U23 Report | Morecambe 0 – 5 Wigan Athletic
Charlie Jolley’s hat-trick and a brace from Jensen Weir completes five-star performance
Nick Chadwick’s side face Burnley in the semi-final

MORECAMBE 0

WIGAN ATHLETIC 5

Jolley 3, 23, 46
Weir 12, 42

Latics booked their place in the Lancashire FA Senior Cup semi-final in style on Thursday afternoon as they put five past Morecambe at the Globe Arena.

The victory means Latics progress to the semi-finals, where they will travel to Burnley.

Latics opened the scoring early on to set the tempo on a bitterly cold January afternoon with Charlie Jolley scoring the opener inside three minutes, before Jensen Weir extended the lead soon after. A brace for the pair capped a fine first half for Nick Chadwick’s team, before Jolley completed his hat-trick straight from the restart to pile more misery on the Shrimps.

Latics came off the back of an impressive victory over Sunderland in their Premier League Cup group and were quick to carry on their good work with Jolley giving Chadwick’s side the advantage inside three minutes.

Jolley, who was on the scoresheet in the five-goal thriller against the Black Cats last time out, latched onto a ricochet, before ending his inspiring solo run with an effort across goal which Morecambe goalkeeper Andre Da Silva Mendes failed to keep out.

A second followed shortly after ten minutes when Weir finished with aplomb inside the area following Tylor Golden’s clever pull back from the right-hand side. The first touch of the Scotland youth international created space inside the box, before poking the ball into the net to put Latics in cruise control at the Globe Arena.

Latics took advantage of a shaky first half from an experienced Morecambe side to inflict further damage before half-time. Alex Perry’s pass found Jolley in-behind the defence, before curling nonchalantly past the reach of Da Silva Mendes for his second goal of the game.

Jolley was a nuisance throughout as the goal scorer nearly turned provider just before the break as he skipped past the challenge of Cole Edwards and pulled it back for Chris Merrie who was unmarked, but the latter failed to hit the target from eight yards out.

Latics eventually added their fourth in a half to forget for the Shrimps with some calamitous defending. Kyle Joseph latched onto the loose ball after a mistake from Shogbeni and his pull back eventually found Weir at the back-post, with the ball being adjudged to have crossed the line.

Chadwick’s young charges had their fifth goal one minute into the second half when Weir’s pass found Jolley who finished with aplomb to complete his hat-trick and put the game beyond doubt.

Latics continued to create chances throughout the remainder of the second half with substitute Sean McGurk coming close on a couple of occasions, but must be credited for their discipline and shape once again, preventing Morecambe from having a clear-cut chance throughout the game in a complete performance at the Globe Arena.

Morecambe: Da Silva Mendes, Buxton, Edwards, Brownsword (c), Shogbeni, Tutte, Howard, Jagne, Oates, Miller, Ellison

Subs: O’Brien, Morton, Obasoto, Price, Giwa

Wigan Athletic: Aspinall, Golden, Robinson, Obi, Long, Perry, Smith, Merrie (c), Joseph (McGurk 70), Weir (Baningime 61), C.Jolley

Subs: Jones, Webber, Adeeko

The U23s are back in action on Friday 10 February when they travel to Nethermoor Park to face Huddersfield Town in match day five of the Premier League Cup group stages, before hosting Sheffield United at home in the Professional Development League.

U23 Report | Morecambe 0 Latics 5 | Lancashire FA Cup Quarter Final