Wigan Athletic progress in the Emirates FA Cup after penalty shoot-out perfection against Hemel Hempstead Town

Match Report | Wigan Athletic 1-1 Hemel Hempstead Town (Latics win 5-3 on penalties)
Ryan Lowe's side progresses in the Emirates FA Cup with a penalty shootout victory
A clinical finish from Callum Wright in the opening moments and a second-half Joe White penalty earned the real-time draw, whilst Morgan Fox scored the deciding penalty in the shootout.

Wigan Athletic 1

Callum Wright (25')

Hemel Hempstead Town 1

Joe White (61')

(Latics win 5-3 on penalties)

Attendance: 4,020 (906 away).

Wigan Athletic progressed into the Second Round of the Emirates FA Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Hemel Hempstead Town.

A close-range strike from Callum Wright and a penalty from Joe White in normal time were enough to bring on extra time. Latics won 5-3 on penalties, with Callum McManaman, Jason Kerr, Will Aimson, Christian Saydee, and Morgan Fox successfully converting.

It was the return of the FA Cup on Saturday, as Conference South side Hemel Hempstead made the long journey up North to The Brick Community Stadium.

The FA Cup is a competition embedded deep in the heart of Wiganers far and wide, and the home fans were hoping to see their side clinch a place in the Second Round.

Latics began their journey in the oldest cup competition in the world with a home fixture against Hemel Hempstead Town, who made their first-ever trip to the Brick Community Stadium.

Having often embraced the tag of the underdogs, the roles were reversed this afternoon when facing the National League South outfit.

Ryan Lowe made two changes from last weekend's 1-1 draw at Mansfield Town, marking the return of James Carragher. The Kingdom Latics Academy graduate made his first start since the second week of August, replacing Aimson in the backline. The other change saw Paul Mullin back in from the get-go, coming in for Matt Smith.

The opening quarter was quiet, yet controlled by the home side, with Joe Hungbo making thundering runs down the left flank and Saydee holding up the ball in the middle of the park.

Mullin had the first real chance of the game, nodding Morgan Fox's long-range ball straight into the hands of Michael Johnson between the sticks.

Wright broke the deadlock just inside of 25 minutes after getting on the end of Mullin's superb cross. The Wrexham-loanee danced his way through the sea of defenders into the box, drilling a low ball across the face of goal where Wright lay in wait to tap it home.

The Tudor Army came close to a leveller, with a mistake at the back resulting in a loose ball. A poor back pass from midfield left Fox reeling, sliding across the back line to clear the ball, but only into the feet of Jevani Brown.

The forward ran into space down by the corner before whipping in a cross. Millar Matthews-Lewis cushioned the ball, with a shout for handball thrown into the mix, before his close-range shot was saved by Sam Tickle.

George Williams fancied his chances in the latter stages of the half, his free-kick curling around the wall and sending Tickle racing across his goal line to punch the effort away from danger.

Straight up the other end, Hungbo's pinpoint cross fell to Fraser Murray, whose far-post volley was well-covered by Johnson.

It was Hemel Hempstead who got the second half underway and who drew first blood.

Moments after Ryan Lowe made the decision to bring him into the fray, Smith was shown a straight red after a tackle inside the box. The visitors were awarded a penalty, which White stepped up to convert. It was the first of two penalties awarded in the second half.

After substitute McManaman was chopped down inside the box, Mullin stepped up to take the penalty, consequently sending it flying over the crossbar.

Williams was agonisingly close to clinching the victory for the visitors, his glancing header at the far post bouncing off the side netting.

The final chance of the game was a blinding strike from Olatunbosun Adenola. The defender pulled the trigger from the halfway line, watching it scream through the air. Tickle made a great diving save to prevent what was surely going to be the winner, but the coast wasn't clear.

The ball was knocked from pillar to post inside the box, rolling almost in slow motion into the back of the net, before Aimson made a life-saving clearance to keep the home side in the Cup.

With that, the players let out a sigh of relief and awaited extra time.

The 30 minutes of extra time flew by without much noise from the home side. Darion Dorwich was closest, slicing the ball into the side netting deep into the second half.

Then came penalties. McManaman, Kerr, Aimson, Saydee, and Fox successfully converted their spot-kicks, sending the home side through to the Second Round.

The Tics will hope to continue their improving league form when they travel to St James Park to take on Exeter City on Saturday 8th November.

Emirates FA Cup Report | Latics 1 Hemel Hempstead Town 1 (Latics Win 5-3 on Penalties)