In a dress-rehearsal for the F.A. Cup final, Wigan proved they can more than stand up to the test against the might of Manchester City, with the reigning English Premier League champions needing a stunning late strike from Carlos Tevez to seal an unconvincing 1-0 win.

The Etihad is quite a fortress for Man City, but for the first hour, it was Wigan that looked the more dangerous side, and City manager Roberto Mancini admitted his side got lucky with the win, while blaming tiredness for the team's lacklustre performance.

"Wigan played very well and whenever we play them, it is always a very difficult game," Mancini said. 

"For 60 minutes they were the better team but after that, we improved and created three or four chances to score.

"It was hard work because we were so tired because we played two important games in five days and we played the last game three days ago.

"It was a difficult game but we knew this before the game. Wigan play good football, they play really well.

"Credit to Wigan. They play good football and have a very good manager in Roberto Martinez -- for this reason, I believe they will stay up."

The result leaves City 13 points behind Manchester United, with a game in hand, while Wigan stay third bottom, three points adrift of safety.

Martinez felt his side deserved a win against the champions, saying the loss was a result of Wigan not taking their chances when it was presented.

"There isn't another team in the last two years who have produced the kind of statistics that we have, which is a compliment to the squad and a benchmark to maintain for the rest of the season," he said.

"The reason we didn't win is simple: we didn't take our chances. Overall, that was the best performance we've produced against a top-four club in many years, from start to finish we had a clear intention of winning the game and the players adapted themselves to the tactical demands of the game in an incredible manner.

"When you look back at the game and see that you've limited Manchester City to two efforts on target and enjoyed the majority of possession it shows the level of performance the players produced.

"The difference between taking three points of course is taking those chances you create, and we must remember that we were taking on an outstanding side who don't need to be better than their opponents to win a football game -- a piece of magic brought them their goal."