Cheltenham manager Darrell Clarke was delighted with his side’s point at Wigan despite being far from their best.
Town had taken the lead inside nine minutes through Matty Taylor, but were pegged back seven minutes after the restart when on-loan Liverpool defender Luke Chambers fired home via a huge deflection.
“It was a tough night for us,” said Clarke, whose side had to dig deep as Wigan dominated both the possession and the territory, without really looking likely to force home a winner.
“We spent a lot of time without the ball, and we weren’t at our standards with the ball.
“But I’m delighted with the point, because if you can’t perform as well as you can, don’t lose the game and we did that.
“We defended superbly, and I feel a bit unfortunate with the goal we did concede, because it is a foul in the lead-up.
“But on the balance it was a tough night and we’ll take our point.
“Matty has taken his goal well, which is pleasing, but it wasn’t an easy watch, if I’m honest with you.
“They had a lot of the ball and the territory, without really causing us too many problems.
“But we didn’t look after the ball enough on the transition to get more of a foothold in the game.
“The effort, commitment, desire was there for all to see, and probably five or six months ago we’d have lost that game comfortably.”
For Wigan boss Shaun Maloney, it was a case of two points dropped – although at least it stopped the rot after two home defeats on the spin.
“I was probably a little bit disappointed we didn’t win it really,” acknowledged Maloney, who made a triple substitution at the break, such was his unease at that time.
“I think to have that amount of possession, and to be camped in their half for the whole of the second half, I am a bit disappointed we didn’t win it.
“But we have to respect the opposition, and when you concede to a set-play that early on, you immediately know it’s going to be a very difficult night in store.
“I didn’t like the first half very much…we had a lot of the ball but we didn’t have any real threat.
“The second half felt completely different and, to be fair to the players, I could feel the tension, and they kept trying to break down a very resolute Cheltenham team.
“I liked the second half, but in the first half I need a lot more.
“We made the three changes at half-time, and I just needed a different profile on the pitch.
“I knew if we did certain things, we’d have a lot of the ball, but we just needed more threat.
“Sometimes when a team is sitting very deep, you need players who are very good at one-v-ones.
“I knew if we had that, we’d create crossing opportunities, and the three boys who came on, I was really happy with.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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