Rodallega nets vital win

Hugo Rodallega scored the only goal at the DW Stadium as Wigan registered their first home league win of the campaign against West Ham.

Rodallega nets for Wigan win

Hugo Rodallega scored the only goal at the DW Stadium as Wigan registered their first home league win of the campaign against West Ham. The Colombia striker pounced in the 55th minute after West Ham keeper Robert Green had done well to save Jason Koumas' close-range effort. West Ham then pressed strongly for an equaliser, with substitute Alessandro Diamanti hitting the crossbar from a tight angle. But Wigan held on to claim a much-needed win after three successive losses in the league. Rodallega's goal was Wigan's first at home in three games and only their fourth all season, which gives an indication of where Roberto Martinez's side have to improve. Prior to his effort the main point of interest had been the form of England goalkeeper Green, who produced decent saves to deny Rodallega and Jordi Gomez in the first half. Green's performance was in stark contrast to that of England team-mate Carlton Cole, who showed little international class and was less of a threat than 20-year-old strike partner Zavon Hines on his first start of the season. That would partly explain why the Hammers have scored only three goals in four matches and drawn a blank in their last two.

Begun brightly

But the game had begun brightly for the visitors as, in the sixth minute, Maynor Figueroa cut across the back of Hines only for referee Alan Wiley to wave away penalty claims, with first contact also being made outside the area. Neat interplay between Koumas and Rodallega set up Gomez on the edge of the box but Green comfortably palmed the ball away diving to his left. The England goalkeeper then confidently watched midfielder Mohamed Diame's 35-yard shot fly narrowly wide of his right-hand post as Wigan began to get into their stride. West Ham's best chance in the opening 25 minutes fell to Cole but he could only get the slightest of touches on Mark Noble's bouncing pass and the ball harmlessly looped into Kirkland's arms. Kirkland was called into action to tip Noble's shot, deflected through a crowd of players, around a post before the West Ham midfielder was booked for tripping Hendry Thomas. Hines cut in from the left to fire a right-footed shot at Kirkland, who was almost caught out moments later when he took too long to deal with a Bramble back-pass and the young striker charged down his clearance only for it to rebound for a goal-kick. Rodallega's looping deflected shot off defender Matthew Upson forced Green into a fingertip save over his crossbar, with the goalkeeper also turning Gomez's dipping strike behind for a corner as Wigan pushed for the breakthrough before the interval. But Cole got the ball into the net for the visitors at the end of the first half but only to find that referee Wiley had moments before blown for half-time.

Second half

Five minutes into the second half, Gomez released Rodallega through the middle on a counter-attack only for James Tomkins to get across and make a perfectly-timed tackle. The Colombia striker, however, eventually made his mark five minutes later. Charles N'Zogbia played in Mario Melchiot on the right of the area and his dangerous ball across the six-yard area should have been put away by Koumas at the far post only for Green to make a reaction block but Rodallega was alert enough though to poke home the rebound. Mercifully the goal sparked some life into the game and Wigan had to withstand a flurry of West Ham attacks. Titus Bramble's tackle denied Junior Stanislas as he burst into the area, Tomkins headed the resulting corner narrowly wide of the far post and Chris Kirkland tipped over a Scott Parker drive. Rodallega departed to a standing ovation as he was replaced by Jason Scotland in the 73rd minute but Wigan could not afford to relax and substitute Diamanti's shot from wide on the right cannoned back off the crossbar with Kirkland beaten. But the Latics survived a nervous five minutes of added time to record a welcome second victory of the season.

Wigan Athletic	Team Statistics	West Ham United
1	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	5
3	Shots off Target	6
2	Blocked Shots	2
5	Corners	7
14	Fouls	14
1	Offsides	3
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
76.5	Passing Success	74.2
33	Tackles	20
75.8	Tackles Success	80
54.1	Possession	45.9
54.2	Territorial Advantage	45.8