West Ham 2 Aston Villa 1

WEST HAM delivered on assistant coach's Steve Clarke promise to give the fans their first home win of the season as Zavon Hines' last-gasp goal handed them a dramatic win over Aston Villa.

A Mark Noble penalty at the end of the first half was cancelled out by a stunning strike from Ashley Young, but the Hammers were to have the last laugh when Hines chipped the ball past Brad Friedel for the decisive second goal with barely a minute remaining.

It was a lively start from the hosts, Jack Collison forcing Friedel into a smart stop in the opening minutes.

But they suffered a setback as early as the eighth minute when Herita Ilunga pulled up with a suspected hamstring injury. Jonathan Spector was brought on in his place to occupy an unfamiliar position on the left of defence.

The best effort of the first half came from the boot of Aston Villa's Stylian Petrov. After a Young corner was partially cleared, the Bulgarian let fly with a spectacular right-footed volley that took a deflection off defender Manuel Da Costa and forced Robert Green into a tremendous reaction save.

The keeper was called into action moments later when he tipped Gabby Agbonlahor's shot over the bar.

The visitors were starting to gain a stranglehold on the game, as they looked comfortable in possession and assured at the back, with Carlton Cole's pace and power the only likely threat.

That danger was taken away on 32 minutes when the striker went down with what appeared to be another hamstring pull.

Hines was charged with partnering Guillermo Franco in attack, leaving West Ham devoid of the services of their premier front man.

Just as it looked as if Villa were beginning to gain momentum, and the Hammers looked desperately shot of ideas going forward, the game turned dramatically on its head.

The makeshift pairing of Franco and Hines linked brilliantly, with the Mexico international picking out the run of his strike partner, who managed to get the wrong side of Habib Beye. The youngster declined the chance to shoot and made a beeline for goal. The extra touch allowed Beye to get back and make what looked like a well-timed tackle, but referee Steve Bennett saw it differently and pointed to the spot, booking the defender in the process.

To his credit Noble, who had missed his last two spot-kicks, grabbed the ball and thumped it into the roof of the net on the stroke of half-time.

Bennett was besieged by angry protests at the whistle, and it seemed as if he had had a chance to watch a replay of the incident during the interval, as just three minutes into the second half he attempted to even the scores with another highly controversial penalty decision, this time for the visitors.

Da Costa, who impressed throughout his home debut, climbed magnificently above former West Ham player James Collins to clear the danger just inside his own 18-yard box. But, bizarrely, Bennett adjudged that he had led with his knee and, to the disbelief of the crowd, awarded a penalty.

Young stepped up but his effort was brilliantly saved by Green, diving away to his left.

However, the midfielder was to atone for his error just four minutes later in spectacular fashion.

The England winger cut inside from the left and whipped in a wicked, curling ball that sailed over Green and into the top corner.

Despite the setback, West Ham continued to press, and they seemed eager to give the fans what Clarke had promised ahead of kick-off...an elusive first home win.

Hines toiled up front and came close on several occasions, first firing wide before forcing Friedel into a comfortable save.

Martin O'Neill, seemingly content with a point, went on the defensive, while the hosts forged on.

They were given a helping hand five minutes from the end when Beye was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Spector, with Bennett bringing play back after failing to spot that the Hammers were in the middle of a promising attack.

It looked as if it wasn't to be for West Ham but they earned their first victory in five attempts at the Boleyn Ground right at the death.

The ball dropped to Hines inside the Villa box and, with four players around him, he managed to wriggle free and stab the ball past the outstretched hand of Friedel.

Cue pandamonium in the stands and on the pitch.

It was perhaps more than they deserved on the night, but it was undoubtedly the slice of luck the team so desperately needed after a season of strife to-date.