Wigan Athletic: Shaun Maloney must make Blackpool selection decision after flawless Mansfield impact | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic boss Shaun Maloney must select Matt Smith for the Latics' upcoming game with Blackpool

Wigan Athletic's home defeat to Mansfield Town on Tuesday night marked the second consecutive defeat for the Latics, who had previously maintained seven clean sheets in a row prior to the international break, and had not lost at the Brick Community Stadium since the opening day of the season.

But when Latics midfielder Baba Adeeko inadvertently played the ball to Stags striker Will Evans, the 27-year-old made no mistake in scoring past a helpless Sam Tickle from outside the box.

The Stags maintained their 1-0 lead up until half-time, when Latics boss Shaun Maloney, while serving a touchline ban, had clearly already seen enough of his side's poor performance and decided to make no fewer than four substitutions at the interval.

The aforementioned Adeeko, Joe Hugill, Silko Thomas and James Carragher were all replaced by Matt Smith, Dale Taylor, Michael Olakigbe and Calvin Ramsay, who is on loan from Liverpool.

Maloney's changes soon paid off when Thelo Aasgaard scored to level the score on 53 minutes, but just after the hour mark, the Stags took the lead once more courtesy of Keanu Baccus' strike.

Nigel Clough's men held on to their 2-1 lead, and now sit fourth in the League One table, while defeat leaves the Latics in 18th, and just three points above the relegation zone.

Smith's significant impact shows he must start against Blackpool

While the Latics made four substitutions at half-time on Tuesday night, the decision to introduce former Arsenal midfielder Smith to the action proved to be Maloney's most inspired choice.

During the first-half, the hosts had struggled to control the game, which was an issue Smith was tasked with addressing, and a test he passed with flying colours despite his side's defeat.

It is no coincidence that the Latics found their equaliser just eight minutes after the 24-year-old was brought onto the field of play, as he acts like a metronome in Wigan's midfield courtesy of his passing ability.

And on Tuesday night, he was absolutely flawless in possession, as he maintained a pass accuracy of 100% according to FotMob, completing all 40 of the passes he attempted.

Unsurprisingly, as per FotMob, this meant that Smith was the most accurate passer to play 45 minutes or more during the encounter between the Latics and the Stags.

Although Clough's men found their winning goal against the run of play, Smith's impact for the hosts cannot be understated, as he enabled his side to get on the front foot and control proceedings.

The former Arsenal man is usually in Maloney's starting 11, and has made 10 starts in League One this season, while appearing in all 12 of the Latics' games so far.

Tuesday night's evidence shows that the Wigan boss must opt to select Smith in his starting lineup on Monday night, as the Latics travel to a Blackpool side who will be determined to get back to winning ways following three consecutive defeats, including a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Peterborough United on the same night as the Latics lost to the Stags.

Maloney and co will be disappointed by the fact that a run of six consecutive clean sheets in the league, and seven across all competitions, came to a crushing end when they lost 2-0 to previously winless Cambridge United last Saturday, while they failed to get back on form with yet another defeat to the Stags on Tuesday.

However, if the Latics could hand-pick a fixture which could enable them to get back on track, a Lancashire derby next Monday with a Blackpool side who are now winless in four, would be right up there, while Maloney can clearly help his side to victory by selecting the impressive Smith for an exciting televised clash.