Wed 4th Nov - Upton Park
By James Dall Last updated: 20th December 2008
Villa: Up to third
West Ham United suffered yet more agony at Upton Park as a Lucas Neill own goal handed high-flying Aston Villa victory on Saturday evening.
The Hammers are without a Premier League win on their home turf since September and now risk falling into the relegation places should Manchester City get something from their trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Gianfranco Zola's charges matched Martin O'Neill's Villa for much of the encounter as both teams spurned excellent goalscoring opportunities, with Carlton Cole wasteful in front of goal and Ashley Young hitting the woodwork.
The game looked set for a goalless stalemate but James Milner's hopeful effort caught Neill on 78 minutes to deflect wickedly over the helpless Robert Green and lift Villa up to third in the table
O'Neill's young English players have given Villa fans real hope of breaking into the top four - but an American veteran in goal is also playing his part.
Brad Friedel produced a string of saves to keep the scores level when the Hammers threatened through Craig Bellamy and Cole.
"They have plenty of pace and are very dangerous," wrote Hammers boss Zola in his programme notes, highlighting Villa's strengths - but he has speed in his own side through Bellamy.
The Wales forward applauded Stiliyan Petrov when the Villa midfielder nut-megged him - for the rest of time he was stretching Villa's defence and creating space inside.
His first effort came when he raced onto Neill's lofted pass - but the ball forced the Hammers striker into a wide angle and his shot was easily saved by Friedel.
There was nothing straightforward about the American's save when Bellamy raced beyond the Villa defence to collect a pass from Herita Ilunga. Friedel stayed on his feet for as long as possible before parrying the finish.
Villa's first threat came from Steve Sidwell, who drilled a low effort just wide of Green's upright, then went even closer midway through the opening half after Gabriel Agbonlahor raced down the left and beat Neill for pace.
The ball was pulled back for Sidwell, with Mark Noble chasing back and doing enough to make the former Chelsea midfielder slice his finish wide.
England winger Young then struck the post after being gifted possession by Scott Parker. The error allowed Young to take the ball around Green but he was forced slightly wide and the finish clipped the far post.
Young also went inches wide with a free-kick, while Gareth Barry felt he should have had a penalty when he tussled with Neill shortly afterwards, but referee Mark Halsey waved play on.
Bellamy's pace was West Ham's outlet. Neill sent him away on the right again and when the cross came over, Curtis Davies sliced towards his own goal and Friedel was required to tip over the crossbar.
Friedel also parried a long-range effort from Valon Behrami after Davies had given the ball away cheaply.
Villa broke at speed just before the half-time whistle, with Green forced into a double save - from Milner then Barry - to keep the scores level heading into the break.
Zola's response at half-time was to haul off Parker and bring on Hayden Mullins to protect the defence.
Bellamy could not get power on the first chance of the second half, then Matthew Upson and Neill were off target with headers when they met set-pieces.
Zola made another change just before the hour mark when Behrami appeared to pick up a knock, with Lee Bowyer coming on.
Former Hammers midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, who predictably was greeted by a chorus of jeers, then replaced Carlos Cuellar after the defender also got injured.
Cole was presented with a clear-cut chance when Neill cut in from the right and floated a cross to the far post - but the striker got under the finish and headed over.
Cole had another opportunity in the 64th minute after Bowyer had released Bellamy to cross from the left. Luke Young blocked Cole's first effort, then Friedel produced a reflex save to stop the second.
Milner picked up a booking for tripping Ilunga, but he then earned Villa the winner 12 minutes from the end.
Friedel saved a close-range effort from Calum Davenport to keep the visitors ahead.
| West Ham United | Team Statistics | Aston Villa |
| 0 | Goals | 1 |
| 0 | 1st Half Goals | 0 |
| 8 | Shots on Target | 2 |
| 6 | Shots off Target | 7 |
| 6 | Blocked Shots | 2 |
| 7 | Corners | 6 |
| 8 | Fouls | 12 |
| 1 | Offsides | 0 |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 80.6 | Passing Success | 66.8 |
| 20 | Tackles | 31 |
| 85 | Tackles Success | 80.6 |
| 66.1 | Possession | 33.9 |
| 47.5 | Territorial Advantage | 52.5 |

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Everton |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Hull vs West Ham |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Burnley |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man Utd |
| Saturday 12th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs West Ham |
| Tuesday 15th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Bolton vs West Ham |
| Sunday 20th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 16:00 | West Ham vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 26th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:00 | West Ham vs Portsmouth |
| Monday 28th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Tottenham vs West Ham |
| Saturday 9th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Wolverhampton |
| Saturday 16th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs West Ham |
| Tuesday 26th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Portsmouth vs West Ham |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Burnley vs West Ham |
| Tuesday 9th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | West Ham vs Birmingham |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 2 - 2 West Ham | |
| Sunday 25th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 17th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Stoke 2 - 1 West Ham | |
| Sunday 4th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 2 Fulham | |
| Monday 28th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 3 - 1 West Ham | |
| Tuesday 22nd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Bolton 3 - 1 West Ham | |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 3 Liverpool | |
| Saturday 12th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 0 West Ham | |
| Saturday 29th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Blackburn 0 - 0 West Ham | |
| Tuesday 25th August | |
| Carling Cup | |
| West Ham 3 - 1 Millwall | |
| Sunday 23rd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Tottenham | |
| Saturday 15th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wolverhampton 0 - 2 West Ham | |
| Saturday 8th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| West Ham 0 - 1 Napoli | |
| Friday 31st July | |
| Barclays Asia Trophy | |
| Beijing Guoan 0 - 2 West Ham | |
| Wednesday 29th July | |
| Barclays Asia Trophy | |
| West Ham 0 - 1 Tottenham | |
| Friday 24th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Thurrock 2 - 3 West Ham | |
| Saturday 18th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Cambridge Utd 1 - 1 West Ham | |
| Sunday 12th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Grays 1 - 2 West Ham | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Birmingham City | 11 | 11 |
| 15 | Bolton Wanderers | 10 | 11 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 11 | 10 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 11 | 10 |
| 18 | Blackburn Rovers | 10 | 10 |
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