West Ham United 2-0 Aston Villa

Michail Antonio heads in for West Ham against Aston Villa — Antonio scored with West Ham's 15th attempt at goal

West Ham secured a fourth win in six Premier League games to stay sixth in the table with victory over 10-man Aston Villa, who remain bottom.

The visitors, who had an early penalty shout turned down during a bright start, had Jordan Ayew sent off for elbowing Aaron Cresswell.

West Ham's pressure eventually told when Michail Antonio scored with a header from Mark Noble's raking pass.

Cheikhou Kouyate slotted in a second after a swift the counter-attack.

Remi Garde says 'everything is against Villa'

Villa will feel hard done by as they had a strong penalty appeal when striker Gabriel Agbonlahor's cross hit Antonio's arm before Ayew's dismissal.

However, defeat was Villa's first in four games and leaves them 10 points from safety.

Follow all the reaction to Tuesday's games here

Relive the action from West Ham's win over Aston Villa

'Stupid' sending-off costs Villa

Villa, who need wins to stand any chance of getting out of their predicament, had plenty of attacking intent to keep the Hammers on the back foot early on.

But after 17 minutes, Ayew recklessly lashed out at Cresswell, and his dismissal forced Villa to change their tactics by dropping back into defence.

Although a disciplined Villa frustrated West Ham, the home side dominated possession with their extra man and it proved a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.

"We were denied a penalty," said Villa boss Remi Garde. "I'm sorry for the referee but it was a clear penalty.

"We started well. Then after this penalty and this stupid red card, the game was over.

"The first goal, I'm not sure it wasn't offside. I feel very sorry for the guys to be beaten after the bravery they showed."

West Ham v Aston Villa graphic — Aston Villa had the upper hand in the game before Jordan Ayew's sending-off, but their figure of 65% possession with 11 men had fallen 32% at the final whistle

Patience pays off for Hammers

West Ham forward Enner Valencia put a header over from four yards when a James Tomkins shot fizzed across the Villa box as the home side tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage.

But Slaven Bilic's side struggled to get their attacking game going in the first half as they were limited to long-range shots.

Bilic praises West Ham 'composure'

The second half was a different story as West Ham showed more urgency, with Mark Noble's passing and the way he dictated play key to their victory.

"I've seen many times that a team that has one player more can't find a solution, are more nervous and concede a goal," said Bilic.

"It wasn't the case this time. In the second half we played the way a team should against 10 men."

Man of the match - Mark Noble

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic (left) and captain Mark Noble — Mark Noble (right) covered 11.47km against Villa - the most of any player from either side

The stats you need to know

There have been nine red cards in West Ham games this season - four for the Hammers, five for the opposition
West Ham had 25 efforts against Villa and it took them 15 to open the scoring
Villa have won only one of their past 23 Premier League games
No team with 13 points or fewer from 24 games (based on three points for a win) have avoided relegation

What next?

On Saturday, Aston Villa face relegation rivals Norwich, while West Ham travel to Southampton.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

West Ham

Formation 4-3-3

13Adrián
5Tomkins
19CollinsBooked at 67mins
2Reid
3Cresswell
8KouyatéSubstituted forObiangat 90+3'minutes
4SongBooked at 48mins
16NobleBooked at 69mins
30AntonioSubstituted forJelavicat 89'minutes
11E ValenciaSubstituted forMosesat 86'minutes
27Payet

Substitutes

1Randolph
14Obiang
17O'Brien
20Moses
26Jelavic
35Oxford
39Cullen

Aston Villa

Formation 4-3-1-2

31Bunn
4Richards
5Okore
16Lescott
43Cissokho
7Bacuna
8Gueye
25GilSubstituted forRichardsonat 71'minutes
17Veretout
19J AyewBooked at 17mins
11AgbonlahorSubstituted forSinclairat 80'minutes

Substitutes

1Guzan
6Clark
9Sinclair
18Richardson
38Lyden
40Grealish
42Mason

Referee:: Jonathan Moss
Attendance:: 34,914

Match Stats

Home TeamWest HamAway TeamAston Villa

Possession: Home68%; Away32%

Shots: Home25; Away5

Shots on Target: Home6; Away2

Corners: Home5; Away5

Fouls: Home9; Away11

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 0.
90'+4'
Full Time
Second Half ends, West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 0.

90'+3'
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Pedro Obiang replaces Cheikhou Kouyaté.
90'+2'
Post update
Attempt missed. Nikica Jelavic (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Mark Noble.
90'+1'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Cheikhou Kouyaté (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alexandre Song.
89'
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Nikica Jelavic replaces Michail Antonio.
87'
Post update
Attempt saved. Jordan Veretout (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Idrissa Gueye.
86'
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Victor Moses replaces Enner Valencia.
85'
Goal!
Goal! West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 0. Cheikhou Kouyaté (West Ham United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Enner Valencia following a fast break.
84'
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by James Tomkins.
84'
Post update
Attempt saved. Dimitri Payet (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Michail Antonio.
80'
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Scott Sinclair replaces Gabriel Agbonlahor.
80'
Post update
Winston Reid (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
80'
Post update
Foul by Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa).
79'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Kieran Richardson (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Gabriel Agbonlahor.
79'
Post update
Attempt missed. Kieran Richardson (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
79'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Gabriel Agbonlahor.
78'
Post update
Attempt missed. Mark Noble (West Ham United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Enner Valencia.
77'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Enner Valencia (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
76'
Post update
Attempt missed. Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Dimitri Payet.

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