Wigan Athletic secured their first victory in over 13 matches with a pulsating 5-3 win over Blackburn Rovers in their Premiership clash on Saturday.

Wigan looked set for a comfortable victory by taking a 3-0 lead in the first half with goals from Denny Landzaat, Marcus Bent and Paul Scharner but a hat trick by Roque Santa Cruz in space of 15 minutes pulled Blackburn on level terms before Marcus Bent completed his hat trick late in the game to collect three vital points for Steve Bruce's side.

Wigan took the lead in the 10th minute when Bent played in Landzaat with a brilliant touch and the Dutchman raced forward to slot the ball past Friedel. Two minutes later, Bent doubled the lead when he flicked the ball over Ryan Nelson before taking control of the ball and smashing the ball past Friedel to score his first goal of the night.

The visitors looked to have received a break when referee Mark Clattenburg awarded Blackburn a penalty for a foul on Samba by Emile Heskey but Benni McCarthy's spot kick was saved brilliantly by Chris Kirkland.

Scharner made them pay for the missed chance by heading home Taylor's free kick from close range to score Wigan's third of the night. Blackburn desperately needed a way to get back into the match and the moment came seconds before the half time whistle when Santa Cruz controlled the ball superbly with his chest before smashing the ball past Kirkland.

Santa Cruz further reduced the lead 5 minutes into the second half as he latched on to a rebound from Steven Reid's header to tap in from close range. The visitors were reduced to 10 men as Emerton was shown a second yellow card in the 57th minute but that did not alter the balance as Santa Cruz completed his hat trick with a header Warnock's cross to pull his side on level terms.

However Wigan quickly retook the lead six minutes later when Bent latched on to Antonio Valencia's cross to drive home the ball and completed his hat trick in the 80th minute by converting Julius Aghahowa's cross to register Wigan's first win in over 13 matches.