Wigan will have to wait to see if their inaugural European tour will continue beyond the group stages after Junior Malanda's late curling effort from outside of the area for Zulte Waregem took the English side's qualification hopes from Group D out of their hands.
Owen Coyle's team must now beat Maribor in Slovenia in their final group game and hope Zulte do not win against Rubin to reach the last 32 of the Europa League in their first foray into European football.
Victory meant here would have seen Wigan secure their place in the last 32 of the competition on their first foray into Europe and mean the small Lancastrian town could look forward to fixtures against sides coming down from the Champions League. So with the carrot of a tie against a major European force dangled in front of them, they went straight on the attack. And the home support did not have to wait long for the opener, even if it did come with a hint of fortune.
Callum McManaman crossed for Jordi Gómez in the seventh minute and the Spaniard miss-hit his effort only for it to find the feet of defender Barnett who showed the composure of a striker to turn a low shot home.
The Belgian side, managed by a former policeman in Francky Dury, had their own ambitions of progressing, of course. They needed a result here to keep their hopes alive but should have been two down early on only for McManaman to let the team managed by a former cop out of jail when he shot straight at Sammy Bossut from close range.
James McClean also spurned a chance to put Wigan further in front but his low shot was turned away by Bossut with Gómez better placed and aggrieved the ball did not come his way.
The visitors were gifted a route back into the game when Sven Kums capitalised on a midfield mix-up to release Hazard out wide. The younger brother of Chelsea forward Eden, who is on-loan from Stamford Bridge himself, shot straight at Lee Nicholls but the ball went through the hands of the embarrassed Wigan goalkeeper for the equaliser.
While Wigan knew a win would secure their place in the knockout phase, Zulte were hoping for three points to overtake their hosts but Hazard snatched at a long-range effort not long after the break with team-mates in much better positions.
The home side's attacking menace had been somewhat curtailed from the early stages but Powell gave Bossut his first work of the second period with a powerful effort from inside the area. Gómez, who had endured a torrid hour, was taken off by Owen Coyle for Marc-Antoine Fortuné in the 64th minute and the cheers from the home fans summed up the Spaniard's wasteful performance.
With Wigan's season already clogged up with fixtures, Coyle could have done with their place in the next round secured last night. McArthur, who was involved in the mix-up for Zulte's equaliser, flashed a late attempt wide from distance, but that would be the closest they would come before Malanda struck to leave the Latics needing that win in Slovenia, although a point could suffice in the final game should Zulte fail to beat Rubin.
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/3437e313/sc/13/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Cfootball0C20A130Cnov0C280Cwigan0Eathletic0Ezulte0Ewaregem0Eeuropa0Eleague/story01.htm
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