, but the Belgian insisted he would not say sorry to Rosler, who had launched a tirade of abuse in his direction.
Both men were separated by their backroom staff and the incident proved the main talking point in the post-match news conference.
Charlton manager Bob Peeters:
"I started running and celebrating. I didn't know where to go. He [Rosler] said, 'Don't come and celebrate in my corner', but I'm not going to mention the other words he said to me.
"I need to keep my composure and go away because I know it is emotional in a game where you score in the 94th minute with a deflected shot.
"In that moment, I need to be smarter and just step away. I lost my composure a bit. I apologise before my players that I lost my composure. I need to be strong in every moment, but I'm not going to apologise to him because he said things to me. Never ever."
Wigan boss Uwe Rosler:
"My colleague was running 25-30 metres to celebrate right in front of our bench and I told him what I thought about this.
"It's not only the timing of the goal, it's a deflected goal. I felt for the first 30 minutes we were in complete control and passed the ball well. We could have created one or two bigger chances.
"Their goal came against the run of play, but we responded well through Callum. In the second half there was nothing between the two sides and the goal was cruel."