Wigan Athletic said goodbye to the Premier League through an entertaining 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. Latics' display had the hallmarks of what we have seen so often this season – bouts of champagne football interspersed with mediocre defending. The GBP;24 miliion Darren Bent had opened the scoring in the 5th minute, breezing past Paul Scharner before shooting in off the post. Wigan equalized in the 20th minute through a superb header from Emmerson Boyce from an excellent cross by Roger Espinoza.

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It was billed as the grand finale to a topsy-turvy season for Wigan Athletic. The home match with fellow strugglers, Aston Villa, was to be crucial in determining Latics' future in the Premier League. But sometimes things just don't work out as you hope they will. - Wigan set for mass player exodus Wigan Athletic go into their last match at the end of a remarkable eight-year stay in the Premier League. They come out of it stronger than when they went in. Latics now have a strong identity, a sound infrastructure and a much-increased fan base.

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The week that brought Wigan Athletic its greatest moment in football has ended in sadness as the club's eight-year Premier League history has been placed in the to-be-continued pile along with so many others. Few Wigan supporters will feel anything but overwhelming pride Tuesday night despite being relegated, as an injury-plagued and thoroughly exhausted squad gave Arsenal a real scare amidst rainy scenes at the Emirates. With the scores equal in the second half, it was Wigan playing the better football, narrowly failing to take the lead on several occasions before an Arsenal counter-attack swung the match and ultimately put Latics down, 4-1.

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When you watch it again, it is hard to tell that Ben Watson's FA Cup-winning header actually happened in slow motion. But from my bright red Wembley seat about 15 yards away, I can assure you that the world stopped for a magical 10 seconds as the ball sat up, suspended in mid-air, spinning. Then the world moved forward again, in freeze-frame snapshots. Joe Hart's acrobatic leap and disbelieving eyes. Arouna Kone's realization. My wife and brother-in-law, wearing moustaches and sombreros, shaking me with unbridled joy.

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Last summer, Indonesia played a friendly against Inter Milan in the Senayan Stadium in the centre of the Jakarta. One expected to see the red and white colours of Indonesia in a ground that holds 65,000 people, but probably around 70 percent of the crowd wore the blue and black replica shirts of Internazionale. They had not traveled from Milan, but had traversed through the horrendous traffic of this huge city, wearing shirts that they had in their wardrobes. Inter shirts are popular in Indonesia, as are those of arch-rivals AC Milan.

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The greatest performance in Wigan Athletic's history saw an incredible 1-0 victory over Manchester City through substitute Ben Watson's 91st-minute header. This was no fluke -- Wigan played the better football and were deserved winners. Just over three weeks ago, Latics had gone to Eastlands and had been the better team. That day, the result went against them. On Saturday, they got what they deserved and left Manchester City shell-shocked. -Wigan stun Man City to win FA Cup -Analysis: Jolly - Brewin - Stein - Burley -More video reaction: Martinez - Boyce - Whelan - Scharner Latics had been buoyed by the return of excellent Antolin Alcaraz, joining Emmerson Boyce and Paul Scharner in the centre of defence.

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On such a historic occasion for Wigan Athletic, it seemed in a strange way inappropriate to focus on lineups, tactics and the XI that turned out to represent the club in its first ever FA Cup final. But it is the biggest game in the club's history, so we decided to write this up as an add-on. If you haven't already, please do give our preview a read. In the meantime, here is the traditional match preview. - Wigan out to upset odds - Tyler: Handicapping the big relegation races While defending champions Manchester City were busy resting eight of their starting XI during their 1-0 victory over West Brom -- a team Wigan had spectacularly, but only just, beaten three days prior -- Wigan suffered yet another season-ending injury.

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Wigan Athletic's team for their debut match in 1932 against Port Vale Reserves. Photo courtesy of Ron Hunt and WiganWorld. * This post was co-written by Tony and Ned Brown -- father and son writing team -- from the perspective of Tony, the father. My father loved Wigan Athletic Football Club. Hardly a minute would go by after the final whistle before he would launch into talk about the next match. Conversations - and in some cases, monologues -- about lineups, tactics and referees were a feature of my life as long as I can remember.

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The defensive lapses that got Wigan in trouble in the first place resurfaced at the worst possible time to sink them into the deepest waters yet as Swansea ran out unlikely 3-2 winners at the DW Tuesday. Despite twice taking the lead and appearing in control against an organized but relaxed Swansea side enjoying the comforts of mid-table football, Roberto Martinez's team now finds itself three points behind the pack with two games to go. -Jolly: Credits roll on Wigan's 'Great Escape' An incident following a late double substitution summed up the ill fortune Wigan have suffered during the season with respect to injuries, as Ronnie Stam lasted a mere 10 seconds before hobbling off with a suspected broken leg -- leaving his team to play the final 15 minutes a man down.

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Following a nail-biting win at West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic entertain Swansea City at the DW Stadium on Tuesday evening. Since the Welsh team's return to the top flight, Latics have been unable to beat them. The Swans won their last match at the DW with two beautifully taken goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson in March 2012. Wigan desperately need to win this game, but can expect to meet resistance from a stubborn Swansea outfit. Michael Laudrup has kept up the good work of Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez at the Welsh club.

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"There's only one Bob Martinez." So sang a group of Wigan Athletic supporters on Saturday, after their team had gained a massive three points from the trip to the Hawthorns. Once again they were starting to believe that what the charismatic Spaniard had been saying had been right all along. Who else but Martinez could put a positive spin on a 6-1 win by relegation rivals, Aston Villa? He had been saying for weeks that other teams would get dragged into the relegation mire, although at the time most of us were looking no further than overtaking the Villans.

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A wounded and embattled Wigan Athletic side somehow miraculously emerged with three points to keep their dream of a survival and FA Cup double very much alive. Despite fielding a makeshift defence, going behind twice, and suffering yet another injury to an important first team player, Wigan pulled three exquisite finishes out of the hat and then held on to the 3-2 result for dear life. Results elsewhere saw Aston Villa defeat Norwich, who may well become Wigan's chief relegation rival with only a three-point lead and games against West Brom and Manchester City to follow.

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