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Young Wigan Athletic side held to goalless draw by Southport in pre-season outing A youthful Wigan Athletic side were held to a goalless draw by Southport on Friday evening. Gary Caldwell handed opportunities to some youngsters, returning players and trialists in a low-key encounter at Haig Avenue that produced few clear-cut chances. It was the first of two friendlies in 24 hours for Wigan, with another XI set to travel to Grimsby on Saturday, bringing the pre-season schedule to a close. Llyton Chapman made his first appearance since April following injury, while three trialists started - former Portsmouth defender Tom McIntyre, ex-Birmingham City striker Scott Hogan and defender Archie Harris, who left Bournemouth at the end of last season. Southport made the brighter start and almost took the lead after six minutes when Jordan Slew flashed a dangerous cross across the goal, but nobody could apply the finishing touch. Two minutes later, Luke Griffiths’ free-kick picked out Sol Solomon, whose deflected effort went behind for a corner as the hosts continued to threaten. Latics’ first opening came on 10 minutes when K’Marni Miller slipped Kai Payne through on goal, but his effort was well saved. Slew proved somewhat of a handful for Wigan’s defence, his teasing cross drifted beyond everyone before bouncing back off the crossbar, while at the other end Miller was denied by a sharp piece of goalkeeping after looking set to latch onto a loose ball. It was a typical pre-season contest that rarely found top gear, but it offered valuable minutes for Wigan’s youngsters and trialists as they looked to stake their claim ahead of the new season. The second half followed a similar pattern, with both sides enjoying spells of possession but creating little in the final third. Miller had Wigan’s best chance either side of the hour mark. First, he led a promising counter-attack but stumbled over the ball instead of picking out one of two team-mates in support. Moments later, he burst into the box from the right but took a heavy touch, and the chance slipped away. The game finally opened up in the closing stages. Slew forced Tom Watson into a smart save from close range before Payne fired over from distance. The best opportunity of the match fell to former Latics academy graduate Christy Evans, who left the club in the summer. Introduced from the bench for Southport, he burst into the penalty area before dragging his shot narrowly wide. Watson was called into action just before the close of play too with Jules Flanagan also being allowed to get a shot off from close range. Latics thought they had one it in stoppage time, but the flag went up as half-time sub Cole Simms tapped home. Southport: Honor, Minihan, Burgess, Williams (Jameson 22), Davies, Griffiths, Lavelle, Solomon, McKenzie (Edwards 60), Slew (Flanagan 76), Ogwruru. Subs: McMillan, Dwyer, Pike, Perritt, Cunningham, Cowan, Griffiths, Wynne, Lloyd, Elliott. Latics: Watson, Chilokoa-Mullen, Trialist (Spelman 45), Trialist, Chapman (Bolland 45), Miller, Brenan (Greenhalgh 70), Trialist (Simms 45), Mustapha (Rimmer 70), Payne (McManaman 70), Adeeko. Subs: Spinelli, Gilbertson.