Sunderland's season continues to confound and confuse.
A side that had been humiliated 6-0 just 15 miles up the road at Bolton less than a month ago, had since been further humbled by Doncaster, Cheltenham and MK Dons, and held by AFC Wimbledon and Burton Albion, looked like lambs to the slaughter as they arrived at Wigan.
Winless in six games and with just one win in ten since the turn of the year, even the most optimistic of the 4,800 fans who made the journey across the Pennines must have feared the worst.
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Especially given the Latics were second in the table, within striking distance of the summit, and had not lost on home turf since October.
Sure, Sunderland had beaten Wigan twice already this season, but those victories had come on the opening day in the League on Wearside and in September in the Carabao Cup at the DW Stadium, and that all felt a very, very, long time ago.
Yet in this third meeting, Sunderland were in front inside 120 seconds, had a two-goal cushion before half-time, added a third goal near the end to end up comfortable winners and with a clean sheet to boot.
Wigan's bumper 20,000 crowd - swelled by a 'bring two friends free' promotion for home season ticket holders - did not wait for the whistle, with many heading for the exits as soon as the third goal went in rather than watch the closing stages.
It was, in its own way, just as remarkable a result as that heavy defeat at Bolton at the end of January.
That scoreline came completely out of the blue, and this one was equally unexpected.
The defeat at Bolton proved to be the final act for Johnson and, in one of those neat twists of fate, this win was his successor Alex Neil's first since taking charge.
"We got the gameplan spot on today and the lads carried it out very well."
Neil's 15-word post-match summary was overly-simplistic, but it also hit the nail squarely on the head.
Sunderland managed to cut out the majority of the mistakes for which they have been punished in recent weeks - and those they did make, Wigan did not take advantage of - and they looked more comfortable back in the 4-2-3-1 shape they have used for much of the season.
They seemed to have more energy, showed more defensive resilience, did the basics better, and were also the beneficiaries of two penalty decisions (both of which the officials called correctly).
And they kept Wigan largely at arm's length, allowing the hosts just one clear-cut chance in the second half which brought a fine save out of Anthony Patterson.
Neil took a risk by resting the overworked Callum Doyle and handing Arbenit Xhemajli his League One debut, despite the fact the Kosovo international had played only one senior game - in the EFL Trophy back at the beginning of December - since recovering from the knee ligament injury that had sidelined him for more than a year.
But that gamble paid off, with Xhemajli impressing alongside Bailey Wright at the heart of defence.
It was Wright who headed Sunderland in front early on, applying the finish to an Alex Pritchard free-kick.
And Ross Stewart notched goals number 21 and 22 for the season, both of which came from the penalty spot, as he converted just before the break after he had been fouled by Curtis Tilt, and again a couple of minutes from the end after Tendayi Darikwa had been penalised for handball.
It all added up to a win that they richly deserved, a win that put a dent in Wigan's hopes of winning the title, but the disappointment from Sunderland's point of view was that it was effectively irrelevant as far as improving their own automatic promotion prospects.
Too much damage has been done already for that to be the case.
But it is a step in the right direction as far as Sunderland's quest to secure a play-off place are concerned, as they moved up one place to fifth in the table.
They still have a fight on their hands, however.
Sicth-placed Sheffield Wednesday are just a point behind them, and seventh-placed Plymouth are a further point back, and both of those clubs have two games in hand of Neil's men.
Wycombe could move to within a point of Sunderland if they win their game in hand, and even Ipswich and Bolton cannnot be discounted if they hit form and the Black Cats do not build on this result.
This must be a turning point, not merely a one-off.
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