Striker Hugo Rodallega scored his third goal in four matches as Wigan Athletic ended a run of three successive defeats by beating Portsmouth 1-0 at the JJB Stadium.

The Colombia striker had the simplest of tap-ins from three yards after Sol Campbell completely missed Charles N'Zogbia's 27th-minute cross.

Victory ended a dismal spell that had seen the Latics take only one point from the previous seven matches and was only their fourth win since the turn of the year.

It was that form that put paid to their hopes of European football next season as they dropped out of contention for seventh place having secured their top-flight future at the end of March.

However, they finished 11th in the Barclays Premier League table, their best since the all-time high of 10th under Paul Jewell in 2005/06.

For Portsmouth, who seemed to be resigned to their fate about 15 minutes into the second half, this was a 13th match on the road without victory.

Antonio Valencia soon displayed the kind of trickery that has reportedly attracted interest from Real Madrid and Manchester United, to name but two.

He cut inside left-back Hermann Hreidarsson, weaved his way past a static defence and into the penalty area but, when he pulled his cross back, Rodallega blazed over.

Portsmouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, deputising for the injured David James, then had to face a flurry of action.

He tipped over Daniel de Ridder's free-kick from right on the edge of the penalty area before producing a smart double save from Emmerson Boyce and Rodallega from the resulting corner.

Valencia was obviously enjoying his finale, looking more threatening than he had since the turn of the year, and he gave Hreidarsson a torrid time.

In the 26th minute a sharp passing move between Rodallega and Valencia put De Ridder through but he delayed his shot and Richard Hughes got back to make a crucial tackle.

However, the hosts' persistence was rewarded with a goal less than a minute later.

N'Zogbia's cross from the left had a number of defenders to beat before it reached Rodallega but Campbell missed his kick and the Colombia striker had a simple three-yard tap-in at the far post.

Mario Melchiot had two golden chances in the 35th minute and, had they fallen to a more offensively-minded player, the Latics would probably have been further ahead.

The right-back drove towards the penalty area, exchanged passes with Rodallega but fired straight at Begovic and blasted the rebound over.

Valencia then sliced a shot into the side-netting from 12 yards before Hreidarsson, who had been given a rough ride by the Ecuador international, was booked for yet another foul on the winger.

He was lucky not to be punished further after booting the ball away and then appearing to manhandle referee Phil Dowd in his protest.

Early in the second half, Titus Bramble, Wigan's player of the year, and Melchiot both produced timely tackles to deny John Utaka and Peter Crouch in the same attack as Portsmouth began the second half more positively.

But it was not long before the hosts re-established control and Hughes and Crouch were both booked for crude fouls on De Ridder and N'Zogbia.

Rodallega squandered a 59th-minute opportunity to make it a more comfortable evening for Wigan, though.

Hreidarsson's poor game continued as he lost the ball in midfield, allowing Valencia to break and slip a pass into the goalscorer but he failed to test the keeper by shooting into the side-netting.

Boyce did the same from De Ridder's cross after he was allowed to chest the ball down in the penalty area by Portsmouth's motionless defence.

Seventeen-year-old forward Callum McManaman, making his first-team debut as a late substitute, set up Valencia when he rolled the ball under his foot only for his team-mate to blaze over from a narrow angle.

But the result never really seemed to be in doubt as most of Portsmouth failed to test Wigan's defence.