'˜Reality check' - Frustration for Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom after defeat at Wigan

Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom admitted his side pressed the self-destruct button after letting a two-goal lead disappear in a 3-2 defeat at relegation-threatened Wigan.
Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom.
 Picture: Jonathan GawthorpeBarnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom.
 Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

A sensational 11-minute hat-trick from substitute Nick Powell kept alive Wigan’s hopes of avoiding the drop into League One.

The hosts had looked dead and buried with 25 minutes to go when Powell - the hero of Saturday’s last-gasp victory over Rotherham - arrived on the scene wasted to come to his side’s rescue again.

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First he fired home a brilliant free-kick from 25 yards on 71 minutes, before following up to net after Ryan Colclough’s effort had been saved by Adam Davies a minute later.

Wigan Athletic's Gabriel Obertan battles for the ball with Barnsley's Marc Roberts. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA.Wigan Athletic's Gabriel Obertan battles for the ball with Barnsley's Marc Roberts. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA.
Wigan Athletic's Gabriel Obertan battles for the ball with Barnsley's Marc Roberts. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA.

Then, with eight minutes to go, came the icing on the cake when Powell was fouled inside the box by Angus MacDonald, and he exacted the perfect revenge by driving the spot-kick down the middle past Davies.

“I thought we were cruising, but it doesn’t matter,” said a frustrated Heckingbottom afterwards.

“I can accept losing, and I can accept mistakes as well. But (I can’t accept) not doing things that we always do.

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“That’s what’s cost us, and they wonder why I go on about certain things. You can see why now, because it costs you games.”

Wigan Athletic's Gabriel Obertan battles for the ball with Barnsley's Marc Roberts. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA.Wigan Athletic's Gabriel Obertan battles for the ball with Barnsley's Marc Roberts. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA.
Wigan Athletic's Gabriel Obertan battles for the ball with Barnsley's Marc Roberts. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA.

Adam Armstrong had put Barnsley ahead just before the break, before Ryan Kent made it two just before the hour mark – all to no avail.

“We’re doing the same things every day in training, and it’s what’s got us here - the two Wembley wins, mid-table in the Championship, wins against teams who people say we shouldn’t be beating,” added Heckingbottom.

“But this is a reality check. We’re not individuals, who play pretty football, only to throw it away. You have to win games, and there’s a certain way we try and do that.

“It’s cost us today. Every team may have their own golden rules, the non-negotiables. Ours have cost us today.”