Source: Telegraph
West Ham United 2 Aston Villa 1: match report
A roller-coaster game. A roller-coaster season. And utter pandemonium at the end. If West Ham carry on like this, nerves will be shredded by Christmas. Zavon Hines's late, late goal, a cool dink over Brad Friedel after constant pressure had 10-man Aston Villa slumped to the ground and manager Martin O'Neill with his hands on his knees. And it was enough to finally lift West Ham out of the relegation places. A turning point? Surely. Related ArticlesPremier League actionPremier League tablePremier League fixturesSport on televisionThere was also a, to say the least, quixotic performance by referee Steve Bennett, who dismissed Habib Beye late on, which had its influence also. In the claret and blue derby it was West Ham on top but Villa felt aggrieved. Two hamstring injuries in the first half-hour had appeared to leave West Ham, well, hamstrung. Both Herita Ilunga and Carlton Cole, key performers, pulled up quickly after chasing over-hit passes with an audible groan from the home supporters as each player struggled. With the latter injury there could be implications for England with the forthcoming Brazil friendly although it may have just been a strain. None of that matters to West Ham. They certainly cannot afford to lose Cole and his departure appeared to hand the initiative to Villa who had been caught a little by the home side's bristling start. Zola had, for the first time, lost his temper with his players following the draw at Sunderland last weekend and a defensive reshuffle indicated where he felt the fault was attributable. In came Manuel Da Costa, for James Tomkins, and the young Portuguese defender started confidently reacting sharply to John Carew while West Ham were encouraged by a blistering run from Cole and Jack Collison's even quicker feet as he carved space. Mark Noble then combined with Collison to draw an alert save from Brad Friedel. But that stop was quickly eclipsed by a remarkable reaction from Rob Green who tipped over Stiliyan Petrov's fierce half-volley from the edge of the area, from a half-cleared corner, which, even then, clipped off Matthew Upson. It was some save from the England goalkeeper. Moments later and Green was in action again with a more routine tip over from Gabriel Agbonlahor's rising drive as Villa's obvious attacking menace quickly grew. It continued. Play was switched and Ashley Young whipped in a cross which Agbonlahor guided over with a header. It appeared ominous for West Ham but, on half-time, Cole's replacement Zavon Hines collected Franco's pass and bore down on goal. He appeared to lose possession, under Habib Beye's challenge, with Friedel collecting the ball but to Villa's fury referee Steve Bennett awarded a penalty. Noble swept it high into the net. Two Villa players were cautioned for protesting while manager Martin O'Neill angrily marched onto the pitch at half-time. It was a fortunate break for West Ham Hines even appeared offside with, perhaps, Bennett influenced by an earlier penalty claim. Soon after the restart Villa had their own penalty with Da Costa punished for climbing over James Collins. Ashley Young struck it low and confidently but Green produced another remarkable save to turn it away for a corner. But then he was beaten. Young atoned. He cut inside from the left and struck a superb, curling shot, with Green perhaps flat-footed, which arced around the goalkeeper and into the net. What a maelstrom of emotions Green had quickly gone through. It forced West Ham back. Villa, with Emile Heskey also withdrawn, were rampant, winning corner after corner. Finally it abated and, in a home attack, Julien Faubert's cross was deflected, narrowly away from the onrushing Scott Parker while Da Costa then shot over with Valon Behrami well-placed. And so suddenly it was West Ham who were threatening with Hines stealing the ball away from Richard Dunne only for his drive to clear the goal. The England under-21 international threatened again but this time he dragged his shot wide before, finally, he beat Friedel.