Chapter 628: A Stretch Of Games!

With the January transfer window finally closed, attention across the Premier League shifted to the players who had arrived, and the changes their clubs hoped would make a difference in the upcoming games of the season.

Some teams had spent heavily, forking out summer window numbers to fix their issues while others had waited until the final days to address their weaknesses.

Still, a few had chosen to stand still, trusting the squads that had brought them this far.

For Wigan Athletic, however, the scrutiny was different.

Their new signings had arrived at a club sitting at the top of the table, with the title no longer an impossible dream whispered among supporters.

Every match mattered now, and every decision Dawson made would be judged against the question that had followed Wigan throughout their remarkable season.

Could they actually keep this going?

Brighton and Hove Albion would be the first to find out.

Four days after the international break, the Seagulls arrived at the DW Stadium looking for revenge.

They had opened their Premier League campaign against Wigan months earlier, losing 1–0 in a match that had offered little indication of what either side would become.

Brighton had improved since then, but they had not forgotten the defeat.

This time, they were walking into a very different Wigan side.

Rather than ease his January additions into the squad, Dawson put both of them straight into the starting eleven.

Jordan Henderson joined Max Power in the middle of the pitch, giving Wigan a double pivot with plenty of experience between them.

Willian, on the other hand, took Ezra’s place on the right wing, while Leo Calderon was moved into the number ten role.

Reyes, who had occupied that space in recent weeks, began on the bench.

It was an interesting decision, but after the performance in the latter minutes against Burnley, some could understand Dawson’s intent, but they didn’t expect it to be as smooth sailing as the previous game.

Leo was accustomed to receiving the ball deeper, where he could see the pitch ahead of him and dictate the tempo.

Playing behind the striker would bring him closer to goal, but it would also mean working in tighter spaces against defenders who could close him down before he had time to turn.

As the game began, Brighton pressed aggressively, Wigan struggled to settle, and possession changed hands several times without either side establishing control.

There were misplaced passes, hurried clearances and a few awkward challenges as both teams tried to impose themselves in the early minutes of the game, but when Wigan let go, they began to play much better.

Henderson helped them settle, moving the ball quickly and keeping the midfield organised.

And alongside him, Power didn’t linger, offering a passing option whenever Brighton tried to crowd the centre.

Willian, meanwhile, was already showing why Dawson had trusted him with a starting place.

He held his width, picked his moments to run at the full-back and gave Wigan another player capable of creating something from nothing.

And ahead of them, Leo was beginning to find space.

His first warning came when he received the ball just outside the penalty area, shifted it onto his preferred foot and struck through a narrow gap between two defenders.

The shot beat the goalkeeper, but it couldn’t beat the post, with the effort crashing against it and bouncing out.

A few sighs and gasps came at the close shave, but Leo turned away without much reaction.

Brighton had been given a reminder of what happened when he was allowed to face goal, but they did not heed it for long.

In the twenty-fifth minute, Henderson collected possession in midfield and passed forward to Leo, who immediately returned the ball to him.

The exchange drew Pascal Gro? out of position.

Henderson took advantage, slipping past the German midfielder before driving the ball between two Brighton players and into the space opening ahead of him.

His next effort saw Henderson let go of the ball and the moment it got to him, Carlo took one touch to bring the ball under control before striking low towards goal.

The goalkeeper got down, but the shot was too well placed as Wigan broke the deadlock.

The DW fans celebrated the well-worked goal, but down the pitch, the celebrations were brief.

Carlo received a few slaps on the back before the players turned towards halfway, ready to get on with the game.

It was as if Wigan were the team that had just been scored on.

The match restarted, and seven minutes later, Willian collected the ball on the right and took on his marker.

Rather than force his way past the defender, he created half a yard and lifted a cross towards the edge of the penalty area, where Max Power was arriving unmarked.

The ball never looked settled as it came towards the area in an awkward movement, but Power, without even thinking, appeared and met the delivery with a clean strike, sending the ball beyond the goalkeeper and into the net.

Wigan 2–0 Brighton.

Just in the span of 7 minutes, the two January arrivals had now contributed to Wigan’s goals on their debuts.

Henderson had helped create the opener, and Willian had supplied the cross for the second.

"Wigan’s new boys are making quite an impression here! Henderson involved in the first, Willian with the assist for the second and what a start to life these old guns are having here in Wigan," the commentary covered as the match went on.

Not wanting to be outdone by the newcomers, the rest of the Wigan players switched on.

Brighton had spent the opening half-hour trying to contain Wigan’s midfield.

Now they had to deal with a side growing more confident with every attack, and Leo was making their task considerably harder.

He kept drifting between the lines, appearing on either side of Brighton’s midfield and forcing their defenders to decide whether to step forward or hold their positions.

Every time one of them committed, another passing lane opened, and in the thirty-eighth minute, Leo received the ball with his back to goal.

The first feint sent one defender shifting to his left, but he didn’t stop there.

A second took another player out of the challenge, leaving Leo with just enough room to turn and, without even turning fully, he slipped the ball into Jake’s feet.

The striker took it in stride and finished past the goalkeeper, giving Brighton almost no time to react as they watched their net rustle again for the third time in the game.