After the flood comes the drought. United’s Reserves may have knocked eight past Bury last week, but seven days later, at a cold and blustery Robin Park Arena, Warren Joyce’s men drew a blank. At least Wigan Athletic did, too.
In a game that lacked quality, albeit partially because of the tricky conditions, United fared better over the 90 minutes but couldn’t translate a dominant second-half performance into three points.
Bebe, Gabriel Obertan and Wes Brown all started, although it was young Irishman Robbie Brady who caught the eye with a creative display in midfield.
Bebe hit the target with a couple of speculative efforts in the first half but that was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock before the break. Oliver Gill then spurned a golden opportunity just after the interval when he headed wide, while Gabriel Obertan, Joe Dudgeon and substitute Will Keane also missed chances during a late spell of Reds pressure.
Wigan, to their credit, defended doggedly and the Latics’ back four would have walked away from the ground with heads held high. For United, though, there was only frustration. But that's football: you can't win 8-0 every week.
United: Devlin; Brown W, Brown R, Wootton, Gill; Dudgeon, Brady (Vermijl 83), Norwood; King, Obertan, Bebe (Keane W 63). Subs not used: Jacob, Fryers, Cole.
