West Ham 0 Aston Villa 1: Third place for Martin O'Neill's side

Dec 20 2008

Aston Villa moved into the top three of the Barclays Premier League after a slice of good fortune for James Milner earned them victory over West Ham.

The winner at Upton Park came in the 78th minute after Milner's cross deflected in off Lucas Neill, with three points allowing Martin O'Neill's men to overtake Manchester United in the table.

It may be one for the dubious goals panel, but it mattered little to Milner in a week where Fabio Capello suggested he would be the next Villa youngster to get an England call-up.

O'Neill's young English players have given Villa fans real hope of breaking into the top four - but an American veteran in goal is also playing his part.

Brad Friedel produced a string of saves to keep the scores level when the Hammers threatened through Craig Bellamy and Carlton Cole.

"They have plenty of pace and are very dangerous," wrote Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola in his programme notes, highlighting Villa's strengths - but he has speed in his own side through Bellamy.

The Wales forward applauded Stiliyan Petrov when the Villa midfielder nutmegged him - for the rest of time he was stretching Villa's defence and creating space inside.

His first effort came when he raced onto Neill's lofted pass - but the ball forced the Hammers striker into a wide angle and his shot was easily saved by Friedel.

There was nothing straightforward about the American's save when Bellamy raced beyond the Villa defence to collect a pass from Herita Ilunga. Friedel stayed on his feet for as long as possible before parrying the finish.

Villa's first threat came from Steve Sidwell, who drilled a low effort