Wigan Athletic were unlucky to start their Premiership campaign with a loss as they nearly snatched a point from West Ham on Saturday.

An early brace from Dean Ashton put West Ham in a strong position in the first half but Wigan battled back and equalized through new signing Amr Zaki two minutes into the second half. However the Egyptian striker missed three great chances to equalize late in the game.

West Ham had a great start to the match as they took an early lead in the 3rd minute when Ashton raced past Paul Scharner to smash home from Julien Faubert's early cross. West Ham doubled the lead seven minutes later when Calum Davenport pounced on a defensive error to pass the ball to Ashton who made no mistake from just three yards out.

Wigan slowly recovered from the opening onslaught and nearly pulled one back through Emile Heskey but the England striker saw his header cleared off the line. Wigan's best chance of the first half fell to Zaki who was unable to hit the target from close range after being played in by a great cross from Oliver Kapo.

However the Egyptian striker made amends to his mistake when he scored Wigan's first goal as he muscled forward to meet Heskey's flick on and slotted home from close range. The visitors stepped up the pressure and nearly equalized through Wilson Palacios and Zaki but Robert Green pulled off stunning saves to keep his side in the front and collect all three points from the match.