David Moyes: West Ham United poor despite win over Aston Villa
West Ham United rose to the heady heights of fifth in the English Premier League with a fortunate 2-1 victory over Aston Villa yesterday morning (Singapore time), but manager David Moyes conceded it was hard to watch.
Goals by Angelo Ogbonna and Jarrod Bowen at the start of each half earned West Ham the points, but Villa will feel hard done by after Ollie Watkins rattled the crossbar with a penalty and had a stoppage-time equaliser ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR).
"I had my head in my hands for a long time in the game. I don't think we played well," Moyes said. "It was not the level I was expecting from us.
Watkins looked to have earned Villa a deserved draw when he broke away from Ogbonna to slot home but, after a lengthy VAR check, the striker was adjudged to have had part of his arm in an offside position.
A frustrated Villa boss Dean Smith said: "We've missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed for a part of the body that can't put the ball in the net.
"The only reason Ollie Watkins' arm is out there is because he's fouled. He either scores or it's a penalty."
Over at the King Power Stadium, Fulham climbed out of the relegation zone after a shock 2-1 win over Leicester City.
The visitors scored through Ademola Lookman in the 30th minute and an Ivan Cavaleiro penalty eight minutes later.
Fulham had missed three of their four previous spot-kicks.
Harvey Barnes pulled one back for the hosts in the 86th minute. - REUTERS, AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now