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David Hautzig's Match Report

West Ham 2, Aston Villa 1. Lucky Hammers Go Fifth.

A Monday 3pm kickoff here in the calamity that is the US of A is decidedly not a convenient time for me. The way my company works is that orders need to be placed by about 4pm for us to process them and get them ready for transmission to the warehouse. It would not have surprised me at all had I written something like “Antonio got on the end of a long pass from three cases of Billecart Rose”. Add to that the issue of my son’s school shifting back to remote learning due to a huge surge in positive cases in my area. Casa Hautzig was churning with activity when the match started.

The starting eleven probably surprised most of us. Hamstring injuries are not to be trifled with, especially when the player in question has a history of trouble behind the thigh. Even from a business perspective I scratched my increasingly balding head at the sight of Antonio at the start. Haller scored last week and looked far better than he had. Even if selling the record signing is the eventual plan, keeping him on the bench at the first opportunity gives out a rather weak impression to the market. But Moyes hasn’t put too many wrong feet forward in his second spell, so we had to trust him on that.

It didn’t take long for the first chance of the evening, and it fell to the Hammers. Masuaku sent a long throw into the box and oddly it bounced before anyone touched it. It ended up on the foot of Soucek, whose shot from close range was blocked out for a corner by one time Hammers target Matty Cash. The set pieced curled into the box, where Ogbonna rose up to head it past a fairly static Martinez.

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West Ham 1
Aston Villa 0

Despite the opening goal, West Ham might have felt disappointed to only be up by a single goal after ten minutes. They were getting behind the Villa defense, but the final ball failed them. In the eleventh minute Bowen got behind Mings, but his cross into the box missed an on-rushing Fornals and then there was nobody at the far post.

Villa got their first opportunity in the 19th minute, and they came very close to a leveler. After a shot from inside the box by Trezeguet was deflected out for a corner, the visitors took the set piece short. The ball was curled into the box where Konsa got his head to it and just missed the top corner. Moments later Cresswell was called for a foul on Trezeguet twenty yards from goal. Hourihane stepped up to take the free kick, and his shot beat the wall. Had it not been for a diving save by Fabianski it would have been an even contest. However, the goal Villa had been threatening to score arrived off the foot of Grealish after a short run down the center of the pitch. He cut to his right, looked up, and unleashed a cannon into the top corner.

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West Ham 1
Aston Villa 1

As the half moved on, the action shifted decidedly to Aston Villa’s advantage. They were better on the ball, showed quick movement, and capitalized on the increasing number of errant West Ham passes. After a dubious foul call on Coufal against Grealish, Hourihane whipped the set piece into the box. Fabianski couldn’t come out to get it, and it just missed Watkins. Minutes later Villa came inches from a second after a series of short passes inside the West Ham eighteen yard box that ended with a Watkins roller just rolling wide of the far post. My mind went back to that match during Moron Grant’s tenure when Robbie Keane scored in the second minute, and we looked fairly timid for the final eighty eight. Halftime looked felt like a good idea.

Villa won another free kick from a dangerous position in the 42nd minute when McGinn was taken down by Antonio near the top of the West Ham penalty area. Hourihane ended up taking it, and he nearly caught West Ham by surprise. Fabianski barely moved as the ball went into the side netting.

West Ham won a corner in the final minute of the half after Mings lost the ball to Rice near the top of the Villa eighteen yard box. Bowen got on the ball and tried a left footed shot that was blocked out for said corner. Villa handled the set piece easily, and West Ham were likely pleased to hear the whistle ending the first half.

Halftime
West Ham 1
Aston Villa 1

The questions about Antonio starting were basically answered as the second half kicked off. Masuaku and Antonio were replaced by Haller and Benrahma. The move paid a dividend literally in seconds, twenty of them to be precise, when Benrahma lobbed a little pass into the box that Bowen directed into the back of the net.

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West Ham 2
Aston Villa 1

Villa came right back down, with Grealish leading the charge. He found McGinn in the box, and only a late block by Cresswell saved what could have been an immediate response from the visitors. The corner was handled by the West Ham defense, but Grealish got the ball back only to send a low shot on goal that Fabianski handled easily.

A lot has been made of Grealish supposedly going to ground at the earliest possible chance. He is indeed fouled a lot. But his antics in the 53rd minute that earned Fornals a yellow card despite Grealish being called for a hand ball that gave West Ham a free kick showcased the reason for his detractors. You get the feeling that as talented as he is he would have been crucified by the likes of Bonds or Dicks. One thing for sure is that little head band he likes to wear would end up around his neck at some point.

West Ham won a corner in the 62nd minute when Fornals fired the ball into the box, hoping for a deflection. He got one off Mings for the set piece, but Villa cleared. Moments later Grealish fed Watkins with a long cross field pass inside the box. Watkins squared the ball for Trezeguet alone in front of Fabianski, who made nothing short of a world class save with his right hand. Moments later Villa came back for more, this time with Konsa trying a long range effort that required far less effort to stop. Minutes after that Grealish made the kind of move that footballers dream of, freeing himself of three West Ham defenders before crossing for Watkins. The Villa frontman’s header went over the bar, but the march continued on and ended when Rice was called for a pull on the shirt of Trezeguet in the box. Peter Bankes pointed to the spot, and Watkins stepped up to take it despite missing four of his previous six attempts from the spot. The penalty beat Fabianski, but not the woodwork, and despite playing more than good enough to be at least even it was still West Ham in front.

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At one point late in the half, the announcers said that Villa had 80% possession during a ten minute spell. It wasn’t a matter of West Ham being poor. It was far more that Villa are indeed a very good side, worthy of where they currently are in the table. I texted my WhatsApp group that it looked like we were playing Manchester City or Liverpool.

Villa, or more accurately Grealish, won a corner in the 87th minute. West Ham handled the delivery, but looked very anxious on the ball and lost it back almost immediately. In the 89th minute Traore, a name that creates unmitigated fear in me regardless of who the actual player is, tried a curling shot that Fabianski caught.

Five minutes of added time looked certain to benefit Villa, and in the second minute of it Watkins got on the end of a cross and beat Fabianski. VAR had a very long look, with armpits and toes being studied. The outcome made Watkins evening end very poorly, with a missed penalty and now disallowed goal. But Villa stayed on the front foot, and the home side clung on for dear life.

Final Score
West Ham 2
Aston Villa 1

I thought today would be an important test for West Ham. A chance to see how we compared to another team that has shown marked improvement since the end of last season. But I am not too sure how the teacher would grade us. Of course we won, and three points takes to fifth in the table. But if we are being honest with ourselves, Villa deserved at least a draw today. Possibly all three points. That is not me moaning or whining. It’s just a fair observation of the match I just watched. Yet we all know we have been on the losing end of those types of matches. In the end, good teams make their own luck sometimes.

Maybe we did that today.

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