AFC Fylde boss Dave Challinor believes last night belonged to his brave troops after they secured a place in the FA Cup third round draw.
Danny Rowe’s second-half penalty cancelled out Wigan striker Will Grigg’s early header and Challinor was adamant that is side thoroughly deserved a second hit at the League One table-toppers.
Challinor said: “Based on effort alone we deserved something from the game. The lads worked their socks off.
“We got that little bit of luck that we were always going to need and thankfully we have managed to get ourselves a replay.
“We were under a lot of pressure in the first half and from a neutral point of view, a goal was probably coming. The main disappointment was that their goal came from our attacking throw in.
“I told the lads at half-time that if we wanted to get anything from the game then we had to do the basics well – the horrible things that we aren’t always great at.
“We had to get higher up the pitch and become more functional. It’s against how we usually try and play but we had to push forward. We wanted to get the ball up the pitch, win a second ball and then play from there.
“The penalty came at a good time and gave us something to hold on to for the last 20 minutes. We knew they would have chances but it was our night.
“Now we can look forward to the draw on Monday and then the trip to Wigan in a week or so.”
The Coasters will now face a replay at the DW Stadium on the week commencing December 11th. The third round draw will take place on Monday evening from 7pm.