West Ham United reserves v Wigan Athletic reserves
Barclays Premier Reserve League
Thurrock FC, Ship Lane
Tuesday 28 September
Kick-off: 7pm
Referee: Daniel Cook
Final score - West Ham United reserves 2-0 Wigan Athletic reserves
93 mins - The referee blows for full-time. The previously unbeaten Wigan have now been beaten. West Ham keep up their unbeaten start to the Barclays Premier Reserve League season and are now third in the Southern Division with games in hand on the two teams above them. Keep an eye on whufc.com and WHUTV for exclusive reaction and highlights.
92 mins - The substitute is called Ryan Watson. It's been a thoroughly decent evening for Alex Dyer and his players, who have recorded a second straight victory and clean sheet in the league. It's now one defeat in ten matches for the reserves. Victories breed confidence, and the Hammers will definitely head for Tranmere Rovers FC full of it when they take on Liverpool next Tuesday evening.
91 mins - We're going to have at least two more minutes...
89 mins - Breeze has a spot of cramp and is having his calves stretched by the Wigan physio. We can all listen to a bit of 'My Girl' during the break in play. Breeze is replaced by a lad with ginger hair, but unfortunately nobody knows the identity of the mystery substitute.
87 mins - Hall tries to get in behind the Wigan defence, but collides with Girvan. That looked a bit painful for both of them.
84 mins - We're approaching the closing stages now and West Ham have regained the ascendancy which has been theirs almost all game long. Buxton concedes a free-kick on Sears which is taken quickly and the Hammers win a right-wing corner. Hall sends the ball over, but Eyjolfsson is penalised for a push.
80 mins - Dyer will not be pleased with that. McManaman beats Spence before sending over a fine cross to the back post. Morris outjumps Brown and powers a downward header against the base of the post.
78 mins - Spence picks out Lee with a cross following good work from Kovac and Hall, but the midfielder's header is saved by Welsby.
77 mins - Hall takes the free-kick, but it hits the wall and spins to safety.
76 mins - McCarthy is felled by an aggressive challenge from Holt. The striker takes exception to the tackle and tells the substitute exactly what he thinks of him. The referee has a chat with the Hammers striker to calm the situation down.
75 mins - Very honest play from Sears, who bursts on to a pass from Abdulla and rounds Welsby. He appears to be caught slightly by the goalkeeper but stays on his feet. When he tries to cross, Welsby is there to gather.
73 mins - Belatedly, Wigan are showing signs of life. Perhaps the music is inspiring them? Girvan crosses but it's too far in front of Rugg and flies behind for a goal kick. West Ham make use of the break in play by bringing on Ahmed Abdulla and Robert Hall for Spector and Stanislas.
71 mins - The hits are continuing to be churned out behind us. 'I'll be there', which I believe was recorded by The Four Tops, is the latest to keep us all entertained. Meanwhile, Wigan left-back Buxton flashes a long-range shot a few yards wide of the target. Boffin had it covered all the way.
68 mins - There is a bit of an air of inevitability about all this. West Ham are being put under hardly any pressure whatsoever. Their experience and work ethic are both ensuring that the Latics cannot put together any sort of meaningful possession.
65 mins - Two changes from Wigan - Caldwell and Serrano are replaced by Roman Golobart and Joe Holt.
63 mins - Another sustained period of West Ham possession ends with Stanislas winning a corner off the head of Girvan. Stanislas takes the corner himself and picks out McCarthy at the back post, only for the South African to scuff his shot. Welsby pounces on the ball.
61 mins - Wigan are at least trying to get a foothold in this game. Rugg turns and gets away from Kovac. He shoots low, but Boffin is in the right place to gather the ball low down.
60 mins - Kovac has hardly given the ball away all night, but this time he fancies a pop at goal from long-range. The Czech cannot replicate his goal at Everton a couple of season's back, though, and his shot thuds into the front of the stand to my right.
58 mins - I think there must be a party going on in the Thurrock Hotel behind us. The loud music coming through the wall would suggest as much. Back on the pitch, another West Ham attack is thwarted when Stanislas is caught offside.
57 mins - Wigan cannot get a kick. The Hammers are just camped inside their half, probing for the opening that could bring about a third goal. Jordan Brown does well to beat Girvan, but his cross eludes everyone and WIgan counter-attack through Morris, only for Spence to make a superb sliding challenge to stop him in his tracks.
54 mins - Sears has a chance to add a third, but he cannot direct his header on target from Spence's cross.
53 mins - GOAL! Sears does well to create some space for Stanislas. The No11 tricks Girvan one way and then the other before planting a powerful shot past Welsby. That should the be three points in the bag. Now it's just a case of seeing how many the Hammers can score...
51 mins - Two of Wigan's players have changed their shirts at half-time, presumably because of the wet weather. Serrano is now in No21, while Caldwell is sporting No22. Meanwhile, Wigan finally have a shot on target, but Morris's scooped effort is straight at Boffin.
49 mins - Spector wins possession and the ball is worked wide right to Spence. He takes a touch and looks up before planting his cross on the head of Stanislas, but his header is too close to Welsby.
47 mins - Spence brings down opposite number Buxton, but referee Cook waves play on. Morris tries to make something of it, but Tomkins blocks his attempted pass to Serrano and Brown clears easily, Seconds later, Buxton is down and needs treatment. I think he felt that tackle by Spence, who receives a ticking off from the man in black.
46 mins - Sears and McCarthy get the second 45 minutes started...
Wigan's players are the first to return to the pitch for the second half, closely followed by the Hammers. Eyjolfsson is the first man out in claret and blue. He has an important UEFA European U21 Championship play-off against Scotland coming up over the next couple of weeks, so he will welcome the match practice.
Half-time score - West Ham United reserves 1-0 Wigan Athletic reserves
46 mins - The referee blows for half-time. That was all a little bit one-sided, to be honest. If anything, though, Alex Dyer will want to see his side add to their goals tally during the second 45 minutes.
45 mins - We're going to have at least one added minute.
43 mins - West Ham make a change. Reid is replaced by Iceland U21 man Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson. Reid was struggling with an illness at the weekend and may be still feeling the effects of that.
42 mins - McCarthy and Sears combine again before the ball is worked inside to Lee. The midfielder's shot is deflected wide of the far post. Stanislas sends over a deep corner, but Tomkins' header hits a Wigan defender and flies across the face of goal before being cleared.
39 mins - Beautiful stuff from the Hammers. Reid, Tomkins and Stanislas are all involved before Brown races on to a neat pass from Lee. He crosses first-time and McCarthy is there to meet it, but his left-foot shot is too close to Welsby.
37 mins - Unlucky for Spector, who plays a neat one-two with McCarthy before bursting clear of the Wigan back four. Unfortunately, the American's touch is just too strong and the ball rolls into the arms of Welsby.
36 mins - Kovac has really bossed this half. He has been on the ball countless times and I'm not sure he's given possession away once. Just as I type, he puts in another good tackle and brings the ball clear, setting up yet another West Ham attack.
34 mins - Nice again from McCarthy, who instantly finds Sears. The No10 runs at the Wigan defence before cutting on to his left foot and shooting low. The effort lacks the power and direction to beat Welsby, though.
33 mins - I'm not sure if that counts as a shot on target, but it was going in! Serrano crosses from deep on the right but makes a mess of it and the ball lands in the hands of Boffin.
31 mins - Wigan are a bit of a mess at the back. The goal kick is taken short and when Robinson passes back to Welsby, he is closed down by Sears. The goalkeeper's hurried clearance hits Robinson and falls to McCarthy, but his first-time shot is cleared off the line by Caldwell. From the resulting corner, the ball drops to Kovac, who hits a left-foot volley which hits a defender and bounces into the arms of Welsby.
30 mins - Another crossing chance for the home side. McCarthy lays the ball off for Sears before sprinting towards the penalty area. Spence overlaps and crosses first time, but it's too high for the South African. The Hammers keep the pressure on and win the ball back from the Wigan throw, but Lee is miles over the top with a long-range strike.
29 mins - Caldwell tries to get something going for Wigan, but he woefully over-hits his pass for Redmond and the ball skips off the wet turf and out for a throw. West Ham counter and Stanislas gets free down the left. He crosses low, but Robinson is there to cut out the pass aimed for Sears.
26 mins - Some nice possession football from the hosts ends with Brown racing on to Lee's pass down the left. He beats his man with a burst of pace, but his cross is too high for Sears, The build-up play was good though, and earns a warm round of applause from the supporters.
25 mins - Wigan cannot get anything going at all offensively. The Latics, to be fair to them, have a very young and inexperienced team on show tonight. It'll be a good learning curve for them.
23 mins - McCarthy is putting a real shift in out there. He keeps dropping deep to pick up possession off the midfield. On the latest occasion, he turns and tries to pick out Sears, but the experienced Caldwell is there to cut out the pass.
20 mins - West Ham are enjoying this. Reid does well to snuff out another Wigan raid before passing to Boffin. He plays the ball to Tomkins, who strides forward and thumps a fantastic pass out to Stanislas. Unfortunately, he just delays his pass to the overlapping Brown too long and the left-back is caught offside.
18 mins - This has been a walk in the park so far for Boffin and his defenders. Wigan try to attack down the left through Rugg, but he is easily muscled off the ball by Tomkins before the Belgian goalkeeper clears upfield. West Ham are using a 4-3-3 formation, by the way, with Kovac anchoring the midfield and Stanislas and Sears supporting centre-forward McCarthy.
16 mins - Lee wins a free-kick about 25 yards out. McCarthy looks keen to take it, but Stanislas wins the argument. Unfortunately, the winger's strike dips too late and clears the crossbar.
15 mins - The Hammers are going for the kill early here. Stanislas shows neat footwork to lose a defender before curling a shot against the head of another. That looked to be on its way towards the goal, too.
13 mins - GOAL! West Ham look keen to use Sears and a long ball out to the right from Kovac wins a throw for the Hammers. It is taken quickly by Spence and the ball is worked to McCarthy, who thumps his shot beyond Welsby from inside the penalty area. Great start for Dyer's side!
12 mins - Wigan counter and Jordan Rugg really should do better with a header from around ten yards. He rose high to meet Daniel Redmond's centre, but his effort flew a long way wide of the near post.
10 mins - A first chance for the Hammers. Sears streaks away down the right and leaves Adam Buxton for dead. His cross flies across the six-yard box, but the sliding Lee just cannot stretch far enough to poke the ball into the net.
9 mins - The slick playing surface is making for a decent game so far. Both teams are keen to keep the ball on the grass, which always makes for a more entertaining spectacle. As yet, however, neither goalkeeper has had much work to do.
7 mins - Chairman David Gold has made his way to Ship Lane to keep a close eye on the reserves. Mr Gold has been mingling with supporters before the game and has now taken his seat in the Directors Box.
5 mins - Nice football from West Ham on the slick surface. Brown and Lee combine to clear from a tight corner. McCarthy is certainly looking sharp up front, showing for the ball regularly and working the Wigan back four when they are in possession.
3 mins - Interesting play from Wigan No7 Serrano, who challenges Lee on halfway but inadvertantly belts the ball out for a corner! Stanislas to take... The ball is headed clear by Caldwell.
2 mins - A first touch for McCarthy, who finds Sears. The No10 wins a throw, then receives possession and forces a Wigan defender to concede a corner. Stanislas crosses, Caldwell heads straight up into the air and Sears challenges and fouls goalkeeper Welsby.
1 min - Wigan win a throw deep inside the West Ham half off Winston Reid, but it comes to nothing and Stanislas lofts the ball upfield.
6.59pm - Wigan will kick-off towards the M25 end of the stadium. And we're off and running...
6.57pm - Here come the two teams to the strains of 'Bubbles' - nice touch! West Ham are in claret and blue, while Wigan are in blue and white.
6.55pm - There is a good-size crowd in at Ship Lane for tonight's game - the first West Ham United reserves have played as the home team at this stadium. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been as kind to us. It is raining and a very murky evening here in south Essex. But let's not worry about the weather - the Hammers have made a fine start to the Barclays Premier Reserve League season and have a strong team out tonight as Alex Dyer and his players go for two wins from two.
Good evening and welcome to Thurrock FC's Ship Lane home for West Ham United's opening home Barclays Premier Reserve League fixture of the 2010/11 season.
Wigan Athletic are the visitors for the club's first-ever reserve meeting as the Hammers seek to build on their 1-0 win in their first league game of the season at Everton a fortnight ago.
Alex Dyer has a strong squad to call upon this evening, with no fewer than four full internationals in West Ham's starting lineup - Winston Reid, Radoslav Kovac, Jonathan Spector and Benni McCarthy.
All four, along with England Under-21 internationals James Tomkins, Freddie Sears and Junior Stanislas, will be hoping to catch the eye of manager Avram Grant ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League visit of Fulham to the Boleyn Ground.
The most recognisable name on Wigan's teamsheet is Gary Caldwell, the Scotland and former Newcastle United and Celtic centre-back.
West Ham United reserves: Boffin, Spence, Reid (Eyjolfsson 43), Tomkins, Brown, Spector (Abdulla 73), Kovac, Lee, Stanislas (Hall 73), Sears, McCarthy
Subs not used: Cowler, Moncur, Wearen
Wigan Athletic reserves: Welsby, Buxton, Caldwell (Golobart 65), Robinson, Girvan, Breeze (Watson 89), Serrano (Holt 65), Morris, Redmond, Rugg, McManaman
Subs not used: Williams, Boothman