Aston Villa miss narrowing gap to top four after 1-1 draw with West Ham United

BIRMINGHAM – Manager Unai Emery said Aston Villa “didn’t deserve to win” after they missed a chance to close in on the English Premier League’s top four on Jan 26 in a 1-1 draw at home with West Ham United.

Villa, who want to earn a second season in the Champions League, opened the scoring when Jacob Ramsey played a neat one-two with Ollie Watkins in the eighth minute before angling a shot past West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

Villa should have scored again, with Youri Tielemans shooting just wide and Watkins narrowly missing a header.

But the visitors grew into the game and deservedly equalised when left-back Emerson Palmieri headed home an Edson Alvarez cross in the 70th minute.

The Londoners were the better side in the second half, with Carlos Soler seeing an attempt cleared off the line by Ezri Konsa and Danny Ings driving a shot just wide.

In a frantic end, their manager Graham Potter was jumping for joy when Lucas Paqueta squeezed the ball home in added time – but he was ruled offside.

The result left Villa eighth on 37 points after 23 games – four points behind the fourth position that would grant them a spot in Europe’s elite competition again. West Ham are 14th on 27 points, a comfortable 11 points above the relegation zone.

Emery will be disappointed his team did not bury the game early on, after they looked to blow West Ham away in the first 10 minutes, having a goal disallowed shortly following Ramsey’s opener.

But in truth they were hanging on at the end, with Potter’s side looking more confident of a winner on a cold and blustery day in a raucous atmosphere at Villa Park in Birmingham.

“They didn’t create many clear chances, maybe one or two, but we didn’t deserve to win. We have to accept the result and keep going.” Emery said.

“We were winning 1-0, we started very well, then they were feeling better and better. To keep the result in 90 minutes without one goal more is always difficult.

“They created not very clear chances, maybe one or two.”

In a match littered with fouls and flare-ups between players, both sides had 14 shots, including four on target each, although the visitors edged possession with 54 per cent.

Worryingly for Villa, who face Celtic in a crucial Champions League game on Jan 29, the injury-plagued defender Tyrone Mings had to go off, head in hands, after going down and clutching his knee, following a challenge by Mohammed Kudus.

Emery said early signs indicated Mings’ injury would not put him out for long, but further tests would be taken on Jan 27.

Emery had already wanted to bolster his defensive options before the end of the January transfer window after Diego Carlos’ move to Fenerbahce and Pau Torres’ injury. He did not rule out a move for former Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Juan Foyth, whom he coached at Villarreal.

Meanwhile, Potter, who has seen his side earn a creditable four points from his first three league games in charge, said he was happy with their comeback.

“We struggled at the start, but we managed it quite well,” he said

“We’re really happy. Really positive performance. Probably a little bit disappointed to come away with just a point.” REUTERS