West Ham 1 - 0 Aston Villa - (18/08/2012)
A match with spurts of quality (not from Villa) fizzled out into drabness with West Ham the happier.
The first 20 minutes gave no clue to the rest of the game, Aston Villa passed well, drew West Ham out and ignored the physical capability of West Ham's outfit.
Yet 4 minutes later West Ham clearly felt Villa's passing game would not take them into the final third and they pushed up accordingly.
Long balls to the effective Cole allowed Nolan to be a nuisance and Villa never worked out how to crack their shape. As soon as Diame found his feet the midfield was closed leaving Villa out of ideas.
Set pieces had West Ham invigorated and on the 40th minute a flick on ending up dropping to Nolan who wasn't wasting his opening day gift.
To be honest there wasn't much to toast from a Villa perspective; they looked stifled and lacked a plan B, they used the long ball a little more in the second half, and big hearts helped them get up the pitch but there was no real consistent working of a plan.
Ireland was involved and look lively, El Ahmadi was insightful but always on the back foot and N'Zogbia spent much of the game allowing West Ham to get back in defence. Changes to the line-up did little to stimulate the Villains, Gardner had a horrible 15 minutes, Bannan tried but had no runners and Weimann, like Bent in the first half had nothing to feed off.
The passing was fine, the attitude was excellent but without wingers, or players who take on their defenders the staleness were evident.
Albrighton and Agbonlahor were real misses, both create space and drag defenders and this should be a thought for the future, perhaps Carruthers future.
West Ham were well drilled, strong on the ball and played decent football, they closed the game and the fans were even treated to a goal line clearance from Nathan Baker when Maiga rounded Given.
Vaz Te was a constant thorn and constantly worked the Villa defence, even Demel felt his position as defender was safe and made the right wing his own.
Whether this ploy will work all season is a question for 37 games time but West Ham start with 3 points and a good blend of characters. Nolan, Noble and Diame certainly make up for any defensive concerns.
James Collins left with a smile on his face, with his opposite numbers pondering the next game; Clark looked nervous and Vlaar over exuberant.
Allardyce probably expected a tougher game, and was surprised to come out with a clean sheet and 3 points, I don't think Lambert will be too concerned, this was always a test and certain tactical changes will take time, perhaps with a signing or two.
A deserved 3 points for West Ham, but as a Villa fan it was great to see the team passing even if these first 5 games might be a hard watch.
