Emerson’s header earns draw for West Ham as loss of Mings hurts Aston Villa
Emerson’s header earns draw for West Ham as loss of Mings hurts Aston Villa
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The loss of Tyrone Mings to another potentially serious knee injury overshadowed this niggly draw as Aston Villa failed to win for the sixth successive league game after a midweek Champions League tie. The former Villa captain, only three months after returning from the second ACL injury of his career, looks certain to miss this Wednesday’s crucial European game here against Celtic. With Pau Torres still injured and Diego Carlos just transferred to Fenerbahce, they are light in this position.
![[Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey scores their first goal]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ba164632e15fb5040941921bf6b2f1c3a4b8bed1/0_74_2472_1483/master/2472.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Mings left the field in tears after damaging his left knee in a fair tackle by Mohammed Kudus eight minutes before half-time. West Ham, who lost here in the FA Cup in Graham Potter’s first game in charge three weeks ago, capitalised on Villa’s strange decision to play the diminutive Lucas Digne at centre-back thereon in and deserved their headed equaliser from Emerson.
It was a tetchy encounter and perhaps relations between the clubs had been affected by Villa’s irritation with West Ham’s £57m bid for Jhon Durán, their supersub striker, on the eve of last week’s defeat in Monaco. Villa had started very well, perhaps mindful of how West Ham had governed the early stages of the teams’ recent third-round tie here. Jacob Ramsey, the only change to the XI who kicked off the lacklustre defeat in Monaco on Tuesday, gave them the lead in the eighth minute with his first goal in the Premier League for 16 months.
Receiving Boubacar Kamara’s pass inside, Ramsey played the ball in to Ollie Watkins and surged on to the return, his momentum taking him clean past Vladimir Coufal and setting up a sight of goal. The Birmingham-born midfielder dispatched his left-footed shot, crisp and low, into the far corner, past the recalled Alphonse Areola. “He’s one of our own,” sang the Holte End.
