Things were looking bleak for the Latics when they went behind to Jason Roberts' opener midway through the first half but James McCarthy equalised, and two more well-worked goals from Hugo Rodallega and McCarthy again put Wigan in control. Christopher Samba pulled one back straightaway before Ben Watson and David Dunn netted a penalty apiece, but the hosts were not to be denied and they held on to climb out of the relegation zone. Martinez said: "The performance deserved the win. Probably the first 20 minutes we couldn't get into the tempo of the game, the pitch was allowing Blackburn to be direct and we couldn't cope with that. "Then we conceded a goal out of trying to play football and getting caught but I'm pleased that we reacted in the right manner. "It didn't affect our philosophy and the way we want to play and from then on I've seen three of the best goals you're going to see in the Premier League. "That's a side of any squad that is the biggest compliment you can pay. I'm proud of the players that they've been able to show the quality we all know they've got. "Then we've been able to close the game out, and in the last 15 minutes we were resolute, we concentrated and we showed a great maturity to get the three points." There was little sign of the drama to come as Blackburn dominated the early stages before taking the lead in the 23rd minute when great work from Junior Hoilett and Brett Emerton allowed former Latics striker Roberts to tap in. Wigan were being out-muscled but Martinez has instilled an admirable spirit into his players and they drew level 10 minutes before half-time when McCarthy tucked away the rebound after Emmerson Boyce's shot had been parried by Paul Robinson. The game really exploded into life at the start of the second half with four goals in 15 minutes. Three of those came from the home side, with Rodallega starting things off in the 50th minute by beating Samba to a Victor Moses flick and taking the ball round Robinson. Charles N'Zogbia then set up McCarthy for his second, but the midfielder still had a lot of work to do, and he did it with aplomb, juggling the ball from right foot to left before guiding a volley inside the far post. Less than two minutes later, Rovers halved the deficit as Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner picked out the head of the towering Samba, but in the 65th minute Wigan restored their two-goal advantage. Mohamed Diame jinked his way into the box and the slightest of touches from Michel Salgado was enough for referee Mike Dean to point to the spot, with Watson tucking away the penalty. There was still time for Blackburn to net a spot-kick of their own, substitute Dunn finding the bottom corner after he had been felled by a reckless lunge from Boyce, but Wigan stood firm on an increasingly sodden pitch to claim a precious three points. Blackburn have now lost three league games in a row and boss Steve Kean was left to rue his side's failure to make more of their early advantage. "We made a very good start and even after the goal we had a couple of opportunities where we could have increased the lead," he said. "It's disappointing to score three goals away from home and come away with nothing but I think it was going to be about the team who made the least amount of mistakes on a tricky afternoon, and fair play to Wigan, they got a bit of momentum and they pushed us. But I thought we showed good character to come back."
