DO NOT avert your gaze at the sight of another goalless game, for this was a story of triumph, a gutsy demonstration of what is possible when a team dig in. Wigan had 32 points before yesterday but not one as fiercely sought or as richly deserved as this one. If it hadn’t been so damn cold, you would have taken off your hat to them.

Four times in the second half Wigan players blocked or cleared the ball off their goalline. When left-back Maynor Figueroa made two of those saves in one bizarre five-second sequence, every Villa fan in the 41,766 crowd was cheering for the goal they were convinced had been scored. How Figueroa made those saves was a wonder, an example of pure and inspired defiance.

The Honduran epitomised his side’s performance. Where he comes from, the average annual temperature is about 90F. He will never have played in conditions as cold as this but he was a key figure in a team effort that warmed your heart. “I don’t know how many challenges Figueroa made,” said his manager, Steve Bruce, “but for bravery and resilience you couldn’t have asked for more. I can’t remember a team of mine being under the cosh so much and getting away with it.”

Wigan’s never-say-die spirit was everywhere: in the concentration of Emmerson Boyce, in the steely, error-free performance of Titus Bramble and in the two goalline blocks that Paul Scharner made late in the second half. All the while, Wigan stayed alert to the possibility of creating something on the counter- attack, and that gave the second half a wonderful, almost subversive subplot.

After an average first-half performance, Villa were a far better team in the second period. They made lots of chances, many from set-pieces, and were twice denied by the woodwork. They won’t feel overly disappointed because they were undone not by their failings but by Wigan’s bravery. Through their absolute supremacy in the second half, Villa’s central midfielders, Gareth Barry and Stiliyan Petrov, excelled.

At the end there was another reminder of Martin O’Neill’s man-management qualities. Not to have taken three points from a game that might have been won by three or four goals must have been galling, but O’Neill invariably empathises with his players.

“When you see how drained our players are in the dressing room, they could not have put any more into the game than they did,” he said. “When you see that, you feel a certain pride.

“They are putting a phenomenal effort into every game, a physical effort. They work so hard and want to keep going and they are getting a lot of enjoyment out of being in this position.

“Wigan had drawn with Liverpool only a couple of days ago and they are a fine side. They had a couple of chances, but the second half belonged to us, but we could not force the ball in. It was relentless. It wasn’t just one chance every 10 minutes, it was non-stop, but it didn’t happen for us.”

O’Neill understands the need to keep morale as high as possible. It may seem a minor contribution but it lay at the heart of Villa’s unrelenting and passionate pursuit of the winning goal. Their chance of claiming a top-four place in May depends on team spirit remaining strong.

And O’Neill was pleased to have striker John Carew available again after a 2½ month lay-off with a back problem. He came on as a second-half substitute. “He has been out a long time, since playing the last 15 minutes against Manchester United,” O’Neill pointed out. “We have done very well indeed since then. But it is good to have him available as another option for what lies ahead.”

Perhaps the one justifiable criticism of Villa’s performance yesterday was that they were too conservative through a first half that seemed to be ambling to a goalless conclusion until Michael Brown played a sweet ball into the path of Figueroa, who powered a header close enough to Brad Friedel to allow the goalkeeper to make an excellent save. How easily Villa could have been behind.

They were much improved in the second period. Figueroa and Scharner made heroic goalline clearances, Zat Knight headed against the post, Figueroa made an excellent block on the ever-dangerous Gabriel Agbonlahor, and the more their goal was endangered, the more resilient Wigan became.

They coped with Agbonlahor, they restricted their old teammate Emile Heskey to a couple of half- chances, they got on without their injured stars, Antonio Valencia and Amr Zaki.

Bruce admitted that “we got away with a point.

“It was backs to the wall for much of the time,” he added. “We were out on our feet after the midweek game against Liverpool.

“We rode our luck a bit but we had people who were brave and prepared to put their body on the line — and in the first half, we had the best two chances. In the second half it was an onslaught and we had to hold on. Our attitude was terrific.”

Bruce also announced that Valencia had turned down a loan move to Real Madrid, preferring the JJB stadium to the Bernabeu.

You may laugh, but anybody who witnessed Wigan’s spirit yesterday would understand why Valencia is prepared to stay where he is.

ASTON VILLA: Friedel 7, Cuellar 5, Knight 6, Davies 6, Young 6, Gardner 5 (Carew 62min), Petrov 7, Barry 7, Milner 6, Heskey 5, Agbonlahor 7

WIGAN ATHLETIC: Kirkland 7, Melchiot 6, Boyce 7, Bramble 7, Figueroa 8, De Ridder 7 (Rodallega 46min, 6), Cattermole 6, Scharner 6 (Watson 77min), Koumas 6, Brown 7, Mido 5