Nigel Reo-Coker's late, late strike earned Hammers a
magnificent 2-1 victory at Wigan Athletic as Alan Pardew's team
got back to winning ways in the Premiership.
The inspirational skipper rounded off a superb comeback with an injury-time effort after Marlon Harewood's earlier strike had cancelled out Lee McCulloch's opener on the stroke of half-time.
Pards made just one change to the team that started Monday night's FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City, as Argentine right-back Lionel Scaloni came in for Christian Dailly, who suffered a hamstring tear in our 2-1 victory.
Wigan, meanwhile, were unchanged following their last match - also against Stuart Pearce's team - seven days ago, with former Hammer Jimmy Bullard starting in midfield.
Both sides made a bright and lively start, and Shaka Hislop had to be alert as early as the second minute to hold on to a fierce low shot from Shaun Teale, while at the other end Paul Konchesky saw a similar effort fly just inches wide of the post.
Bullard then had a dipping 30-yard free-kick stopped by Hislop but, despite a fair share of the possession, neither side managed to create much in the final attacking third and, as the half wore on, it was hard to see where a breakthrough was going to come from.
Hislop had to be on his guard to palm over a speculative effort from McCulloch five minutes before the break, while Etherington almost took advantage of a defensive mix-up as goalkeeper John Filan rushed out, but the winger cleared the crossbar with his measured lob.
As the fourth official held up the board signifying two minutes of stoppage time, most in the crowd were weighing up the half-time refreshment options, when the hosts suddenly struck out of the blue, in more ways than one.
There didn't appear to be much on for McCulloch when he received a pass from Bullard some 30 yards out but, trying his luck, the Scottish international unleashed a hopeful effort that travelled through a crowd of players and left Hislop rooted to the spot as it crashed into the top left hand corner of his net.
It was a disappointing setback for Pardew's men, who certainly hadn't looked second best during the opening exchanges, although the hosts were dealt a blow of their own at the interval as goalkeeper Filan was forced to come off with concussion after an early accidental collision with Reo-Coker.
His replacement Mike Pollitt was making a first appearance since sustaining a hamstring injury in the Carling Cup final against Manchester United a month ago, and his first contribution was to pick the ball out of the net as Hammers claimed their equaliser seven minutes after the restart.
In a direct counter-attack, the visitors struck just seconds after almost conceding. Camara's burst through the middle and powerful shot was held by Hislop, who then sent a long clearance upfield. De Zeeuw's weak back-header allowed Harewood to race in, and the striker lifted the ball over Pollitt before tapping into an empty net for his 14th Premiership goal of the season.
From then on, it was almost one-way traffic as Hammers gained the upper hand and forced Wigan on to the back-foot at every opportunity, without finding the key breakthrough in front of goal. In fact, it was the hosts who then enjoyed the best chance of the afternoon, as Scharner's point-blank header from 12 yards out was cleared off the line by Scaloni.
With 20 minutes remaining, Pards sent on Bobby Zamora for the injured Matthew Etherington and 12 minutes later Teddy Sheringham added more fresh legs up front as he replaced Ashton.
With five minutes to go, it looked as though Wigan might win it when Chimbonda crept in at the far post and nodded the ball into the six-yard box for Camara, who appeared set to bundle an effort over the line until Gabbidon bravely threw himself in to clear.
It appeared that Hammers would hold on for an impressive point but Reo-Coker had other ideas. In the last seconds of added-on time, Harewood's low cross was met by Sheringham, who showed all his typical class and composure to slide the ball into the six-yard box for Reo-Coker to clip home.
On a soaking wet afternoon, the fantastic travelling Hammers supporters were again sent home from the north-west in joyous mood, and can look forward to another mouth-watering trip up here on Wednesday night, when Old Trafford is the destination for Pards and his troops.
The inspirational skipper rounded off a superb comeback with an injury-time effort after Marlon Harewood's earlier strike had cancelled out Lee McCulloch's opener on the stroke of half-time.
Pards made just one change to the team that started Monday night's FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City, as Argentine right-back Lionel Scaloni came in for Christian Dailly, who suffered a hamstring tear in our 2-1 victory.
Wigan, meanwhile, were unchanged following their last match - also against Stuart Pearce's team - seven days ago, with former Hammer Jimmy Bullard starting in midfield.
Both sides made a bright and lively start, and Shaka Hislop had to be alert as early as the second minute to hold on to a fierce low shot from Shaun Teale, while at the other end Paul Konchesky saw a similar effort fly just inches wide of the post.
Bullard then had a dipping 30-yard free-kick stopped by Hislop but, despite a fair share of the possession, neither side managed to create much in the final attacking third and, as the half wore on, it was hard to see where a breakthrough was going to come from.
Hislop had to be on his guard to palm over a speculative effort from McCulloch five minutes before the break, while Etherington almost took advantage of a defensive mix-up as goalkeeper John Filan rushed out, but the winger cleared the crossbar with his measured lob.
As the fourth official held up the board signifying two minutes of stoppage time, most in the crowd were weighing up the half-time refreshment options, when the hosts suddenly struck out of the blue, in more ways than one.
There didn't appear to be much on for McCulloch when he received a pass from Bullard some 30 yards out but, trying his luck, the Scottish international unleashed a hopeful effort that travelled through a crowd of players and left Hislop rooted to the spot as it crashed into the top left hand corner of his net.
It was a disappointing setback for Pardew's men, who certainly hadn't looked second best during the opening exchanges, although the hosts were dealt a blow of their own at the interval as goalkeeper Filan was forced to come off with concussion after an early accidental collision with Reo-Coker.
His replacement Mike Pollitt was making a first appearance since sustaining a hamstring injury in the Carling Cup final against Manchester United a month ago, and his first contribution was to pick the ball out of the net as Hammers claimed their equaliser seven minutes after the restart.
In a direct counter-attack, the visitors struck just seconds after almost conceding. Camara's burst through the middle and powerful shot was held by Hislop, who then sent a long clearance upfield. De Zeeuw's weak back-header allowed Harewood to race in, and the striker lifted the ball over Pollitt before tapping into an empty net for his 14th Premiership goal of the season.
From then on, it was almost one-way traffic as Hammers gained the upper hand and forced Wigan on to the back-foot at every opportunity, without finding the key breakthrough in front of goal. In fact, it was the hosts who then enjoyed the best chance of the afternoon, as Scharner's point-blank header from 12 yards out was cleared off the line by Scaloni.
With 20 minutes remaining, Pards sent on Bobby Zamora for the injured Matthew Etherington and 12 minutes later Teddy Sheringham added more fresh legs up front as he replaced Ashton.
With five minutes to go, it looked as though Wigan might win it when Chimbonda crept in at the far post and nodded the ball into the six-yard box for Camara, who appeared set to bundle an effort over the line until Gabbidon bravely threw himself in to clear.
It appeared that Hammers would hold on for an impressive point but Reo-Coker had other ideas. In the last seconds of added-on time, Harewood's low cross was met by Sheringham, who showed all his typical class and composure to slide the ball into the six-yard box for Reo-Coker to clip home.
On a soaking wet afternoon, the fantastic travelling Hammers supporters were again sent home from the north-west in joyous mood, and can look forward to another mouth-watering trip up here on Wednesday night, when Old Trafford is the destination for Pards and his troops.