West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola was over the moon after Zavon Hines’ last-gasp strike earned his Hammers their first win since the opening day of the season. England Under-21 striker Hines was the toast of Upton Park after he netted the winner in the fourth minute of injury time.
Zola said:
“This could be the turning point for us. We gave a demonstration of desire and belief and that’s what we want from our players. Everything else is there. It’s a fantastic game to win. Every time Zavon has played for us he has been good. He has character and personality and he deserves to be in the spotlight.”
Zola must have feared the worst when left-back Herita Ilunga and leading scorer Carlton Cole both limped off with hamstring injuries in the first 32 minutes.
Yet Hines, who replaced Cole, set up the opener right on half-time when ref Steve Bennett dubiously decided he had been felled by Habib Beye as he burst into the box. Replays suggested Hines had been offside and that Beye had played the ball. Mark Noble did not listen to the arguments as he fired his kick into the roof of the net.
Bennett sparked more spot-kick controversy four minutes after the break when he ruled that Manuel Da Costa had jumped into the back of James Collins in the area. But Ashley Young failed to accept Bennett’s gift, as his penalty was saved by the outstanding Rob Green, who had earlier pulled off stunning stops to deny John Carew and Stiliyan Petrov.
Ashley Young scored a stunning equaliser in front of the England coach, when he inside and unleashed a right-footed curling shot from 30 yards that gave Green no chance on its route into the top corner.
Hines then became the Hammers’ hero at the death when he collected Scott Parker’s ball into the box and wrong-footed two Villa markers before slotting into the net.
Villa boss Martin O’Neill, whose side would have gone fourth with a win, refused to discuss West Ham’s penalty.
“It would be a pointless exercise as anyone with access to a TV monitor could make up their own mind. I’m disappointed to lose a game I thought we were going to win in the last 30 minutes.”
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