WATKINS WOE
Penalty miss and VAR deny Villa star
AN Olympic Stadium is no place for false starts but somehow last night West Ham got away with two of them. But only just.
Ollie Watkins was a T- shirt sleeve away from snatching a late equaliser when he got just in front of Angelo Ogbonna to put the ball into the net.
Once the VAR lines came out there was to be no reprieve for the Villa man after his missed penalty had already cost Villa a share of the points.
West Ham went into the game knowing a win would put them fifth but a fourth successive away victory would have taken the visitors into the top four.
It was all a far cry from the final day of last season when these two sides met here as the lowest- ranked Premier League teams to avoid relegation.
The home side got off to a flier when, one minute and 50 seconds into the game, Ogbonna got the high jump on Matt Targett and headed in a corner.
But, rather than sprint away, West Ham stumbled and Villa pegged them back easily, bossing territory and possession.
Lukasz Fabianski had already made a good save from Conor Hourihane’s freekick when Jack Grealish found himself space 30 yards from goal, ran 10 of them then sent the ball flying into the net off Ogbonna’s boot.
It was not just words from Hammers manager David Moyes at half- time, but actions too – a double substitution.
And West Ham exploded out of the blocks even quicker second time round. Within a minute of the restart substitute Said Benrahma curled in a cross which Jarrod Bowen’s head flicked inside the far post.
This time the home side showed more resilience, but Villa should still have overhauled their lead.
Trezeguet failed to convert from six yards with the goal at his mercy after good work by Watkins, allowing Fabianski an unexpected save.
Then, when the Villa striker had his shirt tugged twice in the area by Declan Rice, Watkins wasted a soft penalty award by hitting the bar.
Villa continued to dominate a game that was getting more and more fractious on and off the field.
Villa coaching assistant John Terry was among those shown a yellow card even when stood in the dugout.
Inevitably, Villa looked to Grealish to lift them back into the game.
He had spent half- time keeping warm bursting the bubbles churned out by the pitchside machines whether the fans are there to appreciate them or not.
The soapy ones, perhaps – but not the metaphorical ones.
WEST HAM ( 3- 4- 2- 1): Fabianski 7; Balbuena 6, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 7; Coufal 7, Rice 7, Soucek 7, Masuaku 5 ( Benrahma 46, 6); Bowen 7 ( Noble 79), Fornals 7; Antonio 5 ( Haller 46, 5). Goals: Ogbonna 2, Bowen 46.
ASTON VILLA ( 4- 2- 3- 1): Martinez 6; Cash 6 ( Elmohamady 88), Konsa 7, Mings 7, Targett 5; Douglas Luiz 7, McGinn 6; Trezeguet 6 ( El Ghazi 74, 6), Grealish 7, Hourihane 6 ( Traore 74, 6); Watkins 5.
Goal: Grealish 25.