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  • Date: 2008-05-11
  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Attendance: 34969
  • Referee: Dean, M

Live Commentary

90mins

Thats it, the finall game of the season comes to an end and what a brilliant game to end it with the teams sharing the points thanks to Dean Ashton's late strike.

90mins

Barry swings in a corner from the right which Green punches away before Young flicks it back in and Mellberg turns it towards goal only for Solano to knock it off the line.

90mins

The fourth official indicates there will be three minutes of added on time, lets see if anyone can win this.

88mins

Ashton levels things up with a great goal, recieving the ball on the edge of the penalty area and drives it past Carson from the right of the penalty area with an arrow of a shot.

85mins

John Carew heads off to be replaced by Marlon Harewood who gets a nice reception from the Hammers fans.

83mins

Young whips in the corner which is met by the head of Ferdinand who diverts it away from danger.

81mins

The ball breaks for Ashton after Sears caused the Villa defence a problem, Ashton takes the shot on and hits it into the side netting.

79mins

Mark Noble heads off and on comes the youngster Freddie Sears.

77mins

Agbonlahor gets a good cross in which Carew can't reach and the ball comes back to Agbonlahor who smashes the ball towards goal from a tight angle, the ball hitting Green who had gone down injured under Carew's previous challenge.

72mins

West Ham make their second change of the game with Carlton Cole coming on for Bobby Zamora.

70mins

Agbonlahor pulls the ball back across the face of goal for Carew who tries to back heel the ball past Green but the keeper reads it and saves easily.

68mins

Agbonlahor and Barry combine to set-up Mellberg who had pushed forward from the back to score on his final game but can only steer it into the side netting.

64mins

Parker creates a chance for Noble, who steals the ball from Parker and then tries to place it past Carson but it is easily saved by the Villa goalkeeper.

62mins

Parker steps past one Villa player and then another but makes a real mess of his shot, blasting it high over the crossbar.

60mins

Boa Morte whips in a cross whch Zamora does well to reach, heading it towards goal and it floats over Carson only for it to clip the crossbar and go behind.

59mins

Solano takes the corner which Ashton reaches and heads towards goal only for Petrov to head it off the line with a great clearance.

58mins

Barry puts Villa ahead with the simpliest of finishes after a flowing move from Villa lead to Reo-Coker going through on goal but his shot is well saved by Green only for Barry to arrive to tap the ball home.

56mins

Barry has another oppurtunity from just outside the penalty, he tries to curl on into the goal but it flies inches wide.

54mins

Young takes the corner and West Ham flicks it away from inside the box but only as far as Barry who strikes his shot seemingley into the hand of Tomkins but the referee says no.

54mins

Barry tries to curl on in from the left of the penalty area and Ferdinand has to get his header in the way to nod it behind for another corner.

53mins

Solano swings in a cross which Ashton chests down in the area but before the striker can pull the trigger Reo-Cokler steps in to smash it away.

52mins

Young floats in a cross which Carew flicks on towards goal and it is hacked off the line by Solano, frantic stuff from Villa.

50mins

Petrov gets himself a booking after diving over Green, trying to win a penalty, no chance.

50mins

Barry slides a brilliant through ball for Agbonlahor who then cuts the ball back for Carew who looks certain to score but Green makes an outstanding save to deny Carew.

47mins

Boa Morte sprints away towards goal and nobody stops him so Boa Morte gets in a fierce shot which Carson has to get behind to save, first chance of the half.

45mins

West Ham make a chance with George McCartney going off and John Paintsil being brought on.

45mins

The second half gets under in beautiful sunshine at Upton Park but these players haven't been on the beach so far and we can only hope for a repeat of the first half.

45mins

Great first half comes to a close with both sides having a bucket full of chances each, Young pegging back West Ham after Solano's opener.

44mins

Ashton slips Zamora the ball who, from outside the box, curls the ball towards goal and bends it only just wide of Carson's goal, great attempt.

41mins

Young takes the corner which Green does well to punch the cross away, but the ball finds its way back to Young who whips in another cross which Mellberg heads inches over the bar with Carson rooted to the spot.

41mins

Young clips a cross in from the left, curls it in looking for Knight but Ashton manages to knock it behind for a corner.

40mins

Solano is slipped the ball in a central position twenty five yards from goal but his powerful drive flies high over the crossbar.

37mins

Zamora does really well to chest a high ball down for Noble who snatches at his volley and manages to flashes it just wide of Carson's left hand post.

36mins

Barry lofts a high ball into the boxs and Carew is able to knock it down but not even Agbonlahor and Young are quick enough to reach that one as Green claims the ball.

35mins

Zamora fashions a chance for himself but his shot is blocked by a flying tackle from Bouma, heroic stuff from the Dutch defender

32mins

Solano with another corner for West Ham but it flies over the top of the Aston Villa crossbar and thats the first poor delivery from the former Villa man.

31mins

Mellberg lunges in on Boa Morte, gets no where near the ball and is booked.

30mins

Young rolls the ball through the Hammers defence for Agbonlahor who runs onto the ball and takes the shot on first time, flashing it past Green's left hand post.

28mins

McCartney launches a long ball from a freekick up towards Zamora and the ball eventually finds its way to Ashton, who from the edge of the penalty area fires it towards goal but Mellberg gets the block in and clears it away.

23mins

Petrov breaks away from the Hammers defence down the right and slips a low cross in for Carew who gets in ahead of Tomkins but can only turn it around the post.

20mins

Solano drives in a freekick from the right and a head goes up to flick it away to launch another Villa counter-attack as Reo-Coker sprinted away towards goal but it's cut short by a decent tackle from Boa Morte.

18mins

Frantic game so far and the players appericate a break in play after Tomkins goes down with a head injury.

14mins

Ashley Young puts Villa level after some nice build-up play lead to Reo-Coker's low cross found Young who cooly slotted the ball past Green, composed finish.

12mins

Young whips in a corner from the left but Carson does really well to come off his line and claim the ball with a great catch.

10mins

Agbonlahor does brilliantly to take the bal to the edge of the penalty area and cut it back for Carew, but it's too much for Carew and West Ham can clear the ball.

9mins

Neill goes into the referee's book after protresting a little too much over Parkers foul.

9mins

Parker is booked for his foul on Young

6mins

Solano gives West Ham the lead with a delightful freekick from right on the edge of the penalty area, whipping it past Carson whose outstretched hand couldn't prevent the ball flashing into the net.

5mins

Solano takes West Ham's third corner which is swung in towards Carson's goal but Knight can head it clear under pressure.

2mins

Villa clear the corner and are at the other end of the pitch in moments, Agbonlahor sliding the ball through for Young whose first time effort clips the post and goes behind, great chnce for Villa.

2mins

Solando puts in the first corner of the game and Mellberg's header desn't clear the danger and he has to poke it behind for another corner.

0mins

Solano floats a cross into the box from West Ham's first attack and finds Zamora but he can only head the ball up and over the crossbar.

0mins

Mike Dean gets the game underway here at Upton Park with Villa still having something to play for in the shape of a Uefa Cup spot whilst the Hammers have only pride to play for.

0mins

Aston Villa XI: Carson, Mellberg, Laursen, Knight, Bouma, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Carew, Agbonlahor

0mins

Aston Villa need a win and then hope for Newcastle to defeat Everton to climb into fifth place and take the Uefa Cup spot but a defeat an they could lose their grip on their Intertoto Cup spot. Olof Mellberg plays his last game for Villa.

0mins

West Ham XI: Green, Neill, Tomkins, Ferdinand, McCartney, Solano, Noble, Parker, Boa Morte, Zamora, Ashton

0mins

West Ham go into this game knowing that a win will seal a sixth top ten finish in nine years and are boosted by the return of Anton Ferdinand from injury who partners James Tomkins at the back as Matthew Upson is still unavailable.

Match Report

The final day ended in tears for Aston Villa, who saw Dean Ashton's last-gasp equaliser deny them victory at Upton Park after Ashley Young and Gareth Barry had wiped out Nolberto Solano's opener.

But in the end it proved academic for Martin O'Neill's side, who must now get into Europe that hard way - via the Intertoto Cup - after Everton beat Newcastle United to cement fifth spot.

Despite last weekend's damaging defeat to Wigan Athletic, Villa came into this game still hopeful of UEFA Cup qualification and O'Neill named an unchanged side as his side looked for the win double of first league victory at Upton Park in nine visits and a Newcastle success at Goodison Park.

Certainly they wasted no time showing that they were determined to carry out their part of the deal when Young rattled Robert Green's post inside the opening three minutes.

Alan Curbishley had made two switches to the side that had lost so emphatically at Manchester United last Saturday as fit-again Anton Ferdinand and former Villain Solano replaced substitutes John Paintsil and Hayden Mullins.

With eight minutes on the clock, that man Solano broke the deadlock with a fantastic 18-yard free-kick that flew over the Villa wall and scorched the left palm of the diving Scott Carson to give the Hammers the lead.

The East End excitement did not last long, though, and on 14 minutes, Nigel Reo-Coker embarked on another foray deep into home territory before squaring to Young, who sent a clever, low 15-yarder across the face of Green and into the far corner to claim his ninth goal of the season.

Now it was anybody's game as the sliding John Carew screwed the ball wide under the pressure from George McCartney, before Gabby Agbonlahor drilled a shot just wide, while at the other end, Solano, Mark Noble, Luis Boa Morte and Bobby Zamora each threatened.

With Newcastle now drawing at Everton, Villa's hopes of European qualification still flickered and with heavily heckled Reo-Coker putting on a man of the match performance against his old club, while the pace of Young and Agbonlahor began to cause the West Ham defence all sorts of distress.

Green showed why he had been voted the fans' player of the year with a brilliant smothering save that denied Carew, who then saw his downward header hacked off the line by Noble before Barry then drilled across the face of goal.

As the hour-mark approached, Green pulled off another outstanding stop to deny the rampaging Reo-Coker only for the supporting Barry to drill the loose ball into the unguarded goal and give the visiting supporters real hope with his ninth goal of the campaign.

In reply, Ashton had a header nodded off the line by Stiliyan Petrov and then the soaring Zamora sent a powerful header crashing back off the beaten keeper's crossbar.

With the seconds ticking down on the season, Curbishley went for broke with the introduction of ex-Villa striker Carlton Cole and teenager Freddie Sears into a treble-chance attack.

And the Hammers boss got the score draw he was looking for when leading marksman Ashton collected the ball on the 18-yard line before bagging his 11th goal of the campaign with an unstoppable shot that left Villa still looking for their first win in the capital since they beat Curbishley's Charlton Athletic at The Valley in March 2004.

West Ham United

Aston Villa

Corners

78

Fouls

921

Goal attempts

1613

Shots off target

74

Offsides

02

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