Half-Time Report: James McArthur draws first blood for Wigan Athletic

James McArthur has fired Wigan Athletic in front in their Championship clash against fellow promotion chasers Brighton & Hove Albion.

The hosts started the afternoon in lively fashion, testing Ali Al-Habsi early on through Leonardo Ulloa following good build-up play from David Lopez.

Brighton dominated possession for much of the first period, but fell behind against the run of play in the 21st minute when McArthur latched onto a poor clearance before tucking the ball past Tomasz Kuszczak in the Seagulls' goal.

The home side almost responded immediately as Dale Stephens unleashed a screamer that had Al-Habsi well beaten, but his strike rebounded back into play off the underside of the crossbar.

It could have been 2-0 at the interval, but Martyn Waghorn could only curl his effort wide following a Wigan counter-attack, leaving everything to play for in the second period.