Everton moved into 4th place, and into the Champions League places in the Premier League by virtue of a 2-1 win at the JJB Stadium, against a well set out Wigan side. Andy Johnson and Joleon Lescott grabbed goals for Everton late in the first half, within three minutes of each other, with Jagielka turning into his own net to gift Wigan a goal, mid-way through the second half.

In truth, it was a gritty game, void of any real chances, with both teams only registering 3 shots on target each. This was not at all helped by the pitch, which was flooded, dug up and seemed to have a trench dug through the middle of it. Everton’s first goal came from Andy Johnson on 37 minutes, when, the one and only, Titus Bramble wrong footed himself, and passed straight to Andy Johnson, who cooly slotted home through the legs of Chris Kirkland. If the first goal was considered to have goal against the run of play, imagine the disbelief of the Wigan fans, when Joleon Lescott found the back of the net from two yards out from a Mikel Arteta corner.

Although Everton had a 2-0 lead, the half time couldn’t have come quickly enough for both managers. The second half also resembled watching paint dry, but, the boredom was lifted for the Wigan fans in the 52nd minute when Jagielka inadvertently put the ball into his own net after a deflected Jason Koumas freekick hit him on the arm, and rolled into Tim Howard’s net. Although Wigan piled on the pressure from then on, they struggled to score, and lacked the cutting edge. These will have been a welcome three points for David Moyes, in a game that was considered a “must win”, if Everton were to beat opposition to fourth spot. This result should also give the Everton players all the confidence they need, going into the League Cup Semi-Final against Chelsea on Wednesday.