Wigan Athletic improved their hopes of survival in the Championship and made a huge statement as they battered Hull City 8-0. The Latics were seven to the good in just the opening 45 minutes thanks to Kal Naismith, Jamal Lowe, Joe Williams and braces apiece for Kieffer Moore and Kieran Dowell. Everton loanee Dowell completed his hat-trick after the break to cap off a wonderful evening for Wigan, but one that leaves Hull with many questions to answer.
Wigan Athletic Hit Hull City for Eight
How It All Unfolded
The table will have you believe that Wigan are safe from relegation. However, with a potential 12-point deduction for going into administration looming, the Latics are well aware that they need to finish some way ahead of the pack below them.
Hull are part of that group below Wigan and have recorded just one win since the Championship restart, beating Middlesbrough. Their only other point came in a 3-3 draw away at Birmingham City.
It turned out to be the worst possible start for Hull when Naismith got on the end of Dowell’s flick-on from a corner with only two minutes played. It’s certainly a set-back, but even they could not have predicted what was to come.
With 28 minutes gone, Moore added the second with an excellent finish and Dowell added his first of the evening soon after.
At 3-0, you expect the game is not going to be going your way, but when a fourth (Lowe) and fifth (Moore) arrive before 40 minutes have elapsed, you know something must be going woefully wrong.
As if that wasn’t bad enough though, Dowell’s second on 43 minutes made it 6-0 before the break, and there was time for a seventh too as Williams converted in first-half stoppage time.
Goals Ease Off After the Break
Wigan might have felt a bit sorry for their opponents, but realistically they need all the goals they can get to give them a chance of overturning this somewhat invisible 12-point gap. If it comes down to goal difference, they’ll look to this game for sure.
Only one further strike was added in the second period as Dowell completed his hat-trick with an excellent side-footed volley. It compounded Hull’s misery and made sure that Wigan were the first second-tier team to score eight goals or more in a home match since Manchester City in 1987 when they beat Huddersfield Town 10-1.
Even worse for Hull is the fact that relegation rivals Middlesbrough secured an impressive away win at Reading to put them five points clear of the Tigers and potentially just one point away from survival.
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