Wigan Athletic have one foot in the Championship playoff final after taking a 1-0 lead in the second leg of their semi-final tie against Queens Park Rangers this evening.
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The hosts tried to force an early goal from a third-minute corner, but Scott Carson cleared the initial danger for the visitors before Kevin Doyle volleyed high from 25 yards out.
However, it was Wigan who took the lead just a few minutes later when James McClean sent in a low cross for James Perch, who had a simple tap-in from close range for the opening goal of the tie.
Perch had a chance to set up a second for the Latics 25 minutes in, delivering a cross for Shaun Maloney, but his deflected strike was comfortably saved by Robert Green.
Carson was on hand to keep Wigan in front shortly before the break when Niko Kranjcar got the better of Jordi Gomez on the edge of the box before firing a powerful strike towards the visitors' goal, but the keeper denied QPR the equaliser.
Sian Cowper
