Jordan Ayew sees red as Aston Villa slump to defeat at West Ham

Jordan Ayew was sent off in disgrace as Aston Villa were shoved a step closer to relegation following a 2-0 defeat at West Ham. Ghana striker Ayew left his struggling side in the lurch when he was dismissed for a vicious elbow into the face of Aaron Cresswell after just 17 minutes. And it was Villa who ended up with a bloody nose after Michail Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyate struck in the second half to end the 10 men's resistance. Rock-bottom Villa were actually well on top, having forced a couple of corners and seen a reasonable penalty shout turned down when Gabriel Agbonlahor's cross hit Antonio's arm.So it was utterly mystifying when Ayew, who was jostling for position with Cresswell from a throw-in deep in West Ham territory, swung out his elbow into the defender's face and left him sprawled on the floor.Referee Jonathan Moss produced a straight red card and Ayew trudged off to leave his team-mates facing a long evening a man down.Villa promptly retreated back into their own half, with their remaining nine outfield players camped behind the ball, as West Ham set about what proved to be a difficult task of breaking them down.They were inches away from making the breakthrough when James Tomkins lashed Cresswell's centre back across goal but Enner Valencia could only divert the ball over the crossbar.Antonio fired wide after a crafty backheel from Alex Song, and Tomkins burst into the area again only to blaze over before Valencia curled a free-kick wide in first-half stoppage time.The one-way traffic continued after the break, with Micah Richards hooking James Collins' header clear from under the crossbar, before Mark Noble crashed in a superb volley from the edge of the box, only to see Mark Bunn make an equally fine save.Patience was clearly the order of the day for the hosts, and it finally paid off in the 58th minute when Noble floated a long, diagonal ball into the area.Antonio timed his run perfectly to stay onside and guided a deft header back across Bunn and into the far corner of the net. Cresswell, Noble and Dimitri Payet curled efforts narrowly wide as the Hammers looked for the killer second. It came with five minutes remaining courtesy of a lightning break from a Villa corner. Valencia collected Payet's neat touch on the edge of his own area and went haring up the field. Kouyate had somehow kept up with the winger and got his reward with an inch-perfect pass to fire past Bunn and complete another miserable chapter in Villa's nightmare season. TWEET OF THE MATCH "Nar good shout, it's just crazy behavior? The situation villa are in and he acts like that #weakmentality" - Former West Ham winger Trevor Sinclair (@trevor8sinclair) appears far from impressed by Jordan Ayew's red card. PLAYER RATINGS WEST HAMAdrian: 6/10.James Tomkins: 6Winston Reid: 6James Collins: 7Aaron Cresswell: 6Alex Song: 7Cheikhou Kouyate: 7Michail Antonio: 7Mark Noble: 8Dimitri Payet: 6Enner Valencia: 7SubsVictor Moses: 6Nikica Jelavic: 6Pedro Obiang: 6 ASTON VILLAMark Bunn: 7Micah Richards: 7Jores Okore: 6Joleon Lescott: 6Aly Cissokho: 6Leandro Bacuna:6Idrissa Gana-Gueye: 6Carles Gil: 6Jordan Veretout: 6Gabby Agbonlahor: 6Jordan Ayew: 3SubsKieran Richardson: 6Scott Sinclair: 5 STAR MANMark Noble. The Hammers skipper returned to the side after a bout of flu and totally bossed the midfield. Wonderful cross-field pass set up Antonio's opening goal.MOMENT OF THE MATCHFrom a Villa corner, Payet's deft touch on the edge of West Ham's area found Valencia, who got on his bike. Seconds later the ball was in Villa's net via the boot of Kouyate. Game over.VIEW FROM THE BENCHPatience was the name of the game for the Hammers, who did not panic and go more direct, and got their reward in the end. Villa started with two up front in Agbonlahor and Ayew, but that plan soon went out of the window.MOAN OF THE MATCHWho knows what Ayew was thinking when, with 16 minutes gone and his team actually on top, the forward decided to swing his elbow into Cresswell's face, earning a red card and leaving his struggling side in the lurch. Brainless.WHO'S UP NEXTSouthampton v West Ham (Barclays Premier League, February 6)Aston Villa v Norwich (Barclays Premier League, February 6)

Source: PA