TWICE in this match a chant of “England’s number one” echoed in the swirling mist. The first, early in the first half, was begun by a handful of West Bromwich Albion fans after a routine save by Baggies goalkeeper Scott Carson, and was greeted by amused derision. The second, shortly before the final whistle, recognised a performance by opposite number Chris Kirkland of genuine international standard.

That Wigan were still level when Emerson Boyce headed Jason Koumas’s corner powerfully past Carson with three minutes remaining was almost entirely down to Kirkland. After a goalless first half, the only notable moment of which came when Henri Camara contrived to strike a volley over an empty goal from no more than four yards, Albion had taken the lead in circumstances that will be wearily familiar to anybody who has followed the career of Titus Bramble.

Where there is Bramble there is always hope for the opposition, and the second half was barely a minute old when the defender duly came up with yet another memorable blunder, failing to control Boyce’s straightforward pass and allowing Ishmael Miller all the time he needed to run clear and beat Kirkland low to the goalkeeper’s right.

It was not Bramble’s first mistake — it had taken a fine covering tackle from Boyce to rescue his defensive partner from a similar error in the first half — and it was not to be his last. Albion should have gone two up almost immediately when Miller beat Bramble in the air to head the ball on for James Morrison to run through. Kirkland blocked with his feet and the goalkeeper did equally well to save Chris Brunt’s right-footed drive from inside the penalty area soon afterwards.

Given how hard Albion have found it to keep clean sheets this season, their supporters must have known a single goal would not be enough, and they were right. Unlike Bramble, Paul Robinson does not have a reputation for being indecisive, but the full-back’s attempt to head the ball back to his goalkeeper after Emile Heskey headed on Ryan Taylor’s long free kick lacked power, and Camara, twisting athletically in mid-air, turned it past Carson to level matters.

Albion still had chances to win the game. Brunt’s corner was met solidly by Jonas Olsson from six yards only for Kirkland to pull off a brilliant one-handed reaction save. The goalkeeper was at his best again moments later, diving to his left to push away a Jonathan Greening shot through a crowd of players.

“We take the win and move on and thank our goalkeeper, who was absolutely fantastic,” said Wigan’s manager, Steve Bruce. “The turning point was the save from Morrison. They’ll feel mugged, West Brom, and rightly so.” Bruce added that one of the keys to Kirkland’s form has been the change in training regime, which has so far this season kept the previously injury-prone goalkeeper on the pitch.

While his back continues to be a problem, Wigan have cut the amount of time Kirkland spends on the training field, while increasing the work done on strengthening, conditioning and stability.

For Albion’s manager, Tony Mowbray, the story was a familiar one of an attractive performance without reward. “We created more than enough chances to win the game, but then lacked a bit of concentration at the end and lost it.

“I always try to look past the result, and I enjoyed watching my team play today,” he said, though given Albion have now picked up just a single point from their past eight games, the need to win ugly is pressing. Bruce sympathised, but only up to a point. “It’s vitally important to be able to pick up points when you haven’t played well, especially against teams at the bottom with you. We struggled today against a very good West Brom side who passed the ball well, but we’ve still put some daylight between us. When you get chances at this level, you have to stick them away.”

Star man: Chris Kirkland (Wigan)

Yellow cards: West Brom: Miller, Greening

WIGAN: Kirkland 8, Taylor 6 (Melchiot 69min), Bramble 5, Boyce 6, Figueroa 6 (Kilbane 80min), Valencia 5, Brown 6 (Koumas 60min, 6), Cattermole 6, Palacios 4, Heskey 7, Camara 6

WEST BROM: Carson 6, Zuiverloon 6, Meite 5, Olsson 6, Robinson 5, Morrison 6 (Moore 88min), Koren 6, Greening 6, Valero 6, Brunt 6 (Bednar 88min), Miller 6.

Referee: P Dowd

Attendance: 17,054