THE LAST time Wigan Athletic recorded a league victory away from home was on the final day of last season when they defeated Sheffield United 2-1, a result that kept them in the Premier League, but couldn’t stop them losing their highly-rated manager Paul Jewell.

Yesterday they struck again, but Jewell was on the receiving end and his old side produced a display that suggested Steve Bruce might not have the same collection of frayed nerves as his predecessor at the end of this season. Antoine Sibierski, an 81st-minute substitute, struck the decisive blow, shooting home powerfully with his first touch of the game.

Bruce, tongue firmly in cheek, referred to his own “tactical genius” in making the substitution, but Derby contributed hugely to their own downfall again with the sending-off of Claude Davis on 57 minutes. Booked early in the first half for a foul on Marcus Bent, he again went in heavily on the Wigan forward, this time catching him with an arm in the face and was rightly dismissed by Mark Clattenburg. As soon as Sibierski came on, Titus Bramble played a long clearance that bounced in the space that Davis would surely have occupied. Instead, Bent had a free header and he guided the ball into the path of Sibierski, who beat Lewis Price from 22 yards.

Bruce took over at Wigan two days before Jewell started his new job and in that time his side has amassed 12 points out of a possible 24. Jewell has managed only one. The Derby manager probably didn’t help himself by giving debuts to his four new signings, as Robbie Savage, Hossam Ghaly, Laurent Robert and Emanuel Villa between them have played very little top-level football this season. It meant an almost entirely reconstructed midfield, with Savage taking the captain’s armband following the departure of Matt Oakley to Leicester City.

“It’s always difficult when you put so many new faces into a squad who haven’t played much recently,” Jewell said. “You’re hoping they get by on adrenaline and play well, but the team didn’t perform. Wigan were better than us on the day.”

Wigan should have been a goal up inside the first minute, Antonio Valencia made a decent connection from an Emile Heskey cross and when the ball cannoned off a defender, Michael Brown shot wastefully over.

At the other end, Robert responded with a long-distance free kick that Chris Kirkland smothered well, but that was to be the last shot Derby were to have on target. Bent had the ball in the net on 33 minutes after another Brown effort was only parried by Price into the path of Heskey, but the big striker was ruled offside as he crossed. A minute before half-time there was a huge scramble in the Derby box after Heskey this time managed to beat the offside trap, but when Bramble’s shot was blocked, Valencia blasted a great chance wide.

Wigan clearly sensed the chance to break their away duck and after the dismissal of Davis they really went for their opponent’s jugular. When Savage lost possession to Brown midway through the second half, the ball fell to substitute Jason Koumas, who shot just wide from the edge of the area.

But it was the late arrival of Sibierski, who had been a big fitness doubt after being stretchered off at Sunderland last week, which proved decisive.

“When you miss the chances we missed in the first half you think you will be punished but thankfully we weren’t and the best team won,” Bruce said. “We’ve only been beaten in two out of nine games and we’ve put a little bit of belief back that we can mount a challenge to stay in the Premier League.”

Player ratings

Derby: Price 6, Mears 6, Todd 5, Davis 4, Mills 6, Fagan 5, Savage 5, Ghaly 6 (Macken 85min), Robert 4 (Edworthy 59min, 6), Barnes 6, Villa 5 (Teale 71min)

Wigan:Kirkland 6, Melchiot 6, Bramble 6, Boyce 6, Kilbane 6, Valencia 7, Brown 8, Palacios 6 (Koumas 64min), Landzaat 7 (Sibierski 81min), Bent 7 (Olembe 90min), Heskey 7

Star man: Michael Brown (Wigan)
Scorer: Wigan: Sibierski 82

Referee: M Clattenburg
Attendance: 31,658