Two points lost for Hammers

Scharner: Converted a superb overhead kick

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Teams

• West Ham United
• Wigan Athletic

Players

• Lee Bowyer
• Paul Scharner

West Ham and Wigan shared the spoils after a fantastic strike from Paul Scharner against the run of play and a Lee Bowyer equaliser in the last ten minutes.

Wigan's Scharner dispatched a tremendous overhead kick past Rob Green in a rare attack, as the Hammers failed to convert their chances, even though they had the majority of possession. Lee Bowyer's late strike in the 81st minute was all they could muster.

West Ham had a penalty claim controversially turned down by referee Andre Marriner in the first half after Mark Noble appeared to be pulled back by Andreas Granqvist infront of goal. In the second half another claim was waved away when Kieron Dyer went down in the box.

Stunning strike

Wigan looked composed on the ball but had few chances, before Scharner produced a cracking out-of-the-blue effort from an Emile Heskey flick on.

A stunned Hammers side pushed desperately for the equaliser, which duly arrived from substitute Lee Bowyer, who had missed a sitter from close range moments before.

Bobby Zamora, still preferred to Dean Ashton as a starter, chalked up two spectacular misses, skewering one shot across goal for a throw-in and then letting Dyer's cross run under his foot with only Chris Kirkland to beat in the 21st minute.

Anton Ferdinand's header bounced just wide of a post when he jumped head and shoulders above everybody for Mark Noble's cross and Craig Bellamy was denied by a linesman's flag when he sped through onto Dyer's pass on 33 minutes.

Penalty appeal

And referee Andre Marriner did not spot a Wigan hand appearing to haul down Noble in the six-yard box during a scramble which followed a corner.

But it was full-back George McCartney who went closest of all for West Ham in the first half - twice. His stinging shots in the sixth and 37th minutes narrowly cleared Kirkland's crossbar, the second with the aid of a deflection.

Wigan took 25 minutes to create a chance but it was a good one when Antoine Sibierski, who was substituted 13 minutes later, crossed from the left and Scharner escaped flimsy marking to put his header wide from about 10 yards.

But Wigan suddenly came to life with a long run by Denny Landzaat and after Julius Aghahowa ran into a defender the ball ran loose for Koumas whose low shot grazed the foot of a post as it went behind.

Noble's follow-up shot from his own free-kick 10 minutes into the second half met a similar fate but then so did Scharner's almost immediately at the other end before Green pulled off a remarkable instinctive save from substitute Aghahowa, and then saw Mario Melchiot's header go wide.

Scharner struck spectacularly following Heskey's leap for a long throw by Melchiot but it looked to be a West Ham head that helped the ball on for the Austrian's bicycle-kick act.

There was no doubting the identity of Bowyer's strike however as he showed West Ham's strikers the way to do it.