Hammers fight back to earn point

14 April 2012
Full-time: West Ham 1 Aston Villa 1

Argentina striker Carlos Tevez came off the bench for his West Ham debut as his new club fought back to earn a point against Aston Villa at Upton Park.

Liam Ridgewell's fourth-minute strike had earned Villa the lead and the Hammers were fortunate not to be further behind at half-time after two Juan Pablo Angel headers hit the crossbar.

West Ham had lacked their usual fizz and were indecisive at the back - but they burst into life after the interval and were level within six minutes.

Bobby Zamora deflected Paul Konchesky's header past Thomas Sorensen for his fifth goal of the season.

The Argentinian national flag was hoisted above Newham Town Hall today to greet the arrival of Tevez and international team-mate Javier Mascherano, who joined West Ham in a stunning deal on transfer deadline day.

These are exciting, if uncertain times at Upton Park with a potential takeover in the pipeline - which is understood to have prompted the departure of financial director Nick Igoe from the board - coupled with the mysterious manner in which Tevez and Mascherano arrived at the club.

In an address to the fans before kick-off, Alan Pardew vowed he would "protect the integrity and the traditions" of West Ham but urged supporters to embrace what is "perhaps the start of a new era".

Pardew could have dropped Hayden Mullins and Zamora to make way for the newcomers but he wanted to send a message that both remain an integral part of West Ham.

"These boys (Tevez and Mascherano) wouldn't be here without the likes of Bobby Zamora and Hayden Mullins," said Pardew.

The moment all West Ham supporters had been waiting for arrived after an hour when Tevez replaced Marlon Harewood.

When Pardew first saw Tevez play live, he said "I saw enough in 10 minutes to know he will be a star for 10 years."

Little did Pardew realise during the World Cup that Tevez would be pulling on the claret and blue and within two months.

There were immediate flashes of what West Ham and the Premiership can expect this season. At one stage Tevez left Martin Laursen for dead inside the Villa box.

He could not conjure up the winner - but after the way West Ham started, they will surely be grateful for a point.

They struggled to contain Villa at the back, especially in the air, and fell behind after just four minutes.

Roy Carroll produced a superb reaction save after Gabriel Agbonlahor had risen to meet Gareth Barry's inswinging corner - but Ridgewell reacted quickest to pounce on the loose ball and put Villa ahead.

West Ham responded positively, Yossi Benayoun feeding a clever pass through to Zamora in the box, though the angle was too tight for a decent shot.

Sorensen then presented Harewood with a golden opportunity after scuffing a clearance straight to the Hammers striker.

But Harewood, who scored a hat-trick in his fixture last season, could not dig the ball out from under his feet and stabbed his effort just wide of the post.

West Ham remained unconvincing at the back and were lucky to escape when Angel rose unchallenged to crash his header against the bar from another dangerous Barry corner.

Luke Moore easily got the better of Tyrone Mears and the home side once again struggled to clear a corner as the ball bounced around the box six-yard box.

West Ham had little width and, despite some nice interplay between Zamora, Benayoun and Lee Bowyer, lacked a cutting edge.

Villa, on the other hand, continued to cause problems to the home defence. When Barry curled in a deep cross, Angel beat Danny Gabbidon to win a magnificent header which just skimmed the top of Carroll's bar.

Nigel Reo-Coker tried to stamp his authority on proceedings with a typically barn-storming run from the halfway line but his 20-yard shot was a yard wide of Sorensen's right post.

Immediately after half-time, Harewood got round the outside of Barry and lashed a shot into the side-netting.

It was a statement of intent from West Ham and within minutes they had drawn level.

Bowyer's corner picked out Konchesky on the edge of the box and his powerful header bounced deflected in off Zamora's thigh.

The game had come alive. Stiliyan Petrov lobbed Carroll but Mears cleared his lines with a flying overheard clearance.

Barely a minute later, Anton Ferdinand hacked the ball off his own line after Carroll had produced another top-class save, this time to deny Barry's swerving strike.

With the momentum on West Ham's side, Pardew replaced Harewood with Tevez.

He was followed by Matthew Etherington and Carlton Cole but they could not create a winner.

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