Newcastle’s bid for Champions League qualification suffered a reality check yesterday as Wigan eased their relegation fears with a thumping 4-0 win over the Magpies.
Newcastle had dared to dream of winning a place in European football’s elite competition after moving into the top four of the Premier League last week with their sixth straight victory.
However, Alan Pardew’s side were blown away in a devastating first-half display by Wigan, who scored four unanswered goals at the DW Stadium to move three points clear of the drop zone with two games remaining.
Wigan raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour, Victor Moses scoring a quickfire brace. Shaun Maloney added a third for the Latics before Franco Di Santo made it 4-0 with a long-range effort on the stroke of half-time.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez hailed another fine display from his team, who have also notched wins over Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks.
“In every department of the club we know we need to work really hard to keep our dream alive and that comes with belief,” he said.
“It’s great to beat these sides but that means nothing if we can’t achieve our aim.”
Newcastle’s surprise defeat saw Arsenal cement their grip on third place after battling to a 1-1 draw at Stoke.
Peter Crouch headed Stoke into the lead before Arsenal’s newly-crowned Footballer of the Year Robin van Persie levelled on 15 minutes with his 35th goal of the season in all competitions.
The draw leaves the Gunners four points clear of fourth-placed Newcastle, and Arsene Wenger’s men will guarantee their entry to next season’s Champions League if they win their remaining games against Norwich and West Brom.
With leaders Manchester United facing Manchester City tomorrow, and Chelsea and Tottenham in action against QPR and Blackburn respectively today, the other games yesterday focused on the battle for survival.
Bolton’s hopes of moving out of the bottom three were dashed after they could only draw 2-2 at Sunderland.
Kevin Davies got Bolton off to a dream start with a goal on 26 minutes before Sunderland levelled through Nicklas Bendtner nine minutes before half-time.
James McClean then pounced for Sunderland in the second half to put the Black Cats 2-1 up before Davies grabbed a second to secure a share of the points for Owen Coyle’s side.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa remain in the relegation mire after scrapping to a 0-0 draw in a nervy midlands derby with West Brom.
Villa were given a huge slice of luck after referee Mark Clattenburg failed to spot an apparent handball on the goal-line from Alan Hutton.
Elsewhere, Liverpool recorded only their second win in seven games as Luis Suarez’s first hat-trick for the club helped them to a 3-0 win over Norwich.
Daniel Bogdanovic
Malta striker Daniel Bogdanovic was among the scorers yesterday as Notts County won at Wycombe 4-3 to sustain their push for a place in the play-offs.
Bogdanovic scored his goal after three minutes to cancel Wycombe’s early opener.
Results and standings
Premier League
Everton 4
Jelavic 7 pen, 40; Fellaini 16; Cahill 60;
Fulham 0
HT: 3-0. Att: 31,885.
Norwich 0
Liverpool 3
Suarez 24, 28, 82;
HT: 0-2. Att: 26,819.
Stoke City 1
Crouch 10;
Arsenal 1
Van Persie 15;
HT: 1-1. Att: 27,502.
Sunderland 2
Bendtner 36; McClean 55;
Bolton 2
Davies 25, 70;
HT: 1-1. Att: 40,768.
Swansea 4
Orlandi 1; Allen 4; Dyer 15; Graham 31;
Wolves 4
Fletcher 28; Jarvis 33, 69; Edwards 54;
HT: 4-2. Att: 19,408.
West Brom 0
Aston Villa 0
Att: 25,984.
Wigan 4
Moses 13, 15; Maloney 36; Di Santo 45;
Newcastle 0
HT: 4-0. Att: 22,187.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. United | 35 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 86 | 32 | 83 |
| Man. City | 35 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 87 | 27 | 80 |
| Arsenal | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 68 | 44 | 66 |
| Newcastle | 35 | 18 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 46 | 62 |
| Tottenham | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 57 | 39 | 59 |
| Chelsea | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 56 | 38 | 58 |
| Everton | 35 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 38 | 51 |
| Liverpool | 35 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 43 | 37 | 49 |
| Fulham | 35 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 48 | 46 |
| West Brom | 36 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 41 | 47 | 46 |
| Sunderland | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 44 | 43 | 45 |
| Swansea | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 49 | 44 |
| Norwich | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 63 | 43 |
| Stoke City | 35 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 33 | 49 | 43 |
| Aston Villa | 36 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 36 | 50 | 37 |
| Wigan | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 60 | 37 |
| QPR | 35 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 39 | 57 | 34 |
| Bolton | 35 | 10 | 4 | 21 | 41 | 69 | 34 |
| Blackburn | 35 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 47 | 73 | 31 |
| Wolves | 36 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 38 | 79 | 24 |
Playing today
Chelsea vs QPR - 14:30
Tottenham vs Blackburn - 17:00
Tomorrow
Man. City vs Man. United - 21:00
Top scorers
28 goals: Van Persie (Arsenal).
26 goals: Rooney (Man. United).
22 goals: Aguero (Man. City).
16 goals: Ba (Newcastle), Yakubu (Blackburn), Dempsey (Fulham).
Next fixtures
Tuesday: 20.45 Liverpool vs Fulham; Stoke vs Everton.
Wednesday: 20.45 Chelsea vs Newcastle. 21.00 Bolton vs Tottenham.
Saturday: 13.45 Arsenal vs Norwich. FA Cup final 18.15 Chelsea vs Liverpool.
Sunday: 14.30 Newcastle United vs Manchester City. 15.00 Aston Villa vs Tottenham; Bolton vs West Brom; Fulham vs Sunderland; QPR vs Stoke; Wolves vs Everton. 17.00 Manchester United vs Swansea.
Monday, May 7: 21.00 Blackburn Rovers vs Wigan.
The Championship
Barnsley 0 - Brighton 0
Birmingham 2 - Reading 0
Burnley 1 - Bristol City 1
C. Palace 1 - Cardiff 2
Derby 1 - Peterborough 1
Doncaster 2 - Ipswich 3
Leeds 1 - Leicester 2
Millwall 2 - Blackpool 2
N. Forest 2 - Portsmouth 0
Southampton 4 - Coventry 0
Watford 2 - Middlesbrough 1
West Ham 2 - Hull 1
Final standings: Reading 89 (p); South-ampton 88 (p); West Ham 86 (p/o); Birmingham 76 (p/o); Blackpool 75 (p/o); Cardiff 75 (p/o); M’boro 70; Hull 68; Leicester, Brighton 66; Watford, Derby 64; Burnley 62; Leeds, Ipswich 61; Millwall 57; C. Palace 56; Peterborough, N. Forest 50; Bristol City 49; Barnsley 48; Portsmouth (-10, r), Coventry 40 (r); Doncaster 36 (r).
League One
Brentford 1 - Sheffield Wed. 2
Bury 0 - Oldham 0
Carlisle 4 - Exeter 1
Colchester 4 - Tranmere 2
Hartlepool 2 - Leyton Orient 1
Preston 2 - Charlton 2
Rochdale 1 - MK Dons2
Scunthorpe 1 - Bournemouth 1
Sheffield Utd 2 - Stevenage 2
Walsall 1 - Huddersfield 1
Wycombe 3 - Notts County 4
Yeovil 3 - Chesterfield 2
Standings: Charlton (p) 98; Sheffield Wed. 90; Sheffield Utd 89; MK Dons 80; Huddersfield 78; Notts County, Stevenage 70; Carlisle 69; Brentford 64; Colchester 59; Hartlepool, Bury 56; Tranmere, Bournemouth 55; Preston, Yeovil 54; Scunthorpe, Oldham 51; Walsall, Leyton Orient 47; Wycombe 43 (r); Chesterfield 42 (r); Exeter 41 (r); Rochdale 38 (r).
League Two
Aldershot 2 - Rotherham 2
Barnet 4 - AFC Wimbledon 0
Bristol Rovers 5 - Accrington 1
Cheltenham 3 - Bradford City 1
Crawley 0 - Hereford 3
Macclesfield 0 - Burton 2
Morecambe 2 - Plymouth 2
Northampton 1 - Gillingham 1
Oxford 0 - Southend 2
Shrewsbury 1 - Dagenham 0
Swindon 5 - Port Vale 0
Torquay 1 - Crewe 1
Standings: Swindon 92 (p); Shrewsbury 88 (p); Crawley, Torquay 81; Southend 80; Cheltenham 74; Crewe 71; Oxford 68; Gillingham 67; Rotherham 66; Aldershot 65; Bristol Rovers, Accrington 57; Morecambe, Port Vale 56; Burton 54; AFC Wimbledon 51; Bradford City 49; Northampton Town, Dagenham 47; Plymouth 46; Barnet 43; Hereford 41; Macclesfield 37 (r).