Eventually, the game well and truly settled as both sides went at it.
It settled into exactly the contest it had threatened to become.
Everton enjoyed spells of possession, but then when Wigan won it back, they answered by almost scoring.
Neither side managed to hold control long enough to dictate the game, each forcing the other back before the balance inevitably shifted again.
Thirty-seven minutes in, the broadcast took stock.
"Interesting game," the co-commentator said.
"Very tactical. Very disciplined and very boring to be honest. But I'll admit something... Leo Calderon hasn't influenced this one the way we've become used to."
"You think he's been quiet?" his colleague asked.
"I wouldn't say quiet. He's completed every pass he's attempted, so that isn't exactly what being quiet is."
While he went on in the gantry, he glanced down at the monitor.
"He also has a one hundred per cent pass accuracy. This means he hasn't given the ball away once."
