VILLA EMBARRASSED BY RAMPANT HAMMERS

By Ryan Ghee
September 12 2005

Aston Villa put on a shocking performance at Upton Park this evening as they were thrashed 4-0 by newly promoted West Ham. Marlon Harewood grabbed a hat-trick for The Hammers before Yossi Benayoun completed the rout in the closing minutes.

It was West Ham who started the match strongest and from the first whistle they rarely looked troubled by a lacklustre Villa side. Matthew Etherington saw his early effort fly over the bar for the home side before Konchesky was denied by Sorensen within 10 minutes of the start.

After 25 minutes Marlon Harewood gave the home side a deserved lead. After a slip from Olof Mellberg, Harewood raced through on goal and calmly slotted the ball under the body of the Villa keeper.

Harewood grabbed his second of the evening just two minutes later as Villa failed to clear a left-wing corner and the West Ham striker poked Ferdinand's header in from two yards out.

Aston Villa did manage to apply some pressure to their opponents in the closing stages of the half but The Hammers defended stoutly. James Milner did manage to get a shot in at Roy Carroll but the Northern Irish keeper was equal to the shot and turned it around the post.

At the start of the second-half, debutant James Milner came close to scoring again as his cross-cum-shot hit the inside of the far post, rolled across the goal-line and deflected back out off the near post. The rebound fell kindly to Kevin Phillips but he couldn't direct his shot and it crashed into the side-netting.

At the other end of the field, Marlon Harewood completed his hat-trick after a shocker from Thomas Sorenson. The Villa keeper rushed out to punch a ball which he was never going to reach and Harewood was left with an open goal at the far post.

The Villans again searched for a way back into the match but McCann, Davis and Baros were all kept at bay by West Ham's solid back line.

In the closing stages summer signing Yossi Benayoun added salt to the Villa wounds as he turned Aaron Hughes inside-out before drilling a fourth goal past the hapless Sorensen in the Villa goal.