West Ham vs Aston Villa match report: Jordan Ayew the villain after early red card

West Ham United 2 Aston Villa 0

(Getty Images)

When you are fighting for your Premier League lives, the last thing you want is an early sending off, especially if it’s completely avoidable.

Sadly for Aston Villa, their young striker, Jordan Ayew, put his struggling side into further trouble with the kind of behaviour that you do not expect at this level.

The 24-year-old elbowed Aaron Cresswell in the face and was dismissed after 17 minutes.

His team-mates may well have earned something from this game, as they competed well for long periods, before goals from Michael Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyaté in the second half led West Ham to victory.

Jordan Ayew was sent off for an elbow on Aaron Cresswell (Getty Images)

Rémi Garde, the Aston Villa manager, went into this game with real doubts over his future after leaving the media and fans hanging with his pre-match comments that he could leave in the summer due to the lack of transfer investment.

West Ham’s poor form had seen their aspirations of Champions League football all but disappear and Emmanuel Emenike, their new signing, failed to make the squad for the game.

The hosts started brighest with Dimitri Payet causing problems down the left and Joleon Lescott coming to Villa’s rescue with a clearance off the line.

However, Garde’s side then came into the game with Winston Reid similarly responding well on the goal-line to prevent Leandro Bacuna’s corner from creeping in.

Then came two big moments within a matter of minutes as Antonio appeared to clearly handle the ball in the area after a cross by Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was making his first league start since early November.

But it was not given by Jonathan Moss, the referee, and Villa were left needing a mountain to climb when Ayew was sent off.

Cheikhou Kouyate sealed the win in the 85th minute (Getty Images)

Villa initially responded well to the setback but it was clear that their lack of numbers would put them at a major disadvantage as the hosts took control.

Enner Valencia really should have put West Ham ahead when he headed over right in front of goal from James Tomkins’ cross after Mark Bunn had failed to gather a delivery from Cresswell. But the hosts could not break the deadlock before half-time, prompting a few boos from the home fans.

West Ham were the dominant force in the second half with Villa defending desperately in a bid to repel them. Micah Richards produced an excellent display as he cleared off the line to keep out a James Collins header from the impressive Mark Noble’s cross.

West Ham eventually scored on 58 minutes as Antonio sprang the offside trap to head in his third goal for the club from Noble’s cross.

They continued to dominate as Cresswell was denied by Bunn. The killer second duly arrived five minutes from time on the counter-attack. Payet was unselfish as he fed the ball to Kouyaté who coolly beat Bunn to leave Villa fans increasingly frustrated, as they chanted for Randy Lerner , the owner, to leave.