MATCH SUMMARY Wigan: (16) 24 Tries: Higham, McAvoy, Fletcher Goals: Dobson 6 Catalans Dragons: (12) 18 Tries: Beattie, Verges, Wilson Goals: Jones, Rinaldi, Frayssinous

Chris Beattie ploughed over for the French side in the first minute of the match after an error by Bryan Fletcher.

But Wigan fought back with first-half tries through Mick Higham and Nathan McAvoy as the Dragons were left to rue fluffing a couple of scoring chances.

Fletcher stretched Wigan's lead to 12 points but John Wilson's late try for the Dragons ensured a nervy finish.

The victories of fellow relegation strugglers Wakefield and Castleford earlier in the day had piled the pressure on Wigan.

And it showed as they began slowly and nervously against Catalans, who are second to bottom in the Super League but are exempt from relegation for three seasons.

Tries from Higham and McAvoy and some accurate kicking from Dobson steadied Wigan nerves as the half progressed.

The Dragons were guilty of too many errors, most crucially when Bruno Verges and Wilson both converged on Sean Rudder's clever kick into space and the golden try-scoring opportunity went begging.

Wigan went in 16-12 up at half-time thanks to Dobson's solid kicking and looked less nervous after the break.

Catalans, who beat Wigan in the opening game of the season, continued to press but were still unable to eradicate their errors.

Wilson ran half the length of the pitch to score a try three minutes from the end to ensure a tense few minutes for Wigan fans.

But the 11,000-strong crowd at the JJB Stadium, who had given a warm ovation to the returning Kris Radlinski before the game, were finally able to cheer a desperately needed victory.