Two derbies were the last offerings of this week's Barclay's Premier League. Super Sunday was reduced to just the one game as Aston Villa entertained West Brom with Monday Night Football coming from Loftus Road where QPR faced West Ham.
Those at Villa Park had to endure a goalless first half. The Villa fans may have took some solace from the fact they were the better side throughout the half. Brett Holman was arguably the player of the first half and he pulled out a shot that had to be saved by Ben Foster.
West Brom out with more fight in them in the second half and the contest began to look more even. Perhaps it was a slight surprise when the visitors took the lead just six minutes after the restart. James Morrison powered his way down the line before firing a low cross into the box. Ron Vlaar tried to clear it but the attempt was hit straight at Shane Long and the ball went into the net.
The game began to get more open as both teams began looking for a goal for different reasons. Villa didn't deserve to lose the game by any means and got their equaliser ten minutes from the end; a scrambled corner saw the ball fall to Darren Bent who shot home. Either team could have then gone on to score a winner with substitute Romelu Lukaku being dangerous for West Brom and Bent likewise for Villa, but the sides saw each other out to claim a hard fought point.
It would end up being a mixed game for West Ham who managed to see off ten man QPR. The visitors would obviously be happy with the three points but maybe disappointed that they will be facing a hefty fine for receiving eight yellow cards.
West Ham got off the best possible start when Kevin Nolan crossed a ball in for Matthew Jarvis to head home after just three minutes. From there, both sides looked dangerous but it would be the Hammers who extended their lead ten minutes before half-time. QPR tried clearing a corner that ended up falling to Ricardo Vaz Te, his shot was fortunately let in by Julio Cesar who won't be pleased with his effort.
A double substitution ten minutes into the second half saw Adel Taarabt and Samba Diakite come on and have varied matches. It took just two minutes before Taarabt received the ball on the wing and began to make inroads, he then unleashed a shot that found the top corner to pull a goal back. But any chances of QPR completing the fight back were hampered when Diakite managed to receive a second yellow card on 75-minutes, 20-minutes after coming. The result leaves QPR rooted to the bottom of the league and still without a win while West Ham climb above Arsenal into ninth.
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