Wigan Athletic 1-0 Queens Park Rangers: Max Power penalty hands Latics crucial win
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Max Power's penalty was enough to give Wigan their eighth win in the Championship this season
Struggling Wigan Athletic brushed aside off-field issues to beat out-of-form Queens Park Rangers and boost their hopes of Championship survival.
The Latics, who were docked three points by the English Football League for failing to pay player salaries in March, recorded a first win in nine games thanks to Max Power's early penalty.
The midfielder fired into the roof of the net in the sixth minute to score his first goal of the campaign after Danel Sinani had been brought down by R's centre-back Leon Balogun.
Wigan goalkeeper Ben Amos was at full stretch to deny Kenneth Paal in injury time but Rangers fell to their seventh defeat in eight league outings and are now just three points above the relegation zone.
QPR were top of the table on 22 October but just two wins in 23 games since then have seen the west London club slide down the table to 19th place and perilously close to the bottom three.
The appointment of Gareth Ainsworth as boss in February has failed to spark a revival, as the former Wycombe manager suffered his fifth defeat in six games at the helm.
A clumsy challenge by former Latics defender Balogun, who was making his first appearance since November, allowed a composed Power to open the scoring and put the visitors on the back foot early on.
Amos punched away a Chris Willock shot, while Rangers goalkeeper Seny Dieng was called into action to keep out a Power free-kick and Callum Lang's deflected cross before the break.
The Hoops offered little in the second half, although substitute Ilias Chair tested Amos with an inswinging free-kick, and Wigan almost made it 2-0 from a counter attack in stoppage time but Dieng got a touch to keep out James McClean's effort.
The Latics remain bottom of the second tier but victory puts Shaun Maloney's men five points away from 21st-place Cardiff going into their trip to promotion-chasing Sheffield United on Friday.
However, the club could face further sanctions after the EFL announced further charges against Wigan relating to non-payment of wages and failing to comply with an agreement with the league.
Wigan manager Shaun Maloney told BBC Radio Manchester:
"I am really happy. I think you saw both sides of us, and I was really happy with how we defended second half.
"The three point deduction really hurt but I still have belief we have got a chance.
"I know everyone outside thinks that we are dead, but there is definitely life in us. We will keep going until the very last moment, that is for sure.
"I'm very happy for the players, the staff and the people that pay to watch us. They deserve some happiness after the last two or three weeks.
"No matter the result, you could see the way we are trying to play. We want even more in the attacking third and it is slowly getting there."
QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth told BBC Radio London:
"You can't ship silly goals like that. In this game, especially in this division, the first goal can count for so much.
"It's one ball, a punt from their box, down the field and we don't defend it well. It's criminal and basic stuff. It's not something you would work on in training because it is so simple, but we got it wrong.
"Then we were chasing the game and after that there were positives. We probably troubled Wigan's keeper more than they troubled us but just didn't get that finishing touch.
"At the moment goals are few and far between for us and we have got to make sure we put that right."
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