Ipswich Town edged out Wigan Athletic 2-1 at the DW Stadium this evening to record their first away win of the Championship season.
Luke Hyam fired the visitors ahead on 19 minutes, and the Tractor Boys built on their advantage through Conor Sammon's tap-in shortly after the hour mark.
Wigan managed to pull a goal back late on courtesy of Martyn Waghorn, yet despite coming close to conceding a second through Oriol Riera two minutes from time, Ipswich stood firm to secure their third-successive victory.
Read how the match played out with Sports Mole's coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text commentary of the Championship meeting between Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town from the DW Stadium.
Tonight's visitors come into this game on the back of two-successive victories, while the Latics are currently languishing down in 17th place in the league table having picked up just two wins from their first seven games. Kickoff is less than 30 minutes away, so let's take a look at some team news.
TEAM NEWS!
WIGAN ATHLETIC XI: Carson; Kiernan, Boyce, Ramis, Perch; Cowie, Forshaw, Kvist; McManaman, Delort, Maloney
IPSWICH TOWN XI: Gerken; Parr, Chambers, Berra, Mings; Skuse, Hyam, Bishop; McGoldrick, Sammon, Murphy
Uwe Rosler has handed a full Latics debut to summer recruit Adam Forshaw, while Shaun Maloney comes into the side in the only other alteration from last time out. Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy also makes two changes to his starting lineup, as Luke Hyam and Connor Sammon join the fold.
BENCH WATCH!
WIGAN ATHLETIC SUBS: Al Habsi, Barnett, Taylor, Tavernier, Waghorn, Riera, McClean
IPSWICH TOWN SUBS: Bialkowski, Smith, Bru, Henshall, Anderson, Ambrose, Bajner
Wales international Emyr Huws, who joined Wigan on a permanent deal from Premier League champions Manchester City on transfer-deadline day, misses out on the home squad altogether this evening. Left-back Andrew Taylor has dropped down to the bench, meanwhile, alongside James McClean and Martyn Waghorn who can provide further attacking options.
Recent Tractor Boys signing Darren Ambrose has to make due with a place on the bench for the start of this one, while Paul Anderson is also among the subs. Jay Tabb misses out altogether, however, having failed to overcome a recent illness.
Well it's been another eventful weekend of action in the Championship so far, with tonight's game rounding off the eighth round of Football League fixtures. Nottingham Forest and Norwich City lead the way at the summit, despite both dropping points in their respective matches on Saturday.
The target for both these sides will be a playoff finish, and having made their best start to a season in four years, Ipswich Town look a good bet to achieve that aim at this moment. They are four points adrift of the top six as things stand, but Mick McCarthy's men have recovered from a slow start to win their last two outings.
Wigan have not made the start that they were hoping for, currently hovering just three points above the drop zone after seven games. Victory today will lift the Latics level on points with their opponents, however, and their target on promotion will be very much back on track.
It could be argued that Wigan overachieved last season with their playoff finish, with manager Uwe Rosler working wonders after taking over at the back end of last year. They fell just short on that occasion, but it was set up nicely for the 2013 FA Cup winners to make a return to the top flight this time around.
If Ipswich are to win this evening they will need to put to bed their DW Stadium hoodoo, having never picked up three points at the home of the Latics. In three games on their own turf so far this season Wigan remain unbeaten, picking up two victories and one draw.
HEAD-TO-HEAD! In terms of previous meetings, Wigan won both games between the pair last season, prevailing 2-0 at the DW Stadium before registering a 3-1 triumph later on in the season. In fact, Ipswich's last victory over the Latics came back in 2004.
PREDICTION! With that in mind I believe that Wigan will get their season back on track this evening with a 2-1 victory.
Well the teams are out onto the field with kickoff now just a few moments away. It goes without saying just how important each and every game is in the Championship, and both sides will feel confident that they can come away with three points this evening.
KICKOFF! Wigan get us underway at the DW Stadium, seemingly in a changed 4-3-3 system.
Ipswich looking to get in Wigan's faces early on, harrying their opponents into playing quick passes. Can they keep the high tempo up for the duration?
CHANCE! An early chance for the home side to test Dean Gerken having won a free kick in a decent position out wide. Andy Delort, making his home debut this evening, manages to get on the end of the cross but his header flies over.
The good early pressure from the Latics continues, this time from a corner kick which is initially cleared from the box. The cross comes back into the box, but Gerken collects with ease.
Both sides just weighing each other up at the moment. Ipswich continuing their high-energy game, while Wigan look to pass it around their opponents, so far with little end success.
McManaman is looking to get into the huge gap often left by Tyrone Mings who just loves getting forward. One to watch as the match progresses, but McManaman certainly has the ability to make the most of any openings.
PENALTY SHOUT! Emmerson Boyce ventures forward and goes down inside the box after being swiped at by Christoph Berra. The Latics rightly claimed a penalty, but it would have been harsh to have seen it given.
I've already touched on Mings's ability to cause danger in attacking areas, and the full-back drives into the Wigan area before eventually being forced wide. Jonathan Parr is also foraging into advanced positions in these early stages, although as yet there's been no major opportunities for either side.
SAVE! Scott Carson is forced into the first save of the evening, pushing away Daryl Murphy's driving shot from long range. It was a decent effort and the Wigan stopper had to be alert to keep it out, although it was hit at a nice height for him.
GOAL! WIGAN ATHLETIC 0-1 IPSWICH TOWN (HYAM)
The Tractor Boys have grown stronger and stronger over the last five minutes or so, and Luke Hyam makes their dominance pay off. Once more Mings was in an advanced area where he managed to pick out his teammate, leaving Hyam to merely pass the ball into the back of the net from a central position inside the area. Fantastic finish.
YELLOW CARD! A crucial intervention inside the box denies Conor Sammon a tap-in for Ipswich, but the hosts looked to spring a break which was only halted by Berra's rash challenge on McManaman.
CHANCE! Murphy charges forward as Ipswich continue their spell of possession at the DW Stadium, but he fails to pick out Sammon in a central position thanks to Ivan Ramis's interception. The Blues' striker should have done better there, and maybe going for goal himself would have been a better option.
On a couple of occasions now Shaun Maloney has dropped deep but been unable to pick out a teammate. Credit must go to Ipswich for not allowing Wigan's midfielders to carry the ball.
Once more Maloney finds himself in a deeper position that he would perhaps like, but having been given the chance to look up he fails to pick out McManaman's run in behind the Town defence. That battle between Mings and Maloney out wide will be one of the deciding factors in terms of which team comes out on top this evening.
CHANCE! Boyce is hovering around the opposition box once more and he manages to latch onto the end of McManaman's cross which is well blocked by Berra. The right-back is pretty much Wigan's most dangerous player right now.
WIGAN SUBSTITUTION! Well I picked out the battle between McManaman and Mings as one to look out for, but unfortunately that's come to an abrupt end. The Latics midfielder has failed to shake off a knock picked up early on and is replaced by James McClean.
The game's gone a little flat over the past five minutes or so, with neither side able to carve out any openings. Incidentally, confirmation has come through that McManaman was replaced due to a dead leg, presumably following the challenge from Berra.
YELLOW CARD! Mings is shown a yellow card by the referee, but it could have been much worse for the live wire full-back. Maloney was charging through on goal before the Ipswich man brought him down, thankfully for him there was another defensive player near by which may have been what stopped the ref from showing a red.
Delort manages to get onto another cross into the box with his ahead, but again he fails to find the target. Ipswich will have to improve their marking on the forward or else he will surely find a way through.
Don Cowie is not one to boss a game from midfield, often going about his business in a quiet assured manner, but his run up the field causes a little panic in the Ipswich backline. He looked to latch onto a ball over the top only for it to run out of play.
Ipswich pushing forward in the late stages of the first half, probing away on the Wigan left, yet they are unable to find a way through. It must be said, they look the more dangerous side in advanced positions, and they have a goal to show for it.
HALF TIME: WIGAN ATHLETIC 0-1 IPSWICH TOWN
A few boos ringing around the DW Stadium as the referee signals the end of the half. Ipswich deserve their interval advantage, it must be said, although this one is far from over.
Wigan had the first chance of the game to edge ahead, with Delort heading over from close range early on. That aside the hosts have struggled to create any chances, while Ipswich duly took their one opening through Hyam's cool finish.
It has by no means by all one-sided, although on the balance of the first half it's fair to say that Mick McCarthy's men look more like the home side as they go in search of their first win away from Portman Road this season.
STATS! In terms of possession, the sides are actually evenly matched on 50% each. Wigan even lead the shot count with seven attempts to Ipswich's two, although the more telling statistic is that the Tractor Boys have had two attempts on goal, while Uwe Rosler's men are yet to get off the mark in that department.
Can the Latics get back into the game in the second half?
BENCH WATCH!
WIGAN ATHLETIC SUBS: Al Habsi, Barnett, Taylor, Tavernier, Waghorn, Riera
IPSWICH TOWN SUBS: Bialkowski, Smith, Bru, Henshall, Anderson, Ambrose, Bajner
A reminder of the options available to both sides at the interval should Rosler or McCarthy be tempted to change things. Wigan have already been forced into one change, of course, with McManaman being replaced by McClean in the first 45 minutes.
SECOND HALF! We're back underway at the DW Stadium with both sides unchanged following the interval.
Forshaw needs to show more in the second half, and already he is looking livelier when in possession. It's the hosts who are now showing all the energy, closing down their opponents. Rosler's clearly had a thing or two to say at the break.
Wigan are continuing to play their passing football in fairness, but sometimes the more direct option is needed. Boyce is having no luck down the right at the moment, being well cut out by Teddy Bishop.
SHOT! Dangerous moment for the Latics as David McGoldrick looks to latch onto a ball when charging in on goal, but Foster is quick out to clear the danger. Moments later Wigan break and McClean unleashes a strike from the edge of the box which sails wide via a deflection.
It is now Wigan asking all the questions in attack, although chances are at a minimum. That McClean opening a few minutes ago their best chance since Delort's headed effort in the opening stages of the game.
Ipswich not as afraid as their opponents to knock the ball long, and it's proving fairly effective in terms of releasing pressure. We're approaching the hour mark now at the DW, but there's no sign of any change for either side as of yet.
IPSWICH SUBSTITUTION! And just as I say that Kevin Bru is introduced in place of Cole Skuse.
SHOT! An early chance for Bru to make an impact. The ball eventually fell to his feet just inside the Wigan area after Berra initially took it out of his path, but Bru's resulting effort was struck well over the bar.
GOAL! WIGAN ATHLETIC 0-2 IPSWICH TOWN (SAMMON)
Former Wigan man Conor Sammon makes it 2-0 to put Ipswich on course for their first away win of the season. McGoldrick pokes it through to the striker, and having initially seen his poked effort saved by Foster, he gets a second chance to tap it into an empty net.
WIGAN ATHLETIC SUBSTITUTE! Maloney is replaced by Oriol Riera as Wigan look to overcome this two-goal deficit.
CHANCE! Murphy really should have wrapped the game up with Ipswich's third goal. The striker charged onto a long ball over the top, but a poor touch let him down when inside the box and allowed Carson to pounce.
CHANCE! McGoldrick is the next visiting player gifted a chance to seal the points, but he also squanders his opportunity. Wigan's defenders were left back-tracking, although when the striker finally got his shot away he skewed it well wide.
IPSWICH SUBSTITUTION! Bishop makes way for Ambrose as Town make second change of the evening. Incidentally, this is Ambrose's third debut for Town.
WIGAN SUBSTITUTION! Rosler turns to Waghorn as the game enters its final 20 minutes. Delort is the man leaving the field, with Wigan's better chances falling his way this evening.
SAVE! Much better from Wigan who manage to test the Ipswich defence with a cross into the box following a prolonged spell of possession. The Tractor Boys concede a corner, from which Ramis meets a cross into the back post which Gerken does well to keep out.
The Latics will need more of that in the final 15 minutes if they are to get anything from this. It is all them at the moment.
SAVE! Frustrating for Wigan who are just unable to find a way through at the moment. They have simply failed to create enough across the 78 minutes. In fact, it's Ipswich who look more likely to score a third as McGoldrick tests Carson once more.
GOAL! WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-2 IPSWICH TOWN (WAGHORN)
Game on at the DW Stadium! A corner into the box is not dealt with, and McClean finds himself in far too much space at the back post. He unleashes a shot which was heading towards goal, but substitute Waghorn got a touch on the ball on the way through to make sure.
SAVE! What a tense final six minutes or so we have in store now. It's looked so comfortable for Ipswich so far, but a goal was always likely to change things. The hosts instantly look to attack Ipswich, and Forshaw connects with Cowie's cross, although his header is easily handled by Gerken.
McClean, and in fact the whole of the Latics side, looked completely rejuvenated. The midfielder bursts forward and only sees his run halted by the covering Berra inside the box. Ipswich supporters, look away now.
OFF THE POST!! Riera comes within the width of the post of levelling it up. Why couldn't Wigan play like this for the previous 80 minutes or so? The ball falls nicely to Riera in the centre of the box following Boyce's cross, only to see his shot rattle off the post with Gerken diving across.
IPSWICH SUBSTITUTION! Ipswich make their final change of the night as Tommy Smith replaces McGoldrick. The fourth official indicates that there will be an additional four minutes of added time.
CHANCE! Boyce latches onto a cross into the box which he volleys narrowly wide of goal. Could that be Wigan's last chance?
Wigan concede a free kick which will eat up valuable time. One minute remaining...
FULL TIME: WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-2 IPSWICH TOWN
Ipswich Town just about hold on to record their first away victory of the season. Wigan only turned up in the final 10 minutes or so in truth, and on balance the Tractor Boys deserved their victory.
Well that's all from me this evening, but stick around on Sports Mole as we bring you a full report plus all the reaction from the DW Stadium.
