Heskey settles basement battle

Emile Heskey scored his first goal for seven months to give Wigan a crucial 1-0 win in their relegation showdown with Bolton that was overshadowed by a poor refereeing performance from Steve Tanner.

The Latics are now six points off the drop zone, despite playing with 10 men for 86 minutes following an early controversial red card for midfielder Jason Koumas.

Heskey's 34th-minute winner ended a 20-match goal drought, before Bolton were denied an equaliser midway through the second half as Tanner failed to spot Michael Brown's deliberate handball on the line.

Coming into the game there was plenty riding on the encounter for both sides given the perilous relegation picture, with Bolton boss Gary Megson making an unsurprising nine changes to his side in the wake of Thursday's UEFA Cup defeat at Sporting Lisbon.

What it did not need was the intervention of a referee who turned the game into a fractious affair, with Tanner taking centre stage after just four minutes with his straight red card to Koumas.

It is fair to say the Welshman just caught Gary Cahill as the pair challenged for a 50-50 ball, yet he clearly led with only his right boot that was no more than a few inches off the ground.

Tanner, though, wasted no time in brandishing his first red card this season - sparking howls of protest around the ground and on the pitch.

By the interval, the 10 men of Wigan had taken a deserved lead, with Heskey back on the scoresheet for the first time since the third match of the season on August 18.

Captain Mario Melchiot looped a hanging ball into the heart of the area where Heskey stole in front of Gretar Steinsson to hook the ball home on the volley from eight yards.