Wigan looking to lawyers after Kebano fires equaliser for Fulham

Cruel game, football. At half time in this game Wigan were on course for one of the greatest last day escapes in even their battle-scarred history, looking capable of overcoming promotion-chasing Fulham as well as a 12-point deduction for going into administration. Hull, Barnsley and Charlton were going down at that point, though it turned out Fulham had just been pacing themselves in the first half.

Scott Parker’s side came out for the second half looking much more purposeful and were back on terms within four minutes, Neeskens Kebano curling in an unstoppable free kick after Joe Williams had fouled Joe Bryan on the edge of the area. Wigan had been planning to abandon their appeal against the league’s mandatory points penalty had they managed to win this game and survive, though now it looks as though it will have to be launched, even at a cost of £500,000.

It goes without saying that a club in Wigan’s position can hardly afford such a sum, though they feel both the erratic behaviour of their Hong Kong owners and the unforeseen effect of the Covid-19 pandemic are mitigating circumstances.

Wigan’s administrator revealed earlier that a potential buyer has been found and awarded preferred bidder status, though whether the club will be in the Championship or League One when any sale goes through will be subject to the appeal verdict due at the end of this month.

Related: Championship: West Brom promoted, Barnsley stay up with win at Brentford – live!

Fulham faded a little after their bright start to the second half, allowing Wigan a tantalising number of chances to save themselves. A draw was hardly what the visitors wanted given the way West Brom and Brentford were going about achieving automatic promotion, but Fulham could not find a winner, indeed spent much of the game defending, and will have to settle for the play-off place that always seemed most likely.

Fulham created the early chances, Aleksandar Mitrovic blazing over when in front of goal in the second minute and Kebano bringing a fine save from David Marshall with a rasping drive 12 minutes later, the winger beating Nathan Byrne inside the area to make room for his shot.

The visitors also had a penalty appeal turned down when Marshall got into a tangle with Mitrovic in attempting to clear a loose ball, before the home side began to ask some questions around the half-hour mark. Sam Morsy was only narrowly wide with a shot from outside the box, then Kieffer Moore thought he had put Wigan ahead with a close-range tap-in, only to be recalled for an offside flag.

The tall striker did not have to wait long for another chance, and when Byrne served up a perfectly measured cross from the right two minutes later Moore was in position close to goal to head Wigan in front. A stadium full of supporters would have been going berserk at point because with other scores going in their favour Wigan were on course to survive.

It was to Wigan’s credit, considering the players are on only a fifth of their normal wages, that most of the second-half chances came at the Fulham end. To Paul Cook’s frustration his side were unable to take them. Leon Balogun close-range header was straight at Marek Rodak, Kieran Dowell failed to connect with a free header in front of goal and Kal Naismith saw a shot miss the target by inches. Naismith saw a shot saved in stoppage time when a pass to the overlapping Byrne might have been a better option, before to a man Wigan dropped to the floor at the final whistle.

Gallery: Pulisic and Willian star but others continue to struggle – Chelsea’s players rated after the win over Crystal Palace (Read Sport)