Gary Caldwell could not hide his delight at marking his first return to Wigan as an opposition manager with all three points after Exeter ran out 2-1 winners in Sky Bet League One.

Latics had recorded two victories at Exeter in the first half of the campaign – following up a 2-0 win in the league with an FA Cup first-round victory by the same score.

As a result, restoring the balance at the DW Stadium was just what the doctor ordered for Caldwell, who was also locking horns against his old Wigan, Celtic and Scotland colleague Shaun Maloney.

Deflected goals from Mo Eisa and Jack Aitchison had Exeter two goals up heading into the final quarter, with Charlie Kelman’s first Wigan goal 19 minutes from time proving to be only a consolation.

“I actually thought that was the best that Wigan played in all three matches,” said Caldwell.

“They gave us so many problems in possession, I thought they were excellent, the way they kept rotating their shape and asking questions.

“First half out of possession we were outstanding, the way we set-up, the understanding of how we could restrict them trying to play through us.

“Second half they put even more men forward and asked even more questions, and put us under a lot of pressure.

“We had to really defend our box to see it through, but football is a really funny game.

“I thought we played much better in the first two games and came away with nothing.

“Although we were excellent out of possession today, in possession I know we can play a lot better, but it was a good one to win.”

When asked whether the result meant slightly more given the circumstances, Caldwell replied: “I don’t think so, other than obviously where both sides are in the league.

“I do feel for Wigan because of the points deduction, they shouldn’t be where they are in the table.

“That’s unfortunate and I think they have dealt with that extremely well this season.

“But in terms of our league position, and the run we’ve been on, I think it was important we didn’t lose today.

“You could see with the attitude of the players and the way they worked out of possession, there was a real spirit and a determination not to get beat – and fortunately we got the win.”

For opposite number Maloney, it was a tough result to take on the back of last weekend’s victory at high-flying Peterborough.

“I imagine I’m feeling very similar to how Exeter would have been feeling on definitely one of the occasions we won down there,” he said.

“It was a really tough result to take because the second half in particular was everything I want to see from my team moving forward.

“We needed more intensity in that second half, I thought we lacked intensity without the ball in that first half.

“We started the game well, Thelo (Aasgaard) had a couple of good chances and Martial (Godo) another with his header.

“But 1-0 down, I didn’t like the feeling in the group and I needed to see more intensity.

“I was really happy with the players who came on, although I must say the players they replaced have all been really good for me as well.

“It just felt like I needed to make a momentum change, which happened in the second half, but unfortunately we lost a second goal on the break.

“In the end, it was just too big a challenge for us to pull it back at the end.”

Shaun Maloney admitted Wigan’s 109th-minute winner against Wycombe came from a moment of magic from Charlie Hughes that ‘can’t be coached’.

It looked like a thoroughly dour encounter at the DW would end with the score it deserved before Hughes’ late heroics.

And just as Steven Rushton – who had stepped up from fourth official to replace the injured Adam Herczeg, causing a near-20 minute delay – was reaching for his whistle, centre-back Hughes’ volley flew past Max Stryjek to give Wigan a second 1-0 home win in three days.

“It was a strange one, a prolonged one because of the delay,” said Maloney. “It was probably tough to watch, because it was tough to play in conditions that weren’t easy.

“It was a really difficult game but to finally break them down and get that winner, the players are delighted.

“It felt like another big moment for us and it’s one of those moments where you just have to enjoy it – and we did.

“Normally I don’t show too much emotion after goals, and I don’t even think I did after this one, but I loved two aspects of the goal.

“The first was Callum McManaman’s one-v-one. In the final third, I thought we were good tonight until we got into that part of the pitch, and we were a bit off it – but then you get a moment from Callum, who has that one-v-one talent that you just can’t coach.

“I loved what he did, and then obviously Charlie’s finish… again, you just can’t coach that kind of ability.

“I’m well chuffed for him, and I actually thought in the whole second half he was brilliant.”

For Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield, it was a case of what might have been.

“I’m obviously disappointed and frustrated about another point that’s got away from us,” he said.

“It actually felt like we were in the ascendency in the latter stages of the game, we brought on fresh legs and I felt like it had the desired effect.

“In life you have to make your own luck, and we will continue to work hard to make things happen.

“We played the majority of the last part of the game in the opposition half and obviously the boys are distraught at giving away a point in the manner we did.

“The goal at the end, there’s a multitude of little things that should have been done better. But all those little things add up – especially at the end of the game – and we end up with the ball in the back of our net.

“The amount of games we’ve had this year that have gone so far beyond ‘normal’ time, I’ve never known a season like it.

“But after the restart, I felt it was us in the ascendency, and I’m just so disappointed and frustrated for the supporters who have travelled so far and the boys who have put in so much effort and executed the game-plan exactly the way we wanted them to.”

England Under-20s star Charlie Hughes popped up with a winner after 20 minutes of second-half stoppage-time as Wigan edged a 1-0 Sky Bet League One victory over Wycombe in a match otherwise devoid of much excitement or entertainment.

Centre-back Hughes had earlier tried his luck from his own half – which never threatened to trouble Max Stryjek – and that was about it for the first half.

The game was in desperate need of something to shake it into life and it arrived 10 minutes after the restart – in slapstick fashion.

Referee Adam Herczeg was caught in a midfield sandwich and – after a delay lasting the best part of 20 minutes, while a qualified whistler was found in the crowd – he was replaced in the middle by fourth official Steven Rushton.

Immediately after the restart, Wycombe thought they had scored, when Luke Leahy’s shot deflected in off Kieran Sadlier, with a massive deflection doing for Sam Tickle.

However, the flag was straight up on the near side for offside.

An unbelievable defence-splitting pass from Hughes then released Steven Sessegnon, just inside the box, who dragged his shot just wide.

With 20 minutes of added time, there was time for Wycombe to fashion a big opportunity of their own, when a long ball was flicked on and Richard Kone’s shot needed a brilliant save from Tickle to keep it out – before Hughes’ last-gasp heroics.

Thelo Aasgaard’s brilliant strike just after the half-hour mark was enough to secure a valuable 1-0 Sky Bet League One victory for Wigan over Reading at the DW Stadium.

Wigan had threatened first when Martial Godo spun just inside the penalty area, but aimed his shot too close to goalkeeper David Button.

Wigan were indebted to Sean Clare for throwing himself into the path of a goalbound shot from Harvey Knibbs, who’s been teed up by Sam Smith.

But it was the home side who took the lead on 32 minutes, with Aasgaard bending a magnificent right-foot strike into the corner of the net from the edge of the box.

On-loan Fulham winger Godo was unable to run off his problem and was replaced by Stephen Humphrys.

Centre-back Liam Morrison, on loan from Bayern Munich replaced Wigan captain Josh Magennis early in the second half, and he immediately tested Button with a firm header from a corner.

It was almost 2-0 when Matt Smith led a two-on-two break and decided to chip the goalkeeper from 35 yards, with Button just about getting back and clawing the ball behind for a corner.

Reading almost levelled on the stroke of 90 minutes, only for Sam Tickle to parry Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s fierce drive, and then regain his feet quickly to push the ball away from the danger zone.

Managers Shaun Maloney and Jon Brady both declared themselves satisfied after Northampton and Wigan shared the points in a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Sixfields.

The Cobblers led through Sam Hoskins’ 16th-minute penalty, awarded for a foul by Latics goalkeeper Sam Tickle on Kieron Bowie, but the visitors struck back and netted a deserved equaliser through Josh Magennis after 64 minutes.

It was a match of few clear-cut chances, with Wigan dominating possession for the most part, and both bosses were pleased to come away with a point for their efforts.

“Wigan are a good side, they move the ball well and cause you all sorts of problems with their shape,” said Brady.

“They pull you apart constantly, and we knew that would happen.

“It was the hardest I have had to work all week to try and nullify all of that, and the boys worked extremely hard.

“Then you look at their resources and what they bring on, Charlie Wyke, Callum McManaman, the Smiths, and jeez.

“But what we have got is heart and huge desire, and we dig in.

“I think their position in the table is pretty false, and without the points deduction they’d be in and around us, so I feel overall, although it can be better, I am quite pleased with that today.”

Maloney felt the point was the least his team deserved.

The Latics enjoyed a 67 per cent share of possession as the away team, and Maloney said: “The performance was right up there with the levels we showed in the 1-1 draw at Barnsley on New Year’s Day, but in a different way.

“At Barnsley we played on the counter-attack, today I thought we were very good with the ball on a really difficult pitch, and it is even harder when you go 1-0 down.

“Mistakes like the one for their goal happen, you are going to get that with some of the younger boys, but I thought we played very, very well. I was really happy with everybody.

“We went in 1-0 down, but the performance in the first half was very, very good.

“We didn’t need to change anything, we just needed to be a bit more aggressive and the response in the second half was good.

“It is difficult sometimes when you stand here if you draw or you get beaten and the performance has been good, but today I have nothing but good things to say about my players.”

Erik ten Hag has not ruled out using the transfer market to strengthen his squad as injuries and illness continue to hit Manchester United hard.

The number of absentees reached double figures for Monday’s 2-0 FA Cup win away to League Two Wigan, with Christian Eriksen out due to illness and Antony injured.

Although Ten Hag is optimistic a number of players could return in time for Sunday’s Premier League match at home to Tottenham, a United bench made up almost entirely of youngsters at the DW Stadium pointed to the stretched resources.

“We consider everything,” Ten Hag said when asked about the January window. “So what is in the best interests of the players and also the best interests for us, the team, for Manchester United. So we’ll see how we progress during the window.”

Ten Hag admitted it has been frustrating to lose so many players in recent weeks, but the Dutchman did not want that to be an excuse for some poor results last month, when United lost six of their nine games.

“I don’t want to be frustrated because I can do nothing for it, it will not help to support the team,” he said. “So we have to get the best performance and best results with the players available and that’s what we’re trying to do…

“I think there will be some players that are hopeful they can be back for the weekend.”

Ten Hag said he expected Eriksen to return in time for the Spurs match, while Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire could also be available.

The victory at Wigan sets up a fourth round tie away to either League Two Newport or non-league Eastleigh, and a clear opportunity to progress further.

With United out of Europe and eighth in the Premier League, a competition in which United reached the final last season remains their only opportunity of silverware this term.

“I don’t think (the focus on the FA Cup) would change if you are still in Europe,” Ten Hag said. “It is a massive competition. Everyone wants to win this competition. So every game we take seriously.”

United beat Wigan with goals in either half from Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes, the second a penalty, but should have won more convincingly given they had 33 attempts on goal.

Fourteen of those were on target, but United were the latest side to find out why Wigan’s 21-year-old goalkeeper Sam Tickle is a man in-demand given his recent form.

Tickle has taken the starting role at Wigan ahead of former United stopper Ben Amos, and the England under-21 goalkeeper has recently been linked with Premier League clubs including Everton.

“He is a brilliant shot-stopper,” Wigan boss Shaun Maloney said of Tickle. “When I first came in, I realised we had something special…

“He was brilliant (against United) and it’s been like that all season. I understand the attention now. It is amazing for our club to have a goalkeeper in the England Under 21 team. Long may it continue. I think it will.”

Port Vale boss Andy Crosby heaped praise on hat-trick hero Ethan Chislett following his side’s 3-2 win at home to Wigan.

Chislett’s first two goals were cancelled out by the visitors but his third was enough to clinch victory and lift Vale above Wigan in the table to 15th.

Crosby said: “He’s a top player and credit goes to him because the finishes are great.

“He could’ve probably had a few more but it’s great for him, he hadn’t scored since August and now three in one game.

“We’ve tried to look at how we can improve his goalscoring ability. I showed him clips of all his goals over the past four years and he said it gave him a whole lot of confidence.”

The two first-half strikes looked to put the hosts out of sight, but a comeback from Wigan after the break squared things up.

Chislett’s incredible solo effort in the 82nd minute wrapped up the win.

“We do a lot of work on the opposition and how they press and how we can break through that press.

“You have to play through teams but then you also need to penetrate on the last line as well. It is important we get our wing-backs on the last line.

“When you find that rhythm and that connection receiving the ball in space then it can go on to affect the game.

“When the players came over after they got back into it, I just said ‘don’t look at the scoreboard or the time. just play the game’.

“We were still in control of the game at that point, even with our poor moments which we have to get better at.

“They’ve got really good attacking players and they should obviously have more points because of the deduction and the quality they have got.”

Latics boss Shaun Maloney was frustrated with his side’s first-half performance but gave his players credit for getting back into the game.

“Today we got hurt, and when our levels are slightly down in any game we can get hurt,” he said.

“We have to give Port Vale a lot of credit, they were very good.

“From my team’s point of view, we are not going to win games when we are like that, but the second half was everything and if we lose then that’s how we want to go out.

“The goal before half-time wasn’t the issue. If we had gone in at 1-0 it would have probably been unfair to Port Vale.

“They were miles ahead of us. I want to win every game, I think we have been on a really good run and this one hurts in particular.

“We needed the fans and they stayed with us. In the second half, we gave them everything and full credit to the players for that.

“I can accept getting beat with a performance like that in the second half.”

Both Shaun Maloney and Michael Skubala agreed the goalless Sky Bet League One draw between Wigan and Lincoln was a fair result.

It was the visitors who registered the only shot on target, through Ethan Hamilton in the first half, as defences reigned in miserable conditions at the DW Stadium.

“It was a pretty even game really,” said Wigan boss Maloney.

“I thought they were very good defensively, Lincoln, as they have been in the last few games under the new manager.

“We found it very hard to break them down and probably didn’t do quite enough to win the game.

“We were just slightly off it and, against a team that is very well organised, we didn’t create enough with the amount of possession we had.”

Lincoln chief Skubala added: “We knew we were coming to play against a side that are very good at home and, to a man, we were really on it.

“They were trying to drag us all over the place but we’d worked on that in training and what I’d call ‘shifting’ as a back five, while also being as aggressive as we could.

“We pressed them from minute one, and for a good 70 minutes we stopped them from playing.

“If you look at the conditions, it’s always difficult to play in the wind and the rain.

“They had a couple of moments, we had a couple of half-chances, we probably edged the first half and they probably edged the second half.

“They have good players, you have to respect that, and they have good players on the bench to bring on.

“But so do we, and I was really pleased with the boys we brought on and the impact we had on the game.

“We see it as a big point and that’s what I’ve told the lads, don’t be disappointed with that.”

Wigan came desperately close to a winning goal with five minutes to go when Jordan Jones’ cross was fumbled by Lukas Jensen, with substitute Chris Sze firing home the rebound.

However, the official ruled Jensen had been fouled by fellow home substitute Charlie Wyke as he attempted to regather the ball, and Wigan’s celebrations were short-lived.

“I’ve watched it a couple of times back and, from the angle I had, I think it was probably the wrong decision,” said Maloney. “Just in terms of the goalkeeper dropping the ball before the contact with Charlie.

“But I won’t complain too much because, as I said, I don’t think we did quite enough to win the game.

“I try not to complain too much about decisions that don’t go our way, it is what it is. Sometimes they go for you, and sometimes they go the other way.

“But I can’t really say anything negative about the players, because what I really liked about the second half was the way they stayed patient.”

Skubala said: “I’ve not had time to watch it back, but it looked a bit of a scrappy one. It is what it is.”

Wigan manager Shaun Maloney admitted he was determined to reach the third round of the FA Cup for chairman Mike Danson following a 1-0 win at York.

Maloney, who was a member of the Latics’ 2013 FA Cup final-winning team, is desperate to repay Danson with a money-spinning run in this season’s competition after he saved the club from financial ruin when he took over in the summer.

The Latics had to start their League One campaign with an eight-point deduction due to the off-pitch issues Danson inherited, meaning a good cup run would prove a perfect fillip given the handicap they were given in the league.

After Stephen Humphrys’ goal sealed victory at the National League outfit, Maloney said: “I am very happy to be in the third-round draw.

“The chairman literally saved the club so I want to repay him for that and I know, with what happened in the summer, how important the finance you can get from this competition can be.

“We wanted to be at our best in this tie which I showed with my team selection,” added the former Scotland forward, who picked an unchanged starting XI following Tuesday’s 3-0 home win against Fleetwood, “and I was reasonably happy with the performance, although the last three or four minutes were a bit nervy.

“It was a brilliant finish by Stephen, though, to win the game and he’s got so much talent in one-on-one situations with his speed.

“I’m always confident that our attacking players will take a chance at some point in a game. The only criticism I would have in this game is that we could have been more clinical but, to be fair to York, they had a couple of good chances as well.”

York boss Neal Ardley was left to reflect on what might have been after a mistake by defender Tyler Cordner led to Humphrys’ goal and captain Lenell John-Lewis missed two great chances to force a replay late on.

“I thought our game-plan went really well,” Ardley said. “We wanted to still be in the tie after 70 minutes and then look to bring the two wingers off the bench.

“But the outcome has been settled by one mistimed header. It just came down to that one moment and, then, Lenny (John-Lewis) had two great chances that haven’t gone in and, if we were going to get through tonight, we had to be mistake free and take our chances when they came.

“But the effort of the players and their execution of the game-plan was really good because a team who are causing problems for a lot of teams in League One struggled to break us down.

“We nearly nicked an equaliser after throwing caution to the wind and people will say why didn’t you start like that? But it doesn’t work like that.”

Stephen Humphrys’ ninth goal of the season secured 2013 FA Cup winners Wigan’s place in this year’s third round following a 1-0 win at Vanarama National League side York.

During a cagey first half, Humphrys had carried the greatest threat.

Just before the half-hour mark, good skills from the former Fulham forward took him past home defenders Callum Howe and Tyler Cordner before his 15-yard drive was parried to safety by David Stockdale, who raced off his line to deny the same player moments later.

But Humphrys was not to be denied in the 61st minute when he charged clear on goal again – after Cordner had misjudged Omar Rekik’s ball down the middle of the pitch – and showed immaculate composure to round Stockdale and roll the ball into an inviting net.

A late rally by the hosts saw Olly Dyson hook wide, substitute Maz Kouhyar force a fingertip save from Sam Tickle and Lenell John-Lewis head off target with the goal at his mercy from three yards at the death.

Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson bemoaned “two individual errors” for his side’s 2-1 League One defeat at Wigan.

The hosts had enjoyed the better of the first half, with on-loan Fulham winger Martial Godo giving them a sixth-minute lead and Jordan Jones hitting the bar.

But a formation change helped to transform the game after the break, with Kwame Poku equalising nine minutes after the restart, and David Ajiboye sending another shot whistling just past the Wigan post.

Just as it looked as though Posh would force a second goal, however, Wigan struck with eight minutes to go through substitute Callum McManaman, whose rasping strike from the edge of the box secured all three points.

“It’s a bad result,” acknowledged Ferguson, whose side lost for the first time in 10 league matches.

“To lose any game is a bad result but, given the nature of the game, it’s a very bad result.

“In terms of how the game went, two individual errors have cost us. When you’re playing against a team like Wigan, they are a good team, but they gave us a lot of respect.

“They sat back off us, they changed their shape, they were happy for us to have the ball at the back, and it was too slow.

“Once they get the goal, it becomes very difficult. And the goals we conceded stopped any kind of momentum we tried to get in the game.

“In saying that, in the second half I thought we were excellent and we still should have got something out of the game.

“The formation change worked, we dominated them, and we were getting one-on-ones out wide against a winger (Jordan Jones). We had to isolate him, we managed to do that, and we caused them all sorts of problems.

“Look, a lot of the performance was very good, and a lot of the details were very good.

“To come to Wigan and do what we’ve done, when they were penned in, is very good. But individual errors have cost us a result.”

For Wigan boss Shaun Maloney, it was a fifth win in six matches, against a side he feels will be up there at the end of the campaign.

“It was a brilliant win against a really good team,” he said.

“When I analysed Peterborough, I watched one of their games, and it was probably the most impressive performance I’d seen so far this season. And we’ve played some really good teams. Portsmouth, Oxford, to name two.

“I really enjoyed the first half, we tried to limit their space, and when they had the ball, I really liked what we did.

“In the second half, they came out really aggressive, and when they equalised, all the momentum was with them. I felt like there was a 15-20 minute period when it could have gone either way.

“Then we have that bit of magic from Cal at the end, and then we have to defend with everything we had. Sometimes the games you win like that, they give you more joy.

“I have to say again, I thought it was a brilliant game, and a huge win against a team I genuinely feel will come very close to the top two at the end of the season.”

Shaun Maloney says it is time that Wigan enjoyed another good FA Cup run following their 2-0 first-round win at Exeter.

In a match almost identical to the 2-0 win for Latics in League One just two weeks ago, Wigan won it with second-half goals from Thelo Aasgaard and Steven Sessegnon, despite Exeter dominating for long spells.

“It was a very good team performance,” Maloney said. “We changed it tactically in the second half. I didn’t think there were massive issues in the game, I just wanted to get our attacking players in the game more and in the end, it was an excellent performance.

“First half was very even, there wasn’t too much in it but at the same time, I didn’t feel we were really cutting through them when we had the ball.

“I felt we were a danger on the counter attack but I wanted more of the ball in the second half and once it got to 2-0, I was really happy with the way we saw out the game.

“This game meant a lot to us and it was a big win for us. We have a history in the cup. Everyone talks about 2013 but the following season, we made it to the semi-finals, lost on penalties, 2018 as a League One club, we beat a Pep (Guardiola) Man City team. Hopefully it’s our turn to make some memories but it is just one round.”

It was frustration for Exeter manager Gary Caldwell, though. His side have now lost eight of their last nine games and scored in only three of those matches.

“It’s really frustrating,” Caldwell said. “I thought we were better today than we were two weeks ago in terms of how we wanted to play and the chances we created.

“We created great opportunities to score, a brilliant opportunity second half for James (Scott) but didn’t score and the longer the game went on, they were always going to be a threat on the counter and we gifted them a goal. Then the game became really difficult.

“It is clear what is happening, it is clear what we need to improve on and it is hard work on the training ground and support for the players that will do that.

“It’s frustrating because when you lose games, confidence does get affected – that is only natural in football and in life, but the players have to stand up in those moments and keep believing in what we are doing, what was working before and keep doing that to get back into the game.

“I do agree that confidence is low at the minute, but we have to work hard on the training pitch to build that back up.”

Charlton boss Michael Appleton admitted the 3-2 victory at Wigan – his side’s first away win of the Sky Bet League One season – was ‘job done’.

All the damage was done in the first half at the DW Stadium, with two goals from Alfie May and one from Corey Blackett-Taylor.

After substitute Tyreece Campbell came within a lick of paint of making it four shortly after the restart, the Wigan revival began.

Thelo Aasgaard hit the bar – team-mate Callum Lang had done the same in the first half – before the Norway junior international pulled one back with six minutes to go.

And a frantic finale was ensured when substitute Stephen Humphrys scored Wigan’s second goal in the last minute, only for Charlton to hold out.

“We got the job done, which was the most important thing and the first thing I said in the dressing room afterwards,” said Appleton.

“I’m not going to focus on the last 10 minutes. I’ll focus on what I’ve seen before.

“We were on the front foot. We were pressing really high. The players looked like they were enjoying working really hard and making contact with people.

“If you want to win on the road, you need that type of mentality. We knew the areas of the pitch we had to press really aggressively and we did that and got all the rewards for it.

“Even if they got the first goal, if we’d got three or four wins under our belt on the road, then I don’t think they get a second.

“It’s just that mentality of ‘oh no, surely this can’t happen’, which you could sense was dropping into one or two players.

“But, to be fair, there were a few players on the pitch who rallied round and got after some of our younger players and made sure they could see the game out.”

Wigan boss Shaun Maloney took ‘full responsibility’ for the result after making three changes to a side that had won three matches in the space of a week.

A triple change at the interval helped redress the balance, with Martial Godo coming on and laying on the goals for Aasgaard and Humphrys, but it was too little, too late.

“I spoke a few weeks ago in terms of us having a really great start to the season, and I spoke about complacency setting in,” he said. “And possibly I think that happened again.

“But I have to take full responsibility for that, I didn’t get the team right. You could see the way we played in the second half was very different.

“I didn’t get the team right, the changes I made – that I hoped would have a positive impact – didn’t contribute to a good performance by the team.

“Charlton were very good, they deserved their 3-0 lead at a minimum. But the second half was the complete opposite, and I’ll have to focus a lot on that heading into the weekend.

“As a club, from top to bottom, we have to understand that at no point can we take our foot off the gas, any of us, and that starts with me.”

Charlton Athletic recorded their first Sky Bet League One away victory of the season at Wigan – but only after a five-goal thriller at the DW Stadium.

The visitors enjoyed an early let-off when Callum Lang hit the bar with a free-kick to open up a three-goal lead by half-time.

Alfie May opened the scoring in the 21st minute at the second attempt after Sam Tickle had clawed away his initial header.

May doubled the lead 10 minutes later with a cool strike into the bottom corner.

And the visitors were in dreamland when Corey Blackett-Taylor made it three with a fierce drive two minutes before the interval.

Only the woodwork prevented substitute Tyreece Campbell making it four at the beginning of the second half.

And that almost opened the door for a remarkable Wigan comeback.

After Thelo Aasgaard hit the bar with a clever flick, the Norway youth international rifled home into the roof of the net with six minutes left.

The home side were further boosted when substitute Stephen Humphrys fired into the top corner in the last minute, but Charlton held on.

Shaun Maloney hailed a “very professional performance” after Wigan secured a third 2-0 victory on the spin in Sky Bet League One against a Shrewsbury side who played for all but four minutes with 10 men.

Former Wigan defender Chey Dunkley was shown a straight red card for hauling down Thelo Aasgaard on the edge of the box.

And goals in either half from Stephen Humphrys and substitute Callum Lang secured a comfortable win for Latics, who also hit the woodwork twice.

“I thought it was a very professional performance,” said Maloney.

“Obviously it was very hard for Shrewsbury when you go down to 10 men that early.

“I thought we started the game very well, and then the game completely changes.

“I was just really happy with how professional we were, because the sending-off changed our outlook dramatically.

“Give Shrewsbury credit, actually, even with 10 men.

“It changes how we play, the spaces become bigger and we have to make them even bigger for them, which is probably the reason why we created so many chances.

“We had to change how we played in the second half, we had to become more aggressive.

“I was really pleased with the guys who came on in the second half, especially Callum McManaman who brought that mentality back just at a time when I thought the game was starting to drift.

“This kind of game can drift and become a lot harder, even when you have the man advantage.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor had no complaints over either the red card or the result.

“It was a very difficult afternoon for us,” he said. “But you’ve got to put it into context, when you have your captain sent off inside five minutes away from home – and quite rightly sent off.

“It’s a bad decision from Chey, he gets himself into a position where he can’t affect the run of the player going through.

“Going down to 10 men inside five minutes, you know there’s going to be some suffering, and there was.

“Having said that, for large parts of the game I thought we were excellent, considering we had 10 men.

“The players trusted each other, they moved the ball very well and we got into some excellent positions.

“You have to understand that when you play with 10 men, you will have to give space away because you can’t cover the whole pitch.

“Therefore they had plenty of opportunities from crosses and we haven’t stopped crosses well enough today in one-v-one situations.

“With the ball I was pleased, we varied the ball well and overall I’m disappointed because I felt this was a good opportunity to pick up some points.

“But we weren’t able to do that because we went down to 10 men so early.”