Substitute Lee Bowyer was the hero at Upton Park for West Ham as his late goal rescued a point from the match against Wigan. Austrian Paul Scharner looked to have sealed a magnificent win for Wigan with an acrobatic strike, but Bowyer arrived in style and with a rare goal ensured that the Hammers took something from the game.

Hammers manager Alan Curbishley opted to start with Bobby Zamora in the strike force, but he proved largely ineffective for much of the match. Instead it was Bowyer who stole the show with his late goal. West ham had plenty of chances in the first half and had they managed to convert them, the game would have been over in the first half itself.

Kieron Dyer's cross went perfectly to Zamora in the 21st minute, but the star forward let the ball slip through his feet when he had only Chris Kirkland to beat in the Wigan goal. Earlier he had sprayed a ball just wide of the goal. Anton Ferdinand had a golden chance to put the Hammers in the lead, but his header went just wide, while Craig Bellamy was deemed offside on 33 minutes when he thought he had got the ball through. George McCartney went very close with a sleek shot, but it went just above the crossbar in the 37th minute. Robert Green in the West Ham goal was kept busy by Wigan in the latter part of the first half as Jason Koumas went very close with a stinging shot. In the second half Paul Scharner's acrobatic strike put Wigan ahead and looked to have sealed the game in his team's favor, but the late equalizer from Bowyer meant the teams shared the spoils.

Hammers manager Curbishley was happy with Bowyer's performance. "Lee has been great here. He had an injury last season which set him back but when I put him on as sub today I knew exactly what I would get from him," he added.

Wigan next face Newcastle United at St James' Park, while West Ham take on Reading away from home. Watch Premiership Live of free-football.tv