THERE was a sense of familiarity to the final score at the DW Stadium, but the tale of this game was a very different one for Nottingham Forest.
This was a match Stuart Pearce's side might easily have won. Equally, it was one that could have finished 3-3, on a night when both sides carved out decent opportunities.
Instead it was a third consecutive 0-0 draw for the Reds, as Henri Lansbury and Michail Antonio twice came close, on a night when the slippery conditions and an erratic performance from referee Kevin Wright were bigger frustrations than any shortage of creativity or attacking threat.
Forest had never won at Wigan, having drawn twice and lost once on their previous visits. But that run would have ended had Antonio managed to hit the target with good chances at the start of both halves – or had Scott Carson not denied Britt Assombalonga with a smart save.
Forest, who also saw Wigan spurn several good chances, tweaked their approach slightly, in an effort to conjure up some creative threat – and it had an immediate impact.
Chris Burke began as an out and out winger on the right side, but it was Ben Osborn who took up a position on the left side of midfield, with Antonio pushed up alongside Assombalonga in attack in a rough 4-4-2 formation.
With Jack Hunt pushing forward down the right flank in support of Burke, it was down that side that Forest had plenty of early joy, with Scotsman Burke firing in a number of dangerous crosses.
James Perch, the product of the Forest youth academy, was playing at right back for Wigan and he and Osborn were involved in a crunching challenge, but both players got up and dusted themselves down without fuss.
The first clear opening came shortly after, with Forest agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock, following a delightful, well composed attack.
A quick free kick from Henri Lansbury started it all, as he picked out Assombalonga's dart down the left. He, in turn, cut the ball back for the advancing Lichaj, who cut onto his right foot and simply rifled a cross-shot across the face of goal, towards the far post, where Antonio was arriving unmarked – but was unable to keep his instant shot down, with the ball having arrived at him at an awkward height.
Forest, at this point, had looked dominant. But, after Burke had conceded a corner with a good piece of defending, Emmerson Boyce came close with a header, which he sent spinning wide of the post. James McClean came even closer as he started and finished a flowing, pacy attack which culminated in an outstanding volley from the Wigan man, which dipped just over.
This was not shaping up to be the same kind of game as the clash with Brighton, with chances coming thick and fast, as Antonio forced a capable save from Scott Carson with a low, driven effort that bounced awkwardly on the slick turf.
Lansbury was the first player to be booked, following a robust sliding challenge in the centre circle, but Forest were frustrated as barely two seconds before, Antonio had been on the receiving end of an almost identical tackle, which went entirely unpunished.
When Lansbury played another angled ball to Assombalonga, the striker this time gave Osborn the room to cross, but Carson was quick off his line to claim, as Antonio looked to attack his delivery.
It was Wigan who had got stronger as the half went on, but as the interval approached, Forest managed one last push, with Assombalonga threatening to break clear if not for a perfectly timed challenge from Ivan Ramis.
The half had not finished with the same intensity as it had begun, with Wigan following up a strong opening 15 minutes for Forest with a dominant 15 minutes of their own.
But it was the visitors who began the second half with a flurry of pressure – and a couple of decent chances. The first was carved out by superb footwork from Tesche, who left two Latics players in his wake, before unselfishly squaring the ball for Lansbury, who flashed a low strike a foot wide.
Some Burke trickery on the right then gave Assombalonga the room to turn and shoot at the near post, but the striker was thwarted by a good reaction save from Carson.
Mancienne became the second Forest player to be booked, as referee Kevin Wright was again unforgiving of the wet conditions, booking him for a sliding tackle.
Wigan – who had replaced Boyce with Leon Barnett during the interval – were denied as Darlow made his most testing save of the evening after Andy Delort had escaped the attentions of Mancienne for half a second to pull the trigger on a low shot that the keeper blocked emphatically.
The home side threatened again when McClean slid a shot narrowly wide. But Forest should really have netted when Hunt delivered brilliantly from the right, but Antonio sent a far post header off target.
Wigan had made all three changes having brought Shaun Maloney and Oriol Riera off the bench, while Forest themselves looked to find their killer touch by bringing Matty Fryatt on for Osborn.
It was Lansbury who was left with his head in his hands after striking a bouncing ball from 22 yards, but seeing it fly into the side netting.
While another darting, probing attack from the Reds saw the outstanding Tesche feed the ball out to the right, where Hunt delivered again, only to see Assombalonga's desperate near post lunge see him fail to make contact by inches.
When Ramis blocked a run from Assombalonga on the edge of the box, it looked as though the defender had clearly handled, but referee Wright gave a free kick against the striker.
It was a moment that summed up the Reds' evening perfectly.
Wigan: Carson, Taylor, Ramis, McClean, Huws, McManaman (Maloney 59), Boyce (Barnett 45), Cowie (Riera 73), Perch, Kvist, Delort. Subs: Al Habsi, Tavernier, Forshaw, Fortune.
Forest: Darlow, Hunt, Mancienne, Wilson, Lichaj, Obsorn (Fryatt 72), Tesche, Burke, Lansbury, Antonio, Assombalonga. Subs: de Vries, Harding, Fox, Veldwijk, Lascelles, Grant.
Referee: Kevin Wright. Favoured the home side with many decisions, resulting in ironic cheers from the away end when he finally booked a Wigan player in the final stages. Britt Assombalonga in particular seemed to get harsh treatment.
Man of match: Robert Tesche. The midfielder was outstanding, covering every blade of grass. The former Hamburg man looks like a fine addition.
