Aston Villa 0 West Ham 0

WEST HAM shut down Aston Villa and put more distance between themselves and the bottom three with a valuable point at Villa Park.

The Hammers are up to sixteenth after an excellent defensive display, capped by a man-of-the-match performance from young James Tomkins.

Frank Nouble, making his first Premier League start for the Hammers, made an immediate impression on an Aston Villa defence that would have been in the dark about what sort of talents the young striker has in his locker.

After just five minutes Nouble shrugged off the attentions of former West Ham defender James Collins on the halfway line before thundering towards the area, getting the better of Richard Dunne en route and firing over the bar after a slightly heavy touch.

From that moment on in the first half, Villa were the aggressors and they threatened through a number of corners and free-kicks, but James Tomkins and Matthew Upson were up to the task as they kept the hosts at bay.

Gabby Agbonlahor came closest to breaking the deadlock but his swivel and shot was beaten away by the diving Robert Green.

When West Ham were given the chance to break, there was little in the way of support for Nouble and, perhaps in recognition of that, manager Gianfranco Zola made a double change after the hour mark, bringing Alessandro Diamanti and Junior Stanislas on for Scott Parker and Radoslav Kovac.

The Italian switched the formation to a 4-4-2 and it brought quick dividends, as the visitors soon became the most likely of the two sides to find a goal.

Collins almost sliced a clearance into his own goal when Stanislas fired a low cross into the box, while Diamanti saw his shot blocked.

The game became an entertaining spectacle as both teams sensed they could snatch the points, and Villa perhaps should have done just that when Agbonlahor found himself bursting through on goal, but Green ran out to deny him.

Nouble was replaced in the dying moments for Manuel Da Costa, and the 18-year-old will have had every right to be proud of his performance.

Tomkins was the stand-out performer for the Hammers as Zola celebrated a valuable point and a priceless clean sheet away from home that sees them climb up into sixteenth, before Bolton clashed with Arsenal.