Jhon Duran shows West Ham what they nearly had as Aston Villa win on the road
Aston Villa's Jhon Duran (centre) celebrates scoring his side's winner at the London Stadium.Â
If Jhon Duran had got his wish three weeks ago, the Colombian striker would have playing for West Ham, not condemning them to defeat in Julen Lopetegui's first game in charge, as he did here.
Duran was so set on a move to the London Stadium that he posted a picture on Instagram last month with his arms crossed on his chest, representing the crossed irons of West Ham.
And although Unai Emery was willing to sell the inconsistent 20-year-old, West Ham could not agree terms and so it came to pass that Duran came off the substitutes' bench to hit Villa's winner in the closing stages.
At the final whistle, the young striker celebrated in front of Villa's joyous supporters, as did Amadou Onana, who marked his €55m move Everton with Villa's opening goal after 210 seconds, before Lucas Paqueta equalised from the penalty spot.
But Duran's late goal gave Villa the win they deserved, although they made life difficult for themselves after a dominant opening display. Emery must have been baffled that his side went into the half-time break on level terms rather than 3-0 ahead.
Onana had given them – and his Villa career - a dream start with a goal inside four minutes, which had as much to do with West Ham's poor defending as the Belgian's prowess. Guido Rodriguez conceded an unnecessary corner, and when Youri Tielemans swung the ball in, Onana strode away from his tardy marker Michail Antonio and thumped a header past Alphonse Areola from close range.
Villa totally dominated for the following half-hour. Morgan Richards had a shot saved, Areola saved at the feet of a below-par Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey hit the post after taking the ball past Areola and shooting from a tight angle. John McGinn also shot narrowly wide of the far post.
West Ham had offered nothing of note in response, but were gifted a lifeline in the 37th minute when Matty Cash needlessly bundled over Tomas Soucek in the penalty area. Tony Harrington pointed to the spot straightaway, and sensibly VAR's review agreed with the referee. Paqueta's stuttering run-up bamboozled Emi Martinez and the Brazilian put the ball away with the keeper floored.
The goal lifted West Ham, and they suddenly started to threaten. Emerson forced a good save from Martinez at the near post, Mohammed Kudus started to give Cash a torrid time, and Antonio headed a good chance over the bar.
It was a scrappy game, played in the warmth of a summer's evening, and had the air of a pre-season friendly, with several players looking far from fully match-fit. It took a flurry of substitutions from the hour mark to re-energise proceedings. Niklas Fullkrug, the Germany striker signed from Borussia Dortmund, got the loudest reception from Hammers fans when he went along with former Leeds winger Cysencio Summerville. But it was three of Unai Emery's replacements who had the biggest impact, combining for what proved to be the winner in the 79th minute. Ian Maatsen, signed from Chelsea for an eyebrow-raising €40m last month, burst down the left, crossed for Jacob Ramsey, who squared for Duran to clip the ball home with a crisp first-time finish.
Even seven minutes of stoppage time was not enough for West Ham to find another equaliser, although Danny Ings tested Martinez with a late header and Ezri Konsa blocked a Soucek header on the goalline.
Lopetegui will surely call up more of his summer signings when they are up to speed, but as this was West Ham's 19th consecutive league game without a clean sheet, working on his defence must be a priority.
Areola 7; Coufal 6 (Todibo 85), Mavropanos 6, Kilman 6, Emerson 6; Soucek 6, Rodriguez 5 (Ings 85), Paqueta 7 (Ward-Prowse 73); Bowen 7 (Summerville 73), Antonio 5 (Fullkrug 73), Kudus 7.
Martinez 7; Cash 6, Konsa 7, Torres 6, Digne 7 (Maatsen 74); Tielemans 7, Onana 7, McGinn 6 (Ramsey 61); Bailey 6 (Philogene 74), Rogers 7, Watkins 5 (Duran 61).
: Tony Harrington 9/10
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