West Ham United 2-0 Aston Villa

Antonio scored with West Ham's 15th attempt at goal

West Ham secured a fourth win in six Premier League games to stay sixth in the table with victory over 10-man Aston Villa, who remain bottom.

The visitors, who had an early penalty shout turned down during a bright start, had Jordan Ayew sent off for elbowing Aaron Cresswell.

West Ham's pressure eventually told when Michail Antonio scored with a header from Mark Noble's raking pass.

Cheikhou Kouyate slotted in a second after a swift the counter-attack.

Villa will feel hard done by as they had a strong penalty appeal when striker Gabriel Agbonlahor's cross hit Antonio's arm before Ayew's dismissal.

However, defeat was Villa's first in four games and leaves them 10 points from safety.

Follow all the reaction to Tuesday's games here

Relive the action from West Ham's win over Aston Villa

'Stupid' sending-off costs Villa

Villa, who need wins to stand any chance of getting out of their predicament, had plenty of attacking intent to keep the Hammers on the back foot early on.

But after 17 minutes, Ayew recklessly lashed out at Cresswell, and his dismissal forced Villa to change their tactics by dropping back into defence.

Although a disciplined Villa frustrated West Ham, the home side dominated possession with their extra man and it proved a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.

"We were denied a penalty," said Villa boss Remi Garde. "I'm sorry for the referee but it was a clear penalty.

"We started well. Then after this penalty and this stupid red card, the game was over.

"The first goal, I'm not sure it wasn't offside. I feel very sorry for the guys to be beaten after the bravery they showed."

Aston Villa had the upper hand in the game before Jordan Ayew's sending-off, but their figure of 65% possession with 11 men had fallen 32% at the final whistle

Patience pays off for Hammers

West Ham forward Enner Valencia put a header over from four yards when a James Tomkins shot fizzed across the Villa box as the home side tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage.

But Slaven Bilic's side struggled to get their attacking game going in the first half as they were limited to long-range shots.

The second half was a different story as West Ham showed more urgency, with Mark Noble's passing and the way he dictated play key to their victory.

"I've seen many times that a team that has one player more can't find a solution, are more nervous and concede a goal," said Bilic.

"It wasn't the case this time. In the second half we played the way a team should against 10 men."

Man of the match - Mark Noble

Mark Noble (right) covered 11.47km against Villa - the most of any player from either side

The stats you need to know

• There have been nine red cards in West Ham games this season - four for the Hammers, five for the opposition

• West Ham had 25 efforts against Villa and it took them 15 to open the scoring

• Villa have won only one of their past 23 Premier League games

• No team with 13 points or fewer from 24 games (based on three points for a win) have avoided relegation

What next?

On Saturday, Aston Villa face relegation rivals Norwich, while West Ham travel to Southampton.