Guzan heroics deny Carroll as West Ham are held by Villa

Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan denied West Ham substitute Andy Carroll a fairytale return to action with an astonishing save in the dying seconds of a 0-0 draw at Upton Park.

Carroll sampled his first action of the season after sustaining an ankle injury in pre-season when he replaced Mark Noble one minute into the four added on. The switch by West Ham manager Sam Allardyce almost paid off instantly.

The outstanding Stewart Downing, bursting with confidence after his recall to the England squad, threw over a delightful cross that Carroll headed at goal.

It looked netbound, but Guzan had other ideas as he threw himself across his line to prevent a certain winning goal.

West Ham should probably have won given that they enjoyed more of the possession and play, but Villa hung on grimly to end their six-match losing streak.

The Hammers remain fourth in the table with 18 points from 11 games, while Aston Villa will be happy with a point that keeps them just above the relegation zone on 11 points.

5' CHANCE! Noble heads over the bar from seven yards out. Should have had hit the target there. Was little or no pressure on him. Let-off for Villa early on.

13' CHANCE! Glorious chance for Agbonlahor as he gallops into the West Ham box. Collins can't get back, but he lifts the ball well over the bar. Great chance not snapped up.

24' SAVE! Brilliant stop by Guzan! Plenty of pace on the hit by Downing, but the Villa keeper gets right behind it to make a timely save.

38' SAVE! Adrian with the save from the Weimann effort. Best move of the afternoon so far from Villa. Some nice play by N'Zogbia to play provider.

47' CHANCE! Chance for Cleverley early in the second period, but he drives the ball over the bar. Inches over. Almost the opener for Villa.

78' CHANCE! Lovely little cross from Carlton Cole to pick out Sakho, but he heads a few yards over the bar. Superb move from the Hammers.

89' CHANCE! Jenkinson with a free header, but straight at Guzan from the Downing cross. Lovely ball in. West Ham pressing for the three points.

90+3' CHANCE! Carroll with a header from the Downing cross, but a brilliant diving stop by Guzan to keep that out. What a save that is.

Aston Villa take their first points in seven PL matches since they won against Liverpool 1-0 on 13 September 2014 (W0-D1-L6).

West Ham equal their best ever start to a PL era season with 18 points, matching 2005/06 and 2012/13 – where they finished ninth and 10th respectively.

Villa's five goals this season are the joint lowest amount of goals after 10 matches into a single top flight season, alongside 2002/03. The fewest goals after 11 matches also came in 2002/03, scoring only seven.

TALKING POINT: Villa end their losing run, but will they be happy? Of course. West Ham are a real handful and will win more points than they lose this season, but Paul Lambert's triers refused to buckle despite being under siege in the first 30 minutes. They recovered strongly and will feel they were worth their point for refusing to collapse - which would be a fair assessment of an entertaining 0-0 draw between two committed sides.

Stewart Downing (West Ham United) - Can play in the hole behind the forwards, but some of his crosses were a joy to behold. Looks like he could make a real impact with Roy Hodgson's England squad on his return.

West Ham United: Adrian 7, Jenkinson 7, Collins 7, Reid 7, Cresswell 7, Song 7, Noble 7, Kouyate 6, Downing 8, Sakho 6, Valencia 7...subs: Nolan 6, Carroll 7, Cole 6

Aston Villa: Guzan 8, Lowton 7, Baker 6, Vlaar 7, Cissokho 6, Cleverley 6, Westwood 6, Sanchez 6, Weimann 6, Agbonlahor 6, N'Zogbia 6...subs: Clark 6, Senderos 6