Uwe Rosler endorsed referee Keith Stroud’s decision to abandon Wednesday night’s match at rain-lashed Hillsborough, even though it probably denied him a second successive victory as Wigan manager.

Rosler’s side were 1-0 up and dominating play when the game was halted after 59 minutes. By that stage the pitch was covered in puddles after a downpour of monsoon proportions.

‘It was very harsh for us after that performance but I thought the referee was excellent and did the right thing,’ Rosler said. ‘The last straw was when Nick Powell went through and couldn’t convert a one on one (because of the surface water).’

James McClean’s first-half goal did not come close to reflecting Wigan’s dominance. The Wigan striker seized on a poor clearance by Roger Johnson to dart through a gap and fire low past goalkeeper Damian Martinez.

Stuart Gray, Wednesday’s caretaker boss, was grateful to get another chance at Wigan. He said: ‘It was a get-out-of-jail-free card for us. I was totally disappointed with the first half. We got outplayed… bullied. I was happy to be only one-nil down.’

Wednesday stepped up a gear after the break but so did the lashing rain. Conditions became so farcical that there were no complaints about the abandonment from the 22,000 crowd as the pitch was clearly unplayable. Wednesday stay in the bottom three having known that a point would have lifted them clear of the relegation places for the first time this season.

Rosler, who tested his squad by making five changes from the team that beat Bolton 3-2 on Sunday, added: ‘I enjoyed so much how we played in the first half. The only thing to criticise is that we didn’t score more.’

But that would only have deepened the regret. Only Roger Johnson tested Wigan keeper Scott Carson, having had a first-half header palmed to safety.

Powell fired too close to Martinez with a first-half chance but his later miss was instantly forgivable.

—Daily Mail