Harbinger Of Glory

Wigan, after this, took the corner, courtesy of Leo.

The delivery was excellent and was met by Whatmough, who rose above his marker and directed his header towards goal, but he just could not keep it down enough, sending the ball over the crossbar without much threat.

Pope turned and collected it from behind his goal while the Wigan players immediately began retreating to their half to combat any sudden counterattacks that Newcastle would try to launch, but it never happened.

”As things stand, we’re heading towards a result that neither side would have been completely satisfied with at the start of the afternoon,” the commentator said.

”Wigan have led, Newcastle have fought their way back, and we’re now only a few minutes away from the ninety-minute mark.”

The game restarted, and neither side stopped trying.

Newcastle pushed for one final opening, with Gordon running at the Wigan defence and Isak drifting between the centre-backs.

Wigan, on the other hand, whenever they got the ball, looked for Carlo and Reyes whenever they managed to escape the pressure, while Leo stayed deeper, trying to make sure another loose ball did not expose them.

But the decisive moment never came.

The referee looked at his watch as the ninety-minute mark passed and decided to add six minutes.

Six more minutes for Newcastle to complete the comeback or six more for Wigan to find a winner and leave St James’ Park with all three points.

Both sides went at it, looking to pull one last attack off, but it never materialised for either side until the referee brought the whistle to his mouth.

When the final kick of the ball was made by Ben Amos, the whistle came through to bring it all to a close.

”There we have it. It’s all over at St James’ Park!”

Down the Newcastle players looked disappointed despite the point, while the Wigan players stood scattered across the pitch, some with their hands on their hips, others staring towards the scoreboard.

”Newcastle United and Wigan Athletic share the spoils here, one goal apiece,” the commentator continued.

”Wigan led through Reyes in the first half, Newcastle came back through Isak after sustained pressure, and neither side could find the winner.”

When he was done, the co-commentator took over.

”I don’t think either manager will be completely unhappy with that. Coming back after such a long international break is never straightforward, especially with the intensity both teams showed today.

Newcastle had their spell, Wigan had theirs, and ultimately they have to settle for a point each.”

There was a brief pause.

”But if you’re looking at the bigger picture, the pressure is certainly beginning to move towards Wigan.

Two points from their last three games is not the sort of run you expect from a team that had built a ten-point lead at the top only two matchdays ago. That advantage is now down to five.”

The cameras showed the Wigan players slowly making their way towards the tunnel before disappearing from view.

The perfect start to the season had already been broken against Arsenal.

Their unbeaten run ended against Manchester City.

Now, after another draw, the gap at the top had been cut again.

”Wigan remain top,” the commentator said, ”but Christmas is approaching, and suddenly this title race looks a little more interesting than it did a few weeks ago.”

’

The co-commentator looked across the stadium.

”And for Wigan, it could be a long Christmas if they don’t find their rhythm again.”

The broadcast stayed on the players for another few seconds before the cameras slowly pulled away from the pitch.

St James’ Park had taken its point, and Wigan had gotten theirs.

.....

Leo had barely made it into the tunnel before he heard his name again.

”Leo! Leo, a word!”

He kept walking at first, but the voice came a bit more endearing.

”Leo, please. Just a minute.”

Leo glanced over his shoulder and found one of the Premier League reporters was approaching him from the media area, microphone already in hand.

He slowed, but that didn’t stop him from wondering why they were calling him.

Newcastle had just played at home. Their players were the ones who had come back from a goal down, and Isak had scored the equaliser.

If anyone deserved questions tonight, surely it was one of them.

Still, Leo stopped and waited for her to catch up.

”I know you need to get in there,” she said, gesturing towards the away dressing room. ”So I’ll make it quick.”

”Appreciated,” Leo said before following her back to the podium some metres away, where she smiled before lifting the microphone.

”First of all, what did you make of the game?”

Leo looked back towards the pitch for a moment before nodding as he spoke.

”I think we could’ve been better,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

”We had a good first half, and then Newcastle came out really strong after the break. We knew they’d do that, but we still gave them too much of the game for a while. Once they scored, it became a bit more even again.”

The reporter nodded and then went on.

”You came on in the second half and looked quite sharp in some moments, but there was also that mistake before Newcastle’s goal.

Do you think some Wigan supporters might look at that and say that your mistake was the reason the team lost two points today?”

At that, Leo let out a short snort through his nose.

”I can’t stop them if that’s what they want to think.”

”If that’s genuinely how someone sees it, I can’t really change their mind,” he said with a shrug.

”I made a mistake. That’s football. I would’ve liked to have dealt with it better, obviously. But there were ninety minutes in that game, and the goal came from a lot more than one touch.”

He paused before continuing.

”We should’ve been a bit better today. Especially because a win here would’ve given us a bit more breathing space.”

”Still confident you’ll bounce back?”

”Yeah.”

The answer came quickly.

”We’ll do well to bounce back. We’ve got a good group. One result doesn’t suddenly change that.”

The reporter glanced down at her notes before looking back up.

”Speaking of which, five points at the top isn’t enough breathing space?”

Leo looked at her the moment she said that, then he smiled.

”We’re going against Arsenal, City and Liverpool for a spot that we shouldn’t even be in.”

He gave a small laugh.

”You tell me.”

The reporter laughed as well.

”Fair enough. Do you feel the pressure is different now compared to when you had that ten-point lead?”

”A little, probably. But I don’t think we’re going to start panicking because someone closed the gap. We knew teams would come back at us eventually.”

”And personally, after the ankle problem and then coming back today, how did you feel?”

”Fine. A little rusty at first, but nothing serious. I just wanted to get back on the pitch.”

”One final one. Does today’s result change how you approach the next game?”

”No. We still have to prepare properly and go again. That’s about it. The break took a toll on some of my mates, but I think we’ll be back next week.”

The reporter lowered the microphone right as the cameras went down.

”Alright. I’ll let you get inside. Thanks, Leo.”

”No problem.”

He gave her a small nod before turning away, and the smile stayed on his face for another couple of steps.

Then it disappeared.

Leo let out a quiet sigh as he continued down the tunnel, the noise from the media area fading behind him.

A few seconds later, he reached the turn leading towards the away dressing room and disappeared around the corner.