West Ham go down to Wigan

West Ham 0 Wigan 2

David Cotterill’s first Barclays Premiership goal set Wigan up for a victory at Upton Park, which left West Ham firmly in relegation trouble.

The Welsh forward, 19 this week, was making only his second league start since signing from Bristol City for £2m (€3m), and curled his 50th-minute shot into the top right-hand corner.

Leyton Baines added Wigan’s second seven minutes later after his 35-yard drive cannoned in off the hip of West Ham defender Jonathan Spector.

West Ham’s defeat, coupled with Newcastle’s late victory at Reading, plunged Alan Pardew’s struggling squad back into the relegation zone.

It would hardly have been edifying viewing for the Hammers’ new chairman Eggert Magnusson and his billionaire backer Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who between them they forked out £85m (€125.8m) for the club.

For all the talk of high-profile January signings, with the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy suggested as potential targets, Wigan showed West Ham qualities that money cannot buy.

Paul Jewell’s men responded to their 4-0 defeat by Liverpool at the weekend with a performance full of desire and commitment.

West Ham, on the other hand, could not keep any meaningful possession.

Carlos Tevez was once again the pick of the Hammers players, when his team-mates managed to get him the ball, but, as Magnusson pointed out during the week, West Ham do not even own him.

Hammers boss Alan Pardew brought Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harewood back into the side following the weekend defeat to Everton, while Cotterill started for Wigan ahead of Henri Camara.

Wigan applied the early pressure and West Ham keeper Rob Green was forced to touch Paul Scharner’s glancing header onto the post inside the first minute.

Hayden Mullins then undersold a back-pass to Green, whose clearance crashed off Lee McCulloch and went out for a goal-kick.

There were few touches of class in a scrappy opening but one of them almost created the opening for West Ham.

Harewood latched onto a neat through-ball from Nigel Reo-Coker, skipped one challenge and rifled his shot goalwards, forcing Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland into an athletic save.

West Ham were uncertain at the back and they had to scramble the ball clear after McCulloch’s driving run forward attracted three claret and blue defenders.

James Collins was forced into a sliding clearance after playing himself into trouble inside his own box.

Harewood pressured Emmerson Boyce into conceding a corner and then urged the home fans to lift the volume.

There was little to cheer as West Ham struggled to break down Wigan’s high-pressure system.

When West Ham did piece together some meaningful possession they looked dangerous.

Paul Konchesky swung in a teasing cross, which was just too far ahead of Tevez, who came flying into the Wigan six-yard box.

The move lifted West Ham. Konchesky picked out Benayoun and the Israeli midfielder flicked a header forward to Harewood, who struck his shot on the turn just wide of the far post.

It was West Ham’s best period of the game but they still lacked the confidence to play their way upfield and all too often resorted to long balls forward.

When Matthew Etherington broke into the box, with three men to pick out and Tevez waiting for the cut back, he lofted an aimless cross straight out for a goal-kick.

Etherington’s free-kick then forced Kirkland to punch Kevin Kilbane’s uncertain header out for a corner.

When the ball broke for Tevez at the far post it was just inches too far ahead of the Argentinian’s outstretched leg.

Tevez raised the tempo after the interval with a typical charging run into the Wigan box, but his shot deflected onto the post and bounced clear.

West Ham then lost all shape at the back. Kilbane sold Collins a simple dummy and found Cotterill at the back post with a low cross.

Cotterill cut inside Etherington and curled his shot past Anton Ferdinand into the top corner.

Within seven minutes Wigan were 2-0 up after Baines’ drive deflected off Spector.

Wigan could have been 3-0 up after Scharner rose unopposed at the far post to plant a header past Green, only for the linesman to rule the Austrian offside.

That may have been a marginal decision but the boos that rang out at full time were comprehensive.