Wigan Athletic 0 Aston Villa 0
For those of the inclination that it's grim up north, this was the perfect endorsement.
This was grim all right. Cold, grey and grim. But, after the wobble of a defeat at Anfield followed by a win at Goodison, this third visit to the North West in less than a month was also a means of Aston Villa getting their away day draw machine fully operational again.
It said everything about the overall quality of a poor match that the most exciting moment of the day was discovering that this was in fact Wigan Athletic's history-making first ever goalless draw in the Premiership — at their 50th attempt.
But then not everyone's idea of the perfect footballing stage is a freezing, cold Sunday afternoon in Wigan.
And, given that Paul Jewell's men had won their last two home games, scoring seven goals in the process, and had won this corresponding fixture seven months ago, the visiting contingent had to go home feeling fairly satisfied.
Admittedly, the closest either side came to scoring were two efforts both from Villa players, Peter Whittingham's first-half effort being cancelled out when Isaiah Osbourne's classic near-own goal struck the same post after the break.
But on a day when Villa were without Gavin McCann and Stilyan Petrov, forcing manager Martin O'Neill to select the most youthful four-man midfield in the club's history — with an average age of just 21-and-a-half — the visitors were still good value for their fifth away draw in seven league outings under their new boss.
And, although Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland did not have a save to make, the fact that his opposite number Thomas Sorensen has now gone three-and-a-half league games without conceding in the Premiership is something to be proud of.
McCann's suspension for totting up five bookings in last week's 1-0 win at Everton had meant one enforced change for O'Neill. But, with Petrov failing a pre-match fitness test on a training ground hamstring injury that had turned into back spasms, that meant a major reshuffle of the Villa engine room.
Skipper Gareth Barry returned, as expected, after the back injury inflicted on him by Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho's knee. But he returned in a central role alongside Osbourne, earning Whittingham only his third Premiership start in 15 months wide on the left.
It was Whittingham who came so close to giving the lead not long into his return too, hitting the outside of Chris Kirkland's right post on 13 minutes with a falling volley after Chris Sutton's presence had caused confusion.
But that was only after a frantic start by the home side in which, despite the injured Emile Heskey missing a reunion with his old Leicester City boss — or maybe because of that — Wigan could twice have gone in front themselves.
Jewell's men were almost ahead with their first attack, only for Sorensen to react sharply after Lee McCulloch had met Wolves old boy Henri Camara's cross with a firm header. And Villa then had another close shave when former Blues target Paul Scharner shot just wide.
Sutton also had a chance himself, when he shot just over but it was still no real surprise that, in contrast to last season's 3-2 goal feast here, the game should still have proved goalless by the break.
Just as in the first half, Wigan were fast out of the blocks again after the break. But it was a Villa player, Isaiah Osbourne, who came so close to putting the home side ahead.
Emmerson Boyce swung in a teasing cross from the right and, in attempting to clear with a grandiose diving header 12 yards out, Osbourne contrived the most horrendous miscue.
He simply got too thin a contract on his header, and the ball flew past Sorensen, rattled the base of his right post and was mercifully scrambled clear.
"I'd have killed him if that had gone in," jested O'Neill. "He'd have had no life.
"But, although I'm not sure what he was doing there, he otherwise did very well for us."
Sorensen was needed in Wigan's next attack when he bravely foiled Scharner at point blank range. And, although O'Neill opted for a reshuffle when Didier Agathe came on wide on the right, with Gabby Agbonlahor switching to the left, it only temporarily halted the general flow of traffic, Josip Skoko three times testing his shooting skills in quick succession.
Barry briefly escaped up the other end to blast Villa's best chance over the bar from 18 yards. And had Matt Jackson not got an important head to Agathe's cross, the otherwise anonymous Juan Pablo Angel would have been laying in wait and unmarked six yards out.
It was not enough to spare Angel from another early exit from the fray. And the arrival of a noticeably more lively Steven Davis to create a five-man midfield actually improved Villa's chances of engineering an opening. And Barry's hopes of forcing a way through after being set up by a bobbing, weaving Agbonlahor were thwarted only by a good block tackle from Skoko.
Villa had one more big escape when Kevin Kilbane's corner ended up in Sorensen's safe clutches only via the chest of Gary Cahill. But it was the visitors who finished the stronger.
Sutton's superbly delayed pass gave Davis the space to run down the right, only for Jackson to get the vital block in ahead of the lurking Agbonlahor and rescue his side once again.
That set up a late barrage which just needed a kind break of the ball to earn a second winning trip for Villa to the North West in eight days.
But yet another away point was what O'Neill's men had to settle for. And, in all honesty, neither team really deserved any more than that.
WIGAN ATHLETIC (4-4-2): Kirkland; Boyce, De Zeeuw, Jackson, Wright; Teale (Cotterill 75), Skoko (Landzaat 78), Scharner, Kilbane; Camara, McCulloch. Subs: Filan (gk), Johansson, Webster
ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Sorensen; Mellberg, Cahill, Ridgewell, Bouma; Agbonlahor, Osbourne, Barry, Whittingham (Agathe 50); Sutton, Angel (Davis 67). Subs: Taylor (gk), Baros, Berger
Referee: Steve Bennett (Orpington, Kent)
Booked: Jackson (foul)
Attendance: 18,455
