James Vaughan made an unexpected return to resume his frontline partnership with Nahki Wells , but it was Conor Coady who stole the show with another crucial goal.

The midfielder was honest enough to admit his 82nd-minute effort was meant more as a cross than a shot.

But while it escaped the heads of his Huddersfield Town teammates, it also evaded the fingertips of home keeper Scott Carson.

The ball nestled neatly in the top right-hand corner in front of the 1,890 travelling fans in a 12,064 crowd.

And Town were on their way to a first away win since Wolves were beaten 3-1 on October 1 – when Coady also scored.

It was also Town’s first victory at the DW Stadium, each of their previous three visits having ended in defeats.

And it was a first win on Wigan turf – pretty bobbly in this instance – since 1991, when the Latics were playing at Springfield Park.

There have been some pretty momentous moments for Wigan since they moved to their current home in 1999.

They played Premier League football for eight seasons and won the FA Cup in 2013.

Now they are in danger of dropping back into League I for the first time since 2003.

While Malky Mackay’s men remain second-bottom of the Championship, Town are back up to 15th.

That’s one below their highest placing this season.

And wouldn’t it be great if they could force their way into the top half of the table with the help of a derby win at home to Leeds United on Saturday?

While that would depend on results elsewhere, Town will be focused on clinching what would be a fourth win in five league games, and leaving Leeds looking over their shoulders.

After being roughed up in the last two neighbourly disputes, they owe the fans a triumph.

Chris Powell’s side are certainly producing the goods at the moment.

Even in that 2-0 loss at Middlesbrough, there were positives.

It seemed the facial injury for Vaughan was a massive negative, and one that looked set to keep him out for months rather than weeks.

But after a visit to a specialist, he was given the green light to carry on playing with the help of a protective mask.

It meant Powell made just the one change after the Boro setback.

David Edgar, freshly signed on loan from Birmingham City for the rest of the season, came in for the injured Jonathan Hogg to make an impressive debut.

He provided a reassuring deep midfield presence, allowing Coady to get forward that bit more than usual – to telling effect.

Joel Lynch produced a sterling display in central defence, helping Town keep a first clean sheet in nine games.

And Jack Robinson was industrious against the tricky Callum McManaman, who was taken off after 64 minutes.

Mackay had made a double change nine minutes earlier as he tried to find a way to unpick the Town defence.

But Powell’s side stood firm, and for all the home team’s possession and attacking, it wasn’t often Alex Smithies was really tested.

Town, in contrast, had two headers cleared off the line in the first half.

Wells was denied by Liam Ridgewell and Town skipper Mark Hudson by Andrew Taylor.

Wells was unable to take advantage of a number of chances to add to his 11-goal tally.

Meanwhile Jacob Butterfield was denied by Carson as Town showed they meant business in an end-to-end encounter.

In a town famed for its pies, this was a pukka performance by Powell’s men.

Hopefully they can carry on where they left off and serve up a tasty lunchtime treat this Saturday.