The Hammers knew nothing less than a win would be good enough to avoid the drop, even if Fulham managed to defeat Birmingham and despite another nervy start they soon found themselves 2-0 up courtesy of Demba Ba.
At half-time, with Fulham keeping their end of the bargain, West Ham had looked in a healthy position.
Quite what was said in the Hammers’ dressing room at half time is anybody’s guess but in the second half they looked a shadow of the side that had a commanding lead.
Wigan’s substitutes made an immediate impact on the game and when Charles N’Zogbia converted a free-kick on the hour you could sense that the comeback was well and truly on. Conor Sammon then hit an equaliser with 20 minutes left and West Ham then knew they had to score or they would be heading for the drop.
As the game flowed from end to end a winner was definitely in sight for either side but it was Wigan who triumphed with virtually the last kick of the game from Charles N’Zogbia to give themselves hope of joining the Hammers in the Championship next season.