Jewell takes ‘punishment’ on the chin

WIGAN boss Paul Jewell conceded his side were “severely punished” for making mistakes during the draw with Tottenham that again cost them points in their battle to beat the drop.

The Latics threw away the lead on three occasions in a pulsating encounter at the JJB Stadium, although the point gained has at least lifted them up a place in the Premiership.

But Jewell’s side have conceded 26 points from winning positions in matches this season, and if they are relegated, such fragility will serve as their epitaph.

“There’s no point going on about that now,” said Jewell. “There’s only four games to go, so I can’t keep saying we’ve lost so many points from leads. What we have to do is get more points than three other teams in this league. That’s all I’m interested in.

“We can analyse the season when we are finished, but we are in the middle of a battle, so we’ll take anything we can get, and we’ve a point more than we had this time yesterday.”

Emile Heskey nodded home the opener after just 55 seconds for his ninth goal this season, but the lead lasted just 135 seconds as Tottenham captain Robbie Keane set up Dimitar Berbatov to score his 20th this term.

Leighton Baines then scored a stunning 30-yard strike on the half hour, but the Latics held on to their advantage for just under five minutes as Keane scored from the spot after John Filan had brought down Jermaine Jenas.

Kevin Kilbane made it 3-2 on the hour with his first goal for Wigan following his £2million move from Everton last summer, however, Spurs grabbed a point when his Republic of Ireland colleague Keane lobbed Filan from 35 yards after latching on to a long goal-kick from Paul Robinson in the 68th minute.

“The manner in which we conceded our goals is very disappointing,” added Jewell.

“Defensive lapses cost us against a top-quality side, and against two excellent players in Keane and Berbatov.

“We knew we would have to make them work hard for their goals, but we didn’t. We made mistakes and got severely punished. But that was as well as we have played for a long time going forward. We were excellent.

“In the cold light of a day that point might just be the one that keeps us up.”

Jewell, though, faces potential injury problems as Heskey limped off with a tight hamstring in the second half, while Lee McCulloch received a kick on a foot and faces an x-ray.

The point for Spurs keeps them in the hunt for a European place for next season, which would make up in part for their UEFA Cup quarter-final exit to Sevilla on Thursday.

“It was a hell of a game, which is probably not what you want after four games in 10 days,” said coach Martin Jol.

“We could have made it easier on ourselves, but not today. For the neutral it was probably a terrific game.

“Of course, we wanted to go ahead, but we conceded a goal in the opening minute, which is not what you want.

“Before the game we would not have settled for a point, but after it you have to, particularly when you concede two goals from set pieces.”

Opta Fact: Wigan have thrown away 26 points this season, more than any other Premiership side.

WIGAN: Filan, Boyce, Jackson (Skoko 73), De Zeeuw, Baines, McCulloch (Taylor 40), Landzaat, Scharner, Kilbane, Heskey (Folan 66), Camara.

TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Chimbonda, Dawson, Rocha, Ifil, Tainio (Malbranque 65), Jenas, Zokora, Lennon (Defoe 75), Berbatov, Keane.

Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).