Stoke City 2-0 Wigan Athletic: Potters cruise past 10-men Latics into FA Cup fifth round
- Published
Watch highlights as Stoke City move to FA Cup fifth round after Wigan Athletic defeat
Stoke City moved into the FA Cup fifth round with a routine win over League One promotion hopefuls Wigan Athletic.
Josh Maja pounced on an error to poke Stoke in front on his debut in the first half, as Michael O'Neill's side made the breakthrough.
Jacob Brown added the Potters' second after the break, finishing off a slick move to score.
The Latics kept battling, but Gwion Edwards' dismissal for two bookings all but ended their hopes of progress.
Maja's arrival provided a new dimension for a Stoke side looking to return to the form which has put them in the frame for the play-offs before their recent slide down the Championship.
With just two wins in their previous 10 home games, the visit of a high-energy Wigan side unbeaten in 13 away games did not bode well.
However, they weathered the visitors' attack when put under duress, and had Joe Bursik to thank for saving an effort by Gavin Massey.
Wigan have been on a remarkable run in the third tier to propel them into the promotion mix, but they were given notice of what could await them next term against a tough Stoke.
Tyrese Campbell, Steven Fletcher and Josh Tymon all had opportunities to add to the lead, as the home side returned to form.
Stoke boss Michael O'Neill:
"I want to stay in the competition as long as we can. I'm not really concerned about our schedule. I don't know how many rounds we are away from the final, but we'd have to play 22 games in the rest of the season and we're capable of doing that. The draw's been kind to us with two home draws and hopefully it'll be kind again.
"I wasn't overly pleased with the first half, I thought we laboured a bit. We showed good moments but we wasted opportunities and gave the ball away cheaply. Second half, we were a lot better and should have added to the two goals we had.
"Josh Maja took the goal insanely well. He's not played a lot of football, so he'll benefit from that 70 minutes that he had. That's what he needs and for him to show what he did today was a real positive."
Wigan boss Leam Richardson:
"It was won and lost in both boxes. You can see the calibre of players that Stoke have got; they've given everything today and put every forward-thinking player on the pitch. When it was 11 v 11, I thought we were competitive.
"We work tirelessly hard on the training pitch and you're trying to have a structure and a philosophy within your team. You want to see the lads go on the pitch and replicate exactly what we've been working on and what we stand for, no matter what ground we go to.
"Today was no different, we're against a really top side and a tough place to come, and I thought we represented ourselves really well."