Historic Barnsley feud will give Wigan Athletic some Oakwell motivation | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic will be motivated to win at Barnsley in November following a feud between the two clubs while the Latics were in administration in 2020

Wigan Athletic concluded an inconsistent October in League One with a 2-2 draw at Blackpool on Monday night in which the Latics held a 2-0 lead on 41 minutes courtesy of Dion Rankine's first goal for the club, and a Matt Smith strike.

But in first-half additional time, the Tangerines found a foothold in the game as Jason Kerr scored an unfortunate own goal as his deflection took the ball past a helpless Sam Tickle.

Then, during the second half, the Latics were unable to make their relative dominance count, and were punished in the 92nd minute, as Will Aimson became the second Wigan centre-half to score past his own goalkeeper at the seaside.

A 2-2 draw with their Lancastrian neighbours sees Shaun Maloney's men heading into November in 19th place, having won 14 points from 13 games.

The Latics' trip to Barnsley on November 23rd will be the standout fixture of the new month for the Brick Community Stadium faithful, who would love to see their side emerge victorious in South Yorkshire.

Latics fans would love to see their club defeat Barnsley after 2020 feud

While the Latics' traditional rivals include clubs from their local area such as Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, Blackburn and the previously mentioned Blackpool, fans of the Greater Manchester outfit have also developed a dislike for the Tykes in recent years.

Such an ill feeling originated following the conclusion of the 2019/20 Championship season, which saw the Tics relegated from the second tier to League One thanks to a 12-point deduction, which was handed to the club as a punishment for entering administration under the financial mismanagement of former owner Au Yeung Wai Kay.

The Latics' 12-point penalty saw them drop from a respectable 13th position all the way down to the bottom three, and consequently kept the Tykes in the Championship at the expense of the Greater Manchester side.

Angry at their heavy deduction, the Latics decided to appeal the English Football League's decision in front of an independent arbitration panel comprised of three senior barristers.

Ultimately, Wigan lost their appeal and ended up in League One, but the Tykes' actions regarding the club's appeal annoyed the Brick Community Stadium faithful.

As reported by Wigan Today, the Tykes legal representative, Simon Pritchard, attended the Latics appeal as an observer, and expected the Greater Manchester side to pay his club's costs for attending.

Such a request was dismissed by the panel, as they deemed it would be unfair to add to the Latics' financial burdens amid their administration struggles.

But Latics supporters will always feel a certain bitterness towards the South Yorkshire outfit, who had not earned the number of points necessary to avoid relegation from the Championship in 2020, but survived due to Wigan's deduction.

To rub further salt into the wounds, the Tykes landed a play-off spot come the end of the 2020/21 second tier season, whereas the Tics narrowly avoided relegation to League Two, as they did not exit administration until the spring of 2021, when former owner Abdul Rahman Al Jasmi purchased the club.

Since the feud between the two clubs in 2020, they have met on three occasions, with the Tykes emerging victorious in League One at the Brick Community Stadium in August 2023, before the sides played out a 1-1 draw at Oakwell on New Year's Day, as a Jonny Smith screamer for the away side levelled the scores in the 87th minute.

The South Yorkshire outfit and their Greater Manchester counterpart last locked horns in August, with Darell Clarke's men taking the spoils via a penalty shootout in the EFL Cup.

The Latics have still not defeated the Tykes since a rivalry of sorts has been formed between the two clubs, and Wigan supporters would therefore love to see their side claim victory at Oakwell.

Oakwell victory may be difficult to come by for Latics

As shown by the fact they sit in 19th, Maloney's men have struggled in League One at times this term, despite keeping a run of six consecutive clean sheets in the third tier from mid-September to early October.

The Tykes, meanwhile, could be on course to land a play-off spot for the third season running, as they are in eighth place, just one point below the top-six.

Of course, by November 23rd, the Latics could have discovered good form of their own, and will be determined to beat the Tykes regardless of league positioning following the events of 2020.