Wigan survived a tremendous second half rally from 12-man Hull FC with a win that moves them up to third in Super League.
Marc Sneyd put the black and whites on the board first, kicking a penalty before a 9th minute try from Oliver Gildart, converted from the touchline by George Williams, put the Warriors in front 6-2.
Mahe Fonua continued his try scoring form as he levelled the scores from a high Marc Sneyd kick in the 16th minute, a rare occurrence as the usually reliable Sneyd missed the conversion.
George Williams put the visitors back in front with a 21st minute penalty before the games defining moment 1 minute later as Liam Watts went into a tackle with Michael Mcillorum leading with his elbow, leaving the Wigan hooker flat out on the canvas.
The collision looked accidental but referee Robert Hicks thought otherwise and showed a shocked Liam Watts a red card, leaving the Airlie Birds having to play for nearly an hour with 12 men.
FC valiantly kept out the visitors despite the one man advantage until the break, helped by a poor Williams penalty miss.
Wigan came out flying after the break with Gelling racing 50 yards to score after intercepting a Sneyd pass in the 42nd minute and 7 minutes later Wigan looked to have sealed the game when a Tom Davies try, again goaled by Williams, made the score 20-6 in the Cherry and Whites favour.
The 12-man hosts endured some heavy Wigan pressure near their own try line before surprisingly getting back in the game with Sika Manu ramming over the line to make the score 12-20.
Remarkably the hosts scored again when Sneyd pounced on an Albert Kelly kick to score under the posts, after it being sent upstairs, to bring the gap down to two points with 15 minutes left .
The fairytale comeback was complete with 10 minutes left when Fonua went over for his second try from a high bomb, Sneyd’s kick drifting just wide meaning Hull were leading by two.
You got the feeling that this wasn’t over and Man of the Match Gelling scored the games crucial try after a Hull knock on with only four minutes left, crucially though Williams missed the conversion to leave the Warriors leading by two.
Wigan sealed the win with a great finish, albeit against an understandably tired defence, in the last minute from second row John Bateman to leave the final score 22-30 in one of the games of the season so far .
The result was hard on Hull, who had to play with 12 men for most of the game but they now drop down to fourth place with the Warriors moving up to third.
Drama continues next week as Wigan welcome leaders Castleford and Hull host Wakefield. A defeat for either will see them drop out of the top four in a dramatic end to the season.
