Ryan Lowe marked his first home game in charge of Wigan with a 1-1 draw against Barnsley in Sky Bet League One.
Substitute Maleace Asamoah cancelled out Davis Keillor-Dunn’s early opener for the visitors with 13 minutes left.
Chris Sze – making his first league start since the opening day – almost gave Lowe the perfect beginning, only to see a close-range effort somehow blocked on the line.
It was Barnsley who took the lead on eight minutes when Keillor-Dunn curled a brilliant free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards.
Barnsley thought they had a second before the break when a right-wing free-kick was finished off by Conor McCarthy at the far post but the flag was quickly up for offside.
Wigan finally found a leveller when Asamoah took advantage of a mix-up at the back to roll the ball into an empty net.
There was a flashpoint when former Wigan forward Stephen Humphrys – just on as a sub – was dragged down by ‘last man’ Jason Kerr, only for referee Sebastian Stockbridge to brandish a yellow card.
Wigan almost won it at the end when Joseph Hungbo, another replacement, drilled goalwards but goalkeeper Kieren Flavell tipped his effort round the post.
