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On Sunday, the fourth round match of the English Premier League took place. In London, the home team "West Ham" welcomed guests from Birmingham - "Aston Villa". After a dramatic battle, the winner was not determined: the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
1 - 1
3‘ [0 - 1] Liam Ridgewell
51‘ [1 - 1] Bobby Zamora
The visitors started the first half more actively. Already in the 3rd minute, they managed to beat the "West Ham" goalkeeper Roy Carroll. "Villa" captain Gareth Barry lifted a corner, after a huge melee in the penalty area following an error by Anton Ferdinand, defender Liam Ridgewell sent the ball into the empty net.
The hosts almost equalized the score after four minutes, but Marlon Harewood missed an empty net after a foolish mistake by goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. In the 14th minute of the match, G. Barry again lifted a corner perfectly, and being unmarked, Juan Pablo Angel shook the crossbar of the "hammers" goal. Just 7 minutes later, Gabriel Agbonlahor struck very powerfully, but his shot was saved by R. Carroll.
At the end of the first half, J.P. Angel headed the ball, but it hit the crossbar a second time. The only real chance in the first half was missed by "West Ham" captain Nigel Reo-Coker, who shot wide from inside the penalty area.
The second half began with an attack by the home team. Getting the ball on the right flank, M. Harewood shot from an awkward position, which did not pose any danger to the goal defended by T. Sorensen. In the 50th minute of the match, the equalizer came - after a corner lifted by Lee Bowyer from about 14 meters, Paul Konchesky headed it in, and the direction of the ball was changed by Bobby Zamora, who scored his fifth league goal.
Three minutes later, "Aston Villa" newcomer Stilian Petrov missed an opportunity as he got past R. Carroll inside the penalty area, but the ball was cleared off the goal line by Tyron Mears. Later, a dangerous shot from G. Barry was unsuccessfully cleared by the "West Ham" goalkeeper, but A. Ferdinand made up for his mistake in the first half by clearing S. Petrov's shot off the goal line.
Later, the home team gained control of the game, and in the 61st minute, "West Ham" coach Alan Pardew brought on newcomer Carlos Tevez, who made his debut in the English Championship. Neither team created any dangerous opportunities as all attention was focused on the center of the field. At the end of the match, S. Petrov and G. Agbonlahor had half-chances that did not pose a greater danger to the "West Ham" goal.
Despite the referee adding two minutes of stoppage time, the teams could not determine who deserved the three points. The match ended peacefully, with a score of 1-1. "Aston Villa" remained in 5th place in the league table, while "West Ham" moved up from 8th to 7th place.
