Mark Hughes sparks Southampton to nervous quarter-final win

Mark Hughes' reign as Southampton manager began with a 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic in an FA Cup quarter-final at the DW Stadium.

League One Wigan were far the better side for large swathes of the tie but the Premier League outfit's superior nous saw them through with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg poking home the opener from close range after 62 minutes before Cedric finished off a quick break in injury-time.

The hosts had keeper Christian Walton to thank for keeping them in the match when he got a firm hand to Manolo Gabbiadini’s 72nd-minute spot-kick after Dan Burn felled the Italian.

Wigan’s breath-taking energetic first-half performance belied their League One status but their lack of proficiency in attack meant they went into the interval level with their illustrious opponents.

There are two divisions between the teams but the Latics would have deservedly led at the break if Cheyenne Dunkley and Gary Roberts had been more clinical, as both players spurned decent opportunities.

The Saints improved after the restart and would have been ahead only for Walton who spared his defender’s blushes as he made a crucial save to deny Gabbiadini after the Italian was played through by Nathan Byrne’s mis-placed back-pass.

Wigan had registered 11 corners at that point, but it was the Saints who broke the deadlock with only their third of the afternoon when Dusan Tadic’s delivery was converted by Højbjerg.

Southampton were gifted the chance to seal the tie when they were awarded a penalty as Gabbiadini was upended by Burn. Gabbiadini stepped up to take the spot-kick himself but his effort was sublimely saved by Walton.

The Latics almost levelled through substitute Noel Hunt in stoppage time but the visitors held firm in defence and then sprung a rapid counter-attack with Cedric applying the finishing touch to secure Southampton's spot in the semi-final draw for the first time since 2003.

Finally, Southampton have something to celebrate in a largely miserable campaign as they booked a place at Wembley for their first FA Cup semi-final appearance in 15 years after a hard fought battle. Saturday's results in the Premier League saw the Saints drop into the bottom three and for large parts of the first-half it seemed like the players were feeling sorry for themselves as League One Wigan dominated the proceedings. Mark Hughes was a tough tackler back in his heyday and has proved to be a no-nonsense manager - and his half-time team-talk seemed to have the desired effect. The Saints were much more organised in the second half, they moved the ball much quicker and their improved performance yielded the right result. Now they need to show similar character to save their place in the top-flight.

Produced two fantastic saves to keep his brave side in the contest. His one-handed stop to deny Gabbiadini has to go down as one of the saves of the season.

Wigan: Walton 9, Byrne 8, Burn 8, Dunkley 7, Elder 6, Morsy 6, Jacobs 7, Roberts 6, Power 7, Grigg 7, Massey 7. Subs: Hunt 6, Powell 7, Colclough 6.

Southampton: McCarthy 7, Cedric 8, Stephens 7, Hoedt 7, Bertrand 7, Hojbjerg 7, Lemina 7, Tadic 7, Boufal 6, Carrillo 5, Gabbiadini 7. Subs: Romeu N/A, Redmond 6, Long 7.

16’ - SO CLOSE! Bryne drags a low shot across the face of goal, it takes a deflection and Dunkley can't quite apply the finishing touch as the ball spins agonisingly wide of Southampton's post.

20’ - CHANCE FOR WIGAN! Massey twists and turns on the edge of the area before chipping a cross into the path of Grigg who is beaten to the ball by Stephens. But it falls to Roberts who should blast a shot at goal but instead tries to be clever with a lob and can only poke it over the bar.

57’ - FANTASTIC SAVE! A moment of madness from Byrne as the Wigan defender passes the ball straight to Gabbiadini! The Southampton forward is through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat but Walton makes himself big to block the Italian's shot.

62’ - GOAL! Wigan 0-1 Southampton: There's the breakthrough! Hojberg gets on to the end of Tadic's corner once more and this time he makes no mistake, as he wriggles free of his marker to poke it home.

72’ - PENALTY TO SOUTHAMPTON! Gabbiadini gets goal-side of Burn and the Wigan defender dives in, bringing the Italian down inside the penalty area. There can be no complaints from Wigan and Burn is booked for the foul.

73' - BRILLIANT SAVE! Walton guesses the right way and pushes Gabbiandi's venomous penalty away from goal with a strong one-handed save! Unbelievable goalkeeping.

90'+1 - CHANCE! Colclough's cross finds Hunt but his goal-bound effort is crucially headed over by Hoedt. That could have been Wigan's moment!

90'+2 - GOAL! Wigan 0-2 Southampton The Saints break from the hosts' corner and Cedric finds himself in a great position. He makes no mistake by tucking the ball into the bottom corner, beyond the reach of Walton. Great composure by the Southampton man who grabs his first goal for the club.