West Ham went out of the FA Cup in disgrace after Arthur Masuaku was sent off for spitting in their humbling fourth-round defeat at Wigan Athletic.
Will Grigg scored twice for the brilliant League One leaders to claim their second top-flight scalp in consecutive rounds in a performance that made serious light of the 34-place gap between these sides in the league ladder.
West Ham’s performance was woeful, but worse was the behaviour of their French wing back: Masuaku dismissed for spitting at Nick Powell as the visitors unravelled.
Arthur Masuaku capped off an extremely disappointing day for West Ham with his red card for spitting
Masuaku was caught spitting at opposition midfielder Nick Powell, which saw him sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh
The Hammers midfielder was dismissed in the second half to leave his team-mates lumbering towards an FA Cup exit
Wigan forward Will Grigg celebrates giving the home the side the lead in the first half at the DW Stadium on Saturday
The Irishman rose above West Ham defender Reece Burke before heading the ball past goalkeeper Joe Hart
Hart was left stranded by Grigg’s powerful header as the Premier League side were stunned early on in the tie
West Ham were outplayed by their League One hosts and finished the tie with 10 men after Masuaku was dismissed
MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE
Line ups
Wigan (4-2-3-1): Walton; Byrne, Dunkley, Burn, Elder (James 86); Morsy, Power; Jacobs, Powell, Massey (Colclough 75); Grigg (Roberts 88)
Subs not used: Fulton, Perkins, Bruce, Jones
Goals: Grigg 7, 62 (pen)
Booked: Colclough 84
West Ham (4-4-2): Hart; Zabaleta (Mario 45), Ogbonna, Burke, Byram; Obiang (Oxford 36), Cresswell, Cullen, Masuaku; Martinez (Haksabanovic 81), Hernandez
Subs not used: Adrian, Collins, Quina, Diangana
Goals: –
Booked: Ogbonna 79
Sent off: Masuaku 48
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Will Grigg met a well-placed cross by Nathan Byrne to give Wigan the lead in the FA Cup fourth round tie with West Ham
For more facts and statistics from this FA Cup clash, visit Sportsmail’s exclusive Match Zone, here.
The bookmakers made Wigan the favourites to win this tie after they knocked out Bournemouth in the last round and they played with no intention of looking like underdogs.
West Ham had £16million striker Javier Hernandez up front, paired with Antonio Martinez, and yet the Latics full backs were piling forward right from kick-off.
Sam Byram and Masuaku, defenders by trade operating on the Hammers’ wings, found themselves pinned back and unable to provide support.
With that, Wigan had control and West Ham were quick to crack. Seven minutes were on the clock when Nathan Byrne, forward from right back, was given time and space to aim a cross from deep in Grigg’s direction.
His ball was fantastic – inch-perfect, arching over the defenders’ heads to the waiting No 9 at the back post where Grigg’s header flashed past a flapping Joe Hart and into the corner.
Grigg celebrates his fifth goal of the competition and ninth in all competitions so far this season
Wigan boss Paul Cook gives his side the thumbs up after the get off to a flying start against their Premier League opponents
Both sides and supporters observe a minute’s applause in honour of the late Jimmy Armfield ahead of kick off
Hammers midfielder Pedro Obiang receives treatment on the pitch before he is subsequently substituted
The Hammers star is unable to walk off the DW pitch and needs a stretcher to be ejected from the game
Nick Powell also comes close for Cook’s side but his effort is denied by Hart, with the Hammers struggling to impact the game
Wigan could have had another moments later, when Chey Dunkley bundled in a Max Power free-kick, only to be thwarted by the offside flag.
As the West Ham end of the ground, packed with 4,500 travelling fans, got restless their hosts continued to grow in confidence.
Nick Powell’s twinkle toes made him look like a player too good to play for the Hammers, never mind in League One.
The former Manchester United man was at the heart of most of Wigan’s best stuff, constantly playing cute passes in the final third while also firing one shot over before another was bobbled towards Hart.
At the same time, West Ham’s efforts were being summed up by Hernandez’s regular frustrated tumbles to the turf as any efforts at link-up play failed.
A miserable half for the visitors was compounded when Pedro Obiang had to be taken off on a stretcher, an injury sustained under the challenge of Power looking serious. The Spaniard is their 12th first-team player out injured, as it stands.
Burke is beaten in an aerial duel by Wigan’s Dan Burn as the Latics head into half time with a surprise lead
Max Power puts a hard challenge on opposition midfielder Pedro Obiang, who goes down injured in the second half
Masuaku leaves the field after being dismissed by referee Chris Kavanagh after just three minutes of the second half
David Moyes rages at his Hammers side and will be feeling the pressure after an unexpected FA Cup exit
They offered some sort of rally at least: Josh Cullen’s corner causing havoc in the six-yard box and then Byram breaking forward to set up a shot for Hernandez – blocked by Sam Morsy. Those efforts were not good enough, though.
Inter Milan loanee Joao Mario was David Moyes’ solution of choice. Signed up this week, the Brazilian winger replaced Pablo Zabaleta at the break. Moyes had not planned for Masuaku’s moment of madness though.
Just four minutes after half-time the Frenchman was preparing to take a throw-in when he reacted to an altercation with Powell by spitting at his opponent as he walked away.
Referee Christopher Kavanagh was alerted to the incident and dismissed Masuaku before Powell followed the departing player to the half-way line, fuming.
A mandatory six-match ban will follow for the West Ham man.
The DW Stadium was still reeling from that fall-out when Grigg scored the second. This time he chased down a ball into the penalty area, flicked it up and on to the hand of former Latics loanee Reece Burke – well-spotted by the linesman.
Grigg stepped up to slot the penalty down the middle and, with two goals, certainly justified his famous ‘on fire’ chant.
The only thing drowning that out was calls of ‘sack the board’ from the visitors’ section. Martinez being forced off with a head injury would have done little to lighten the mood.
For West Ham, the only positive is that their focus is now entirely on staying in the Premier League — but they will have to do without Masuaku for the next six matches.
Substitute Reece Oxford sees his effort fly wide of the Wigan goal with the visitors struggling to create opportunities
Grigg scores his second of the game from the penalty spot to put the result beyond all doubt for his team-mates
West Ham’s cup goalkeeper Hart sees his World Cup hopes take a blow after a sorry Hammers display
Hart gifts his shirt to one hopeful fan as he leaves the DW Stadium disappointed on Saturday afternoon
Wigan celebrate their well-earned victory as the former winners continue their march to Wembley