Wigan boss Leam Richardson said his side “found a way to win” after Callum Lang’s brace helped them book their place in the FA Cup third round with a 2-1 victory at Colchester

Lang gave Wigan a 24th-minute lead when he finished well at the far post, from Gavin Massey’s precise cross.

And although Colchester equalised in first-half stoppage time when Freddie Sears brilliantly slotted into the net off the post from the edge of the area from Armando Dobra’s pass, the Latics grabbed a 75th-minute winner when Lang raced onto substitute Tom Naylor’s pass and finished well.

Richardson said: “I thought the game was fairly even but you’ve got to find a way to win in a cup competition and get through to the next round and thankfully, we did that today.

“We can be better in a lot of places and in a lot of moments in the game.

“The selection was due to a few people having injections through the week and a few people have needed the minutes but we were respectful of the competition and respectful of the team we were playing.

“Colchester are in a real good vein of form and they had some really experienced players out there who have played hundreds of games in the Championship and League One.

“It was a difficult game but I think we shaded it in terms of shots and chances created on their goal and we had the bit of quality that came through.”

League Two side Colchester produced a spirited display against their higher-division opponents and pressed Wigan hard.

Colchester head coach Hayden Mullins said: “For everything that they did, I think the two goals we gave away were quite cheap.

“We were always in the tie and we created chances but we just didn’t have enough quality to take them.

“We were up against a good side and a powerful side. You can tell why they’re top of League One; they have a good shape about them and they play well.

“We matched them in certain aspects today and I was happy with the chances we created.

“It was a fantastic finish by Freddie (Sears) and it was good to see him keep his run going and keep him chipping in the goals. It was a really well-worked team goal and Freddie finished it really well.

“Wigan changed shape and for them to come here and do that was a bit of a compliment to us, which took us a little while to adapt to.

“It was always going to be hard for us after they scored their second goal.”