West Ham's late goal ruled out in 1-1 draw with Aston Villa

Updated: Mar 17, 2024, 01:42 pm

West Ham were denied a dramatic stoppage time winner after Aston Villa came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw in a fiery Premier League clash on Sunday.

Michail Antonio's stooping header, his first goal since August, gave the hosts the lead after 29 minutes. West Ham had the ball in the net twice through Mohammed Kudus and Antonio either side of halftime, but neither goal stood.

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Villa, who felt they should have had a penalty for handball before West Ham's opener, equalised in the 79th minute when Nicolò Zaniolo poked home fellow substitute Moussa Diaby's cutback after a period of sustained pressure.

The visitors, seeking to regain the advantage in a battle with Tottenham Hotspur for fourth place, could not grab a winner and West Ham seemed more likely to take the three points.

James Ward-Prowse was denied by Matty Cash's fantastic block before the midfielder's late free kick was bundled in to spark delirious celebrations at the London Stadium.

West Ham thought they had earned all three points before James Ward-Prowse's late goal was ruled out by the VAR.
Julian Finney/Getty Images

But a lengthy VAR check found that the ball had hit Tomás Soucek's arm before it crossed the line to leave the home fans frustrated and both sides with a point.

West Ham boss David Moyes refused to answer questions after the game about VAR, which had earlier chalked off what would have been a second goal for Antonio.

"I've got nothing to say on the VAR decisions, you can contact Howard yourself," Moyes told reporters, referring to referees' body PGMOL chief Howard Webb.

Moyes added that VAR decisions had gone against West Ham in recent games against Burnley and German side Freiburg in the Europa League, which he said was "hard to take".

Villa manager Unai Emery, however, said the decision to rule out West Ham's winner was "completely fair".

He told reporters that a point was a good result for Villa, though his side missed a chance to stretch their advantage over their direct rivals for the top four.

Villa remain fourth on 56 points, three points above Spurs in fifth, having played a game more. West Ham are seventh on 44, three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United who have a game in hand.