• Date: Sat 16 August 2008
  • Venue: Upton Park
  • Ref: Bennett, S
  • Attendance: 32,758
West Ham United

West Ham United

Ashton (3)

Ashton (10)

2 - 1

West Ham United vs Wigan Athletic

Team Lineups

West Ham United

Robert Green
Lucas Neill
Matthew Upson
Calum Davenport
Valon Behrami
Matthew Etherington
Scott Parker (Hayden Mullins, 72)
Mark Noble
Julien Faubert (Luis Boa Morte, 86)
Dean Ashton (Freddie Sears, 73)
Carlton Cole

Wigan Athletic

Chris Kirkland
Maynor Figueroa
Paul Scharner (Jason Koumas, 83)
Emmerson Boyce
Mario Melchiot (Daniel de Ridder, 83)
Olivier Kapo
Luis Antonio Valencia
Wilson Palacios
Lee Cattermole (Antoine Sibierski, 85)
Emile Heskey
Amr Zaki


Live Text Commentary
Full time
 

FULL-TIME: WEST HAM 2-1 WIGAN ATHLETIC

90

That's the final whistle and it's three points for West Ham despite Wigan dominating the second half.

90

Wigan are piling on the pressure now as the latest attack ends with Zaki blasting the ball over from seven yards. Is that it for the away side?

90

Three minutes remaining for Wigan to grab an equaliser.

90

Koumas looks to get the equaliser for his side, but his curling effort goes comfortably over the bar. That was a waste.

89

Corner for Wigan is taken by De Ridder and almost falls to Zaki, but is cleared away by West Ham.

88

Excellent play from Zaki once again - he is having a great game. This time he wins a corner after some skilful play.

87

The resulting corner is taken by Etherington and is headed just wide by Davenport. That would have sealed the three points.

87

Sears wins a corner for his side - the youngster has been very lively since coming on, it has to be said.

86
Substitution
 

Faubert is replaced by Luis Boa Morte for the home side as they look to hold onto their lead.

86
Substitution
 

Antoine Sibierski comes on for Wigan in their final change of the match.

85

Wigan have lost their way slightly now and West Ham are having more of the ball.

83
Substitution
 

Melchiot and Scharner are replaced by Jason Koumas and Daniel De Ridder for the away side.

82

West Ham have a rare attack led by Sears who fires the ball towards goal only for it to be blocked by Scharner.

81

Cattermole wins the ball of Noble to launch another Wigan attack, but West Ham manage to get the ball away. Perhaps Wigan are passing the ball too much and a more direct approach might worry West Ham more at this stage.

79

Heskey finds Valencia in the penalty box, but under pressure from a couple of West Ham defenders, he fails to get a shot away and Green claims it well.

78

The crowd is very quiet and this could be a long 12 minutes for them. Wigan deserve a draw, but as we all know, you don't get everything you deserve in football.

77

Figueroa has certainly not got his shooting boots on today - another shot from him goes wide of the target.

76

Valencia and Melchiot work well together before they find Palacios who forces a fantastic save from Green.

74

West Ham will be hoping that they have weathered the Wigan storm now. They must start to get more of the ball if they are to avoid throwing away their two goal lead.

72
Substitution
 

It's another change for the home side as Parker is replaced by Hayden Mullins.

71
Substitution
 

That change is happening now. Ashton is replaced by Freddie Sears for the home side. Can he make an impact?

70

There has been very little attacking threat from West Ham in this half. Curbishley must be considering a substitution soon to try and change their fortunes.

69

Ashton has a good chance to grab his third goal, but his free kick is fired high and wide. Awful attempt.

67

Another chance for Zaki. This time the striker volleys the ball over bar after a Scharner flick on.

66

Wigan almost get their equaliser, but Zaki miscues his header which goes wide of the post. He had so much time and he won't get many better chances than that.

65

Corner for Wigan is headed clear by Cole for the home side, but the ball falls to Valencia who fires the ball towards goal only for it to be blocked by Davenport. West Ham are riding their luck now.

64

For the record, Zaki's strike just after half time was the 700th goal West Ham have conceded in their Premier League history.

63

Just as West Ham finally get the ball, they are stopped by a fantastic challenge from Cattermole. The home crowd are staring to get very frustrated with their team.

61

Wigan are starting to dominate and having a lot of the ball. They need to score in this period of dominance.

60

Counter attack from the away side sees Wilson Palacios fire just wide from distance. He should have probably passed it though, Heskey was waiting in the middle.

59

Zaki has tremendous pace and is using it very well. This time though his run through on goal is stopped by the offside flag.

58

This is turning into a very entertaining game now. Both sides will know the importance of the next goal.

56

Faubert hits a vicious strike from long range, but it is claimed well by Kirkland. That ball was travelling at some speed.

55

Ashton looks to burst through the Wigan defence, but is stopped by a strong challenge by Scharner. Excellent defending.

54

Figueroa tries his luck from distance for the third time today - this attempt is closer but still fails to test Green.

53

Steve Bruce will be so happy with his new signing Zaki. Not only has he got himself a goal, but he has caused all sorts of problems for West Ham.

52

Corner for West Ham taken by Faubert fails to create anything and is cleared by the Wigan defence. However, the ball falls to Cole who watches as his shot goes wide of the post.

51

You get the feeling that West Ham will get very nervous every time Wigan attack now. The crowd is certainly on edge.

50

Ashton fails to get the ball under control as he looks to test the Wigan defence and loses possesion - not happening for the big man in this half so far.

49
Yellow Card
 

Davenport is booked for a foul on Zaki.

49

That's exactly what Steve Bruce would have wanted at the start of this half - this game could be very interesting now.

47
Goal
 

The perfect start for the away side to the second half. Heskey flicks the ball on and Zaki smashes the ball into the net. Great goal.

46

Ashton looks the start the second half as he did the first - but he fires the ball wide after a great pass from Etherington.

Second half
 

The second half is underway with Wigan searching for an early goal to give themselves a chance of a decent result.

Half time
 

That's half time. Wigan find themselves 2-0 down and have it all to do in the second half.

45

A sramble in the box almost sees West Ham extend their lead but Boyce manages to clear the danger for Wigan.

45

There will be two minutes added on in the first half - can Wigan grab a goal?

43

West Ham have got most of their players behind the ball now and will be happy when the half time whistle goes.

42

As we approach half time, Wigan could really do with getting themselves a goal. Score now and they will be more confident going into the second half.

40

Corner for the away side is taken short and wasted as Valencia loses the ball to Julien Faubert. What a waste.

39
Yellow Card
 

Parker is booked for the foul on Wilson and rightly so - poor challenge from the West Ham midfielder.

38

Wilson Palacios latches onto a Melchiot pass as he bursts forward, before he is brought down by Parker.

37

Cattermole does well again for his new side. This time he challenges Etherington and wins a throw in. He's Wigan's best player at present and is working very hard to get them back into this game.

36

Matthew Upson launches the ball forward, but it Cattermole does well to intercept it before winning a free kick for his side.

34

Cole and Melchiot exchange a few words after a collison - they have been at it all game, with Cole on top at the moment - it has to be said.

32

Valencia works his way down the right hand side and produces an outswinging cross which is fantastically claimed by Green. Top work from the West Ham keeper.

31

The game has hit a rather quiet spell now, Alan Curbishley will be happy enough with that as his side are leading by two goals.

30

Should Wigan fail to launch a come back, it will be the first time they have lost at Upton Park since November 2003.

28

Figueroa tries another speculative effort from long range and fails to test Green in the West Ham net - he obviously fancies his chances from distance!

27

West Ham take a quick free kick which finds Cole who watches as his flick on is saved by Kirkland. Wigan need to improve at the back or this could be a thrashing. They just aren't with it at all.

25

Mario Melchiot gives the ball away to Parker, but luckily nothing comes from the attack. That was awful play from the Wigan defender and he nearly cost his side there.

23

Ashton almost grabs his hat-trick, but Figueroa cuts out Etherington's cross before it can reach the striker.

22

Zaki continues worry the West Ham defence as his dangerous cross has to be headed behind by Calum Davenport.

21

Steve Bruce will be encouraged by the way his side are attacking, but will be angry with the two goals they have conceded.

19

The away side are creating a lot now, Olivier Kapo and Zaki work well on the left wing before the latter's cross just avades the players in the penalty area.

18

Maynor Figueroa wastes a chance to launch a counter attack for Wigan as he tries an ambitious shot from long range which goes way off target and doesn't test Green at all.

16

Luis Antonio Valencia's corner for Wigan is headed down by Emile Heskey for Zaki who sees his shot cleared off the line by Cole.

15

From the resulting corner, Carlton Cole leaps above everyone and his header is turned over the bar by Kirkland - good save.

14

Matthew Etherington bursts down the left hand side, but is stopped by some excellent defending by Emmerson Boyce.

14

Wigan need to score next if they are to get themselves back into this game. They have been dangerous on the break so there is every chance.

13

Ashton scored 11 Premier League goals last season and he is now well on his way this campaign after just a few minutes.

12

That is a killer blow for Steve Bruce and Wigan - the corner shouldn't have even made it through to Ashton who was inside the six yard box.

9
Goal
 

Ashton gets his second goal of the game as he gets on the end of a corner. There was a chance he was offside, but it's 2-0.

9

Scott Parker wins the ball in midfield and plays the ball back to his keeper Robert Green - it's good to see the former Chelsea midfielder fit for the new season.

8

When these sides met last season at Upton Park, the game ended 1-1. Wigan can take heart from that.

7

Wigan have actually had most of the ball so far and Amr Zaki has their first chance of the game - but he fires his shot over the bar.

5

It's a great start from the home side, it was their first chance of the game and should settle the early season nerves.

3
Goal
 

Ashton is involved again, but this time he gets the first goal of the game. He chested the ball down and smashed it past Chris Kirkland.

3

Mark Noble knocks the ball forward, but Dean Ashton can't keep the ball under control and Wigan win back possesion.

2

Lee Cattermole gets himself involved early on with a couple of neat passes in the middle of midfield. He is making his debut for Wigan today.

1

One thing we should be able to expect today is goals. There has never been a 0-0 draw between these sides.

Kickoff
 

They are under way at Upton Park with both teams hoping to start the new Premier League season with a positive result.