Wigan Athletic players celebrate Max Power's first-half goal against Shrewsbury
Max Power's first-half strike was his first goal since scoring against Doncaster on 15 January

Wigan Athletic secured promotion to the Championship and the League One title with a clinical victory over Shrewsbury.

The Latics only needed to draw to be certain of returning to the second tier, but needed three points to be certain of winning the title.

The final day was going to be an anxious one because of the two previous chances to seal promotion.

A tap-in by Max Power just before the break settled the nerves and a penalty and calm finish by Keane sealed the victory for a side who were just a point away from being demoted last season.

Two years after dropping out of the Championship, Wigan are back in the second tier of English football.

The Millers won over Gillingham to finish runners up, while the Dons had to settle for third place and a play-off place despite a big win over Argyle.

The Wigan side was clear from the start with Kell Watts heading over after a short corner and Power's 30-yard free-kick forcing Marosi to make a fine save.

The pressure was on when the ball fell kindly for Power to score the opener from close range two minutes before the interval and the same player was involved in the second goal when his shot from outside box was handled by Tom Flanagan.

He grabbed his second of the afternoon when he got on the end of James McClean's free-kick.

Wigan back after two years of turmoil

Will Keane scores from the penalty spot for Wigan Athletic
Will Keane's penalty made it 2-0 five minutes after the restart

Wigan have been through a lot in less than two years, so it's important to understand what it means to win promotion back to the Championship.

When the coronaviruses hit, they were not considered to be at risk of financial instability.

They entered administration in July 2020 after their Hong Kong owners said they couldn't support them financially.

With six games left, the Latics had a chance to avoid the drop to League One.

They put up a lot of effort, including beating Hull City 8-0 to equal the biggest victory in Championship history, but it wasn't enough.

A fan-led campaign to save the club raised more than half a million dollars after a failed appeal against the points deduction.

Cook and many of the Latics squad left just before the 2020-21 League One season began.

The club avoided being demoted to League Two after Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi bought the club in March of 2021.

The club has made it to the fourth round of the FA Cup this season, under Richardson's leadership.

Richardson regained their place in English football's second tier after just one defeat in their final 13 games.

'A phenomenal achievement' - analysis

Bill Rice is a sports editor.

It was only a year ago that the future of Wigan Athletic was secured with a takeover bringing the club out of administration, so to win promotion back to the Championship is a phenomenal achievement.

The consortium led by Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi has delivered on their promises, providing boss Leam Richardson with the tools to build a promotion-winning squad, and he has done just that, even overcoming the loss of Charlie Wyke, who suffered a cardiac arrest in November that ended

They wanted to become a stable Championship club from the beginning. This Wigan might not be as swashbuckling or pretty on the eye as other years gone by, but they are efficient, dangerous and manage games as well as anyone, and have performers right across the pitch to call upon when required.

The goalkeeper and defence have been solid and stable, the midfield of Tom Naylor and Max Power have won battles all season long, and the Latics have match-winners when required.

  • Line-ups
  • Match Stats
  • Live Text

Formation 3-6-2

5Pennington33Flanagan6Pierre22Daniels10Vela8Fornah3Leahy23Nurse
  • 1Marosi
  • 5Pennington
  • 33Flanagan
  • 6Pierre
  • 22Daniels
  • 10VelaBooked at 61mins
  • 8Fornah
  • 3LeahyBooked at 90mins
  • 23NurseSubstituted forWhalleyat 86'minutes
  • 12BowmanSubstituted forJannehat 90+2'minutes
  • 11UdohSubstituted forBloxhamat 88'minutes

Substitutes

  • 7Whalley
  • 13Burgoyne
  • 18Bloxham
  • 19Caton
  • 27Craig
  • 28Janneh
  • 29Barlow

Formation 3-1-4-2.

27Darikwa8Power6Cousins23McClean
  • 12Amos
  • 15Kerr
  • 5Whatmough
  • 2Watts
  • 4Naylor
  • 27Darikwa
  • 8Power
  • 6Cousins
  • 23McCleanSubstituted forBennettat 68'minutes
  • 19Lang
  • 10Keane

Substitutes

  • 1Jones
  • 7Edwards
  • 11Massey
  • 18Shinnie
  • 21Bennett
  • 30Aasgaard
  • 39Humphrys
  1. The match ended with Wigan Athletic 3.

  2. The second half ended with Wigan Athletic 3.

  3. An attempt was missed. The centre of the box is too high for Tom Naylor. Joe Bennett assisted with a cross.

  4. Wigan Athletic has a corner. Matthew Pennington was in the match.

  5. There is a yellow card for a bad foul shown to the Shrewsbury Town player.

  6. The Wigan Athletic player won a free kick on the right wing.

  7. The person is foul by the person.

  8. There is a substitution for Shrewsbury Town. Saikou replaces Ryan.

  9. An attempt was missed. A shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assist by Callum Lang.

  10. Wigan Athletic has a corner. Josh Vela was in the match.

  11. The left wing is where Jordan Cousins won the free kick.

  12. Tom Bloxham of Shrewsbury Town had a foul.

  13. There is a substitution for Shrewsbury Town. Daniel Udoh was replaced by Tom Bloxham.

  14. The free kick was won in the defensive half.

  15. Ryan Bowman of Shrewsbury Town had a foul.

  16. An attempt was missed. The left footed shot from outside the box by the Shrewsbury Town player is high and wide to the left.

  17. There is a substitution for Shrewsbury Town. George Nurse was replaced by Shaun Whalley.

  18. Foul by Tendayi Darikwa.

  19. The attacking half has a free kick.

  20. The left wing is where Jordan Cousins won the free kick.