Gabriel Agbonlahor scored the winner as Aston Villa came back from 1-0 down to register their first ever league victory against Wigan Athletic, 2-1 at the JJB Stadium.
Titus Bramble put the Latics ahead with a powerful header on 28 minutes only for Curtis Davies, in his first league start of the season, to equalise with a similar goal 10 minutes into the second half. The third headed goal of the game was Agbonlahor's cute effort 20 minutes from time, which sealed the victory for Villa and left Wigan with their first defeat in four games.
It was a tale of two halves played on an atrocious pitch in appalling conditions the rain and wind took their toll as the game wore on. Wigan defended coolly if rather aggressively in the first half, smothering numerous Aston Villa attacks and leaving the visitors with few opportunities to create dangerous chances. It was Villa, however, who piled on the pressure in the second half, dominating possession and pushing Wigan on to the ropes.
Giant central defender Zat Knight was suspended following his dismissal in the Boxing Day thriller at Chelsea, so Villa manager Martin O'Neill handed a first league start to Davies. But all best-laid plans were shattered after 10 minutes when striker John Carew was forced off with an injury following a crunching tackle by Paul Scharner.
Substitute Luke Moore and strike partner Agbonlahor had an anonymous first half, with Villa's best effort falling to Shaun Maloney. The Scottish midfielder powered a long-range effort from the left flank into the arms of Chris Kirkland, while Wigan's Antoine Sibierski and Marcus Bent came closest for the home side with a pair of rather tame strikes which Scott Carson had no problem saving.
The deadlock was broken in unlikely fashion when oft-derided defender Bramble rose to head home lively Ryan Taylor's corner. Bramble's effort was powerful and decisive, and left O'Neill fuming on the Villa bench.
But the visitors responded in spirited fashion, piling players forward only to be frustrated by some stout Wigan defending, led by Mario Melchiot and Kevin Kilbane. Whatever O'Neill said in the half-time team-talk did the trick, however, as his team came out blazing and dominated proceedings in the second forty-five.
Ashley Young showed his neat ball control skills once again, dribbling superbly into the left of the Wigan area and crossing accurately into the centre. Villa's leading scorer Agbonlahor pulled off a subtle header from six yards out to beat Kirkland and convert Villa's second-half possession into a crucial lead on 70 minutes.
As the weather worsened, so did Wigan's creativity, making the closing twenty minutes rather drab and subdued. Latics coach Steve Bruce will be disappointed his side couldn't hold on to their lead, but O'Neill's tactical acumen and frantic arm-waving won the day as Aston Villa finally lifted an age-old curse.
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