Kevin Nolan scored a brace as West Ham United climbed to 14th in the Premier League with a 2-0 away win at Aston Villa.
The midfielder broke the deadlock with just 18 seconds gone in the second half and grabbed another a minute later when he stole the ball off Fabian Delph and slotted in.
Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the contest.
Match statistics
Aston Villa
Shots: 16
On target: 1
Possession: 68%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 9
West Ham United
Shots: 10
On target: 2
Possession: 32%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 8
Was the result fair?
In a nutshell, yes. West Ham were the better team throughout the match and should have been ahead before Nolan struck. They showed more urgency than Villa in the first half, as the home side failed to impress. There were groans from the home fans and, apart from the final 20 minutes, Paul Lambert's side were poor on the ball and weak at the back.
Aston Villa's performance
The Villans were not at their best today. They played with determination and had plenty of possession in midfield, but failed to produce in the final third. Christian Benteke was feeding off scraps for large parts of the afternoon, while Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor were unable to stamp their authority on the game. Lambert will also be worried with the gaps that West Ham found in the Villa defence, not to mention their dreadful start to the second half.
West Ham's performance
Credit has to go to Sam Allardyce for the way he set his team up this afternoon. The Hammers were happy to let Villa have the ball in midfield and play on the counter. Despite failing to score in the first half, the system worked. West Ham exposed huge gaps in the home defence, with Matthew Jarvis finding space down the left, while Stewart Downing caused problems on the other side. The goals eventually came thanks to Nolan's quickfire double. As Villa produced a late surge, the Hammers stayed strong at the back.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Kevin Nolan: Marc Albrighton was brilliant for the hosts when he came on, but this win could be crucial come the end of the season. Nolan's first was a clever flick from Downing's cross, while his second demonstrated precision and composure.
Biggest gaffe
With Villa reeling from their catastrophic start after the break, Fabian Delph lost concentration on the edge of his box and allowed Nolan to steal the ball and make it 2-0. That was a critical moment in the match and effectively handed victory to the Hammers.
Referee performance
Mike Dean had a quiet afternoon, which is always good news for a referee. He frustrated the home fans on a couple of occasions, particularly when Agbonlahor thought he should have been awarded a free kick for a tug on his shirt. However, Dean got very little wrong.
What next?
Aston Villa: Villa travel to Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.
West Ham: West Ham welcome Norwich City to Upton Park, also on Tuesday.
Gary Peters
