Reserves 0-0 Aston Villa FT

WEST HAM UNITED v ASTON VILLA
BARCLAYS PREMIER RESERVE LEAGUE
TUESDAY 12 APRIL 2011
KICK-OFF: 7PM

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Final score - West Ham United reserves 0-0 Aston Villa

93 mins - Villa have a late corner as a shot deflects off McNaughton and spins wide of the upright. There is a slight delay as the referee wants to chat to a couple of players about handbags inside the penalty area. When the kick is taken, it's too deep and floats too far for anyone. The final whistle is blown. Exclusive highlights and post-match reaction will appear on whufc.com and West Ham TV.

92 mins - Driver drops his shoulder and beats Deeney, but his low cross is claimed by a diving Siegrist at the near post.

90 mins - We'll have at least three more minutes. Can either side nick a winner?

89 mins - A third and final change from Villa as Burke comes on for Forrester.

87 mins - Barrera has had to come off. West Ham will finish the game with ten men. Faubert sends over a free-kick and Siegrist gets a touch. Corner. Vose crosses and Eyjolfsson swivels and glances a header just wide of the far post.

86 mins - No2 Berry is booked for dissent over in the far corner.

85 mins - We have 385 supporters here tonight. Not at all bad on a night when two other English clubs are facing one another in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

83 mins - West Ham are really pressing hard now. First, Vose sees his low shot blocked by Siegrist's legs. Seconds later, Faubert threads a ball through a defender's legs for Tombides, whose first-time shot is scrambled behind by the goalkeeper. The corner is cleared.

82 mins - Vose this time, breaking through a challenge before spreading play right for Barrera. He crosses low, but Herd is there to clear inside his own six-yard box.

81 mins - Good attacking play from Driver, who plays a one-two with Faubert before cutting inside and swapping passes with fellow scholar Vose. Driver then lets fly from 25 yards, but his well-struck effort goes a few yards wide of the target.

78 mins - A couple of West Ham loanees are in action tonight - Jordan Spence started for Bristol City at Millwall, while Olly Lee was re-called to Dagenham & Redbridge's starting lineup at Brighton & Hove Albion.

77 mins - Two yellow cards are shown following an off-the-ball incident involving Eyjolfsson and Gardner. I must confess nobody in the Press Box saw what happened. Villa are readying a second substitute in Lampkin, who replaces Johnson.

73 mins - Dyer is replaced by Driver. The former England man has put in a decent shift tonight. He heads down the tunnel with the masseur for a post-match rub-down.

71 mins - Another quiet period at both ends of the pitch. I think we're going to see Callum Driver shortly, presumably for Dyer.

68 mins - Carruthers is replaced by schoolboy Jordan Graham, who I'm told is a very hot prospect at the age of 16.

67 mins - A quarter of the game remaining and still no sign of the opening goal. West Ham have had much the better of the second half - perhaps they prefer playing in the dark?

64 mins - West Ham win a free-kick wide on their left about 25 yards from goal. Barrera shoots, but it's a couple of yards too high and doesn't trouble Siegrist.

63 mins - Vose is involved straight away, running across the pitch before collecting a pass from Ilunga. He shoots, but the ball bobbles and his effort spoons out for a throw.

61 mins - Collison's second comeback match is at an end as Vose replaces him. The No8 gets a good clap as he comes off. He was very impressive tonight, was young Jack. I can't remember more than a couple of occasions when he gave the ball away, to be honest.

60 mins - West Ham work Siegrist. Dyer does well to keep the ball in before Faubert flicks on for Collison. His cut-back is into the path of Tombides, whose powerful low shot is claimed by the goalkeeper at the second attempt.

57 mins - Abdulla wins a crunching but fair challenge on halfway and Faubert fakes to shoot before feeding Tombides. Wearen spreads play wide left to Barrera, but his low cross is too close to Siegrist.

55 mins - West Ham have improved since the break, but they can't create anything just yet. Barrera crosses from the left and Herd slides to hack the ball behind for a corner. Barrera crosses and Collison flicks on, but Villa are able to clear.

52 mins - Johnson gets in behind Dyer and crosses. It's just too high for Boffin, who tries to scoop the ball away. Thankfully, the ball swerves away from under the crossbar and is cleared.

51 mins - Barrera has a couple of runs down the left and the second sees him challenged and he goes to ground. Nothing given by the referee.

49 mins - Faubert does well to get a toe in and rob Deeney, but he can't prevent the ball going behind for a corner. Osbourne crosses and McNaughton is fouled by opposite number Herd as he stoops to head the ball clear.

47 mins - Faubert gets forward well down the right and crosses. Baker heads the ball half-clear to Wearen, but the midfielder's header finds only a Villa shirt.

46 mins - The Hammers get the second half underway. Eyjolfsson slips in alongside McNaughton at centre-back.

West Ham are making a change at half-time. Eyjolfsson is coming on for Winston Reid.

Half-time score - West Ham United reserves 0-0 Aston Villa reserves

47 mins - Tombides is felled by Baker. Faubert sends the free-kick over and Siegrist flaps at it, but gets enough on his clearance. Villa break through Carruthers and his cross drops to Salifou, whose fierce shot hits McNaughton. Seconds later, the half-time whistle blows.

45 mins - Villa threaten down the left edge of West Ham's penalty area but Wearen nips in and steals the ball before being felled by Osbourne. Free-kick as we enter at least two added minutes.

44 mins - Collison has looked fit on his return to the starting lineup. The Wales international looks full of running and has been heavily involved whenever West Ham have been in possession.

42 mins - McNaughton commits a foul wide on the Villa left. Forrester lifts in the free-kick but it's too high for everyone save goalkeeper Boffin, who catches.

40 mins - Abdulla releases Barrera with a sweeping 50-yard pass. The No7 has to cross first-time, but his effort is well-hit. Tombides is there, but Siegrist reads the delivery and catches at the near post.

38 mins - Barrera and Faubert have swapped flanks. The Mexican takes on Berry and Johnson and is clipped a few yards outside the penalty area. Collison takes and Reid swings a leg but doesn't make enough contact. Faubert retrieves and the ball is headed clear to Barrera, whose cross is headed a foot wide of the right-hand post by McNaughton. So close!

36 mins - Barrera takes on Berry and wins a corner. It's taken short to Collison, who holds the ball up and feeds Faubert. He lays it back for Dyer to cross. He stands the ball up and Ilunga challenges Siegrist, who fumbles. No foul, but Villa scramble the ball clear.

34 mins - Villa break and Gardner has room to cross from the right. It's a great ball and eludes Reid's slide before Dyer somehow diverts the ball over the crossbar under pressure from Johnson. The corner is cleared.

30 mins - Dyer bursts on to a pass from Faubert before winning a corner. Faubert to take... He over-hits his delivery and it flies over the top of everyone.

27 mins - Watching Kevin MacDonald coach the Villa side is an experience in itself. The Scot won the 'double' with Liverpool in 1986 and is a real character. He is forever barking orders at his young players. MacDonald has had great success with Villa's reserves, so his approach clearly works.

25 mins - Good stuff. Collison plays Tombides in down the left channel. He crosses low to Faubert, who lays the ball back to Barrera to hit. The Mexican shoots, but it's blocked by Herd. Quite a good chance, that.

24 mins - The sun is going down behind Boffin's goal and would make it difficult for Siegrist to see the ball if West Ham can get some shots in on goal. So far, they've not managed to put together a meaningful spell of pressure.

22 mins - Togo international Salifou bursts through the middle and shoots left-footed from 25 yards. The shot is well-struck and Boffin does well to cling on above his head.

21 mins - To be honest, the pitch is not really helping matters. The ball is bobbling around and the surface is making it difficult to control and dribble with.

19 mins - The goalmouth action has dried up completely in the last few moments, although West Ham have had a couple of attacks. The latest one ends with Herd cutting out Faubert's low cross.

14 mins - Villa win a challenge in midfield and the ball spins to Johnson. He cuts inside and shoots. The ball flcks off Reid and behind for a corner. The initial delivery is won by McNaughton but not cleared. The ball drops to Herd, who drives a low shot a yard wide from inside the penalty area.

12 mins - Another chance for the visitors. Abdulla is caught in possession by Salifou and Forrester releases Gardner. The striker looks up and has options, but over-hits his cross and it bounces out beyond the far post for a goal kick.

11 mins - Good football from Villa. Salifou and Osbourne combine before the latter feeds left winger Johnson. His deep cross picks out Carruthers, but the No7's volley bounces up and straight into the hands of Boffin.

10 mins - Gardner tries to out-strip McNaughton down the inside-right channel but the captain is there to make a thumping sliding challenge and win the ball cleanly. Good stuff again from the big defender.

8 mins - McNaughton is alert as Osbourne tries to release Gardner through the middle. The centre-backs takes no chances and hammers the ball over the same fence the other one disappeared behind. A fourth ball in eight minutes!

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7 mins - Another odd moment as we have two balls on the pitch. The referee stops the game and Tombides re-starts by prodding the ball back to Siegrist.

5 mins - McNaughton wins a towering header and Collison flicks the ball on for Wearen. The Irish U19 midfielder tries to play in Tombides, but his pass is too strong and an easy claim for goalkeeper Siegrist.

3 mins - A long ball out of defence for Tombides to chase. He gets a toe to it, but Baker ushers the ball out for a goal kick. It's going to be a hard evening for Tombides up front on his own, but he is a willing runner and will work very hard.

2 mins - Good build-up from Villa after a surging run from Herd and a nice cross-field pass from Osbourne. Carruthers crosses and Ilunga blocks with his head.

1 min - Within 15 seconds, the ball disappears over the fence and out of the stadium. Interesting start!

7pm - Gardner and Forrester kick-off...

6.58pm - Here come the two teams, led by their two No5s. Captains for the night are Callum McNaughton and Australian Chris Herd. After a quick chat and toss of the coin, Villa will kick-off.

6.55pm - Encouraging news from Italy, where Robert Hall and George Moncur both started for England U18s in a 1-1 friendly draw. Hall played for 65 minutes and Moncur for 72 minutes before being replaced. Meanwhile, schoolboy defender Leo Chambers has been included in the England U16 squad for the forthcoming Algarve Tournament in Portugal later this month. 

6.50pm - I am told West Ham will employ a 4-1-4-1 formation. Boffin will be in goal, with Dyer, McNaughton, Reid and Ilunga across the back four. Abdulla will shield the defence, with Faubert, Wearen, Collison and Barrera in midfield and Tombides up front on his own. The two teams are back in the dressing rooms and the sprinklers are back on again.

6.45pm - A number of young professionals and scholars have come along to cheer on their club-mates. Cristian Montano and Sebastian Lletget are sat in the stand in front of me. The pitch has been watered ahead of kick-off, so hopefully the playing surface will allow the two teams to play some decent, flowing, attacking football.

6.35pm - The two teams are out on the pitch warming-up on a bright, sunny but somewhat chilly evening on the Essex/Herts border. Reserve-team manager Steve Lomas is eager to returning winning ways after suffering defeats at Blackburn and at home by Manchester United in their last two outings. Lomas has a strong starting lineup at his disposal, so he will be more than hopeful of scoring a victory over the 2008/09 champions and 2007/08 and 2009/10 runners-up.

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Kieron Dyer makes his West Ham United return in this evening's Barclays Premier Reserve League fixture against Aston Villa at Woodside Park, Bishop's Stortford.

The former England midfielder has been on loan at Championship club Ipswich Town and has now returned to the Hammers ahead of the final six first-team matches of the season.

Dyer headlines a strong reserve lineup this evening, with Ruud Boffin in goal, Herita Ilunga, Callum McNaughton and Winston Reid joining the 32-year-old in defence, Eoin Wearen, Ahmed Abdulla and Jack Collison in midfield and Julien Faubert and Pablo Barrera supporting central striker Dylan Tombides.

West Ham sit third in the Southern Group table with three matches remaining, while Villa are a point adrift in fourth. Arsenal lead the standings, with Chelsea second. However, the Blues have four matches in-hand on the Gunners and look favourites to qualify for the end-of-season national play-offs.

West Ham United reserves: Boffin, Dyer (Driver 68), Ilunga, McNaughton, Reid (Eyjolfsson 46), Abdulla, Wearen, Collison (Vose 61), Faubert, Barrera, Tombides
Subs not used: Wootton, McCallum

Aston Villa reserves: Siegrist, Berry, Deeney, Osbourne, Herd, Baker, Carruthers (Graham 68), Salifou, Forrester (Burke 89), Gardner, Johnson (Lampkin 77)
Subs not used: Barrett, Donecien