Second-half goals from Dan Burn and Nick Powell earned 10-man Wigan a 2-1 win at Scunthorpe.
The Latics' goals sandwiched a 57th-minute red card for midfielder Lee Evans, who pushed his head into the face of the Iron's Funso Ojo after being fouled by the Belgian.
In a battle between the two sides to have conceded the fewest goals in the third tier, defences were perhaps expectedly on top during the opening 45 minutes, though the Iron's Rory McArdle had a header cleared off the line.
The Latics turned up the heat after the break, with stand-in skipper Burn lashing them in front six minutes in after being allowed to turn in the penalty area.
United enjoyed their best spell of possession in the wake of Evans' sending off, but produced little to test goalkeeper Jamie Jones.
And when a long ball out of defence by the Wigan stopper was misjudged by McArdle, the impressive Powell nipped in to find the far corner of the net from a tight angle.
Ojo fired in as the game entered stoppage-time to give Scunthorpe hope, but it was no more than a consolation.
Source: PA
