December 14, (THEWILL) — Aston Villa overturned a half-time deficit to defeat West Ham 3-2 at Villa Park on Sunday, with Morgan Rogers scoring twice in the second period. The victory strengthened Villa’s pursuit of a top-four finish, whilst the Hammers remained mired in relegation trouble.
West Ham made a blistering start when Mateus Fernandes found the net after just 29 seconds, firing a powerful strike into the top corner to register the English Premier League’s fastest goal of this campaign. Villa equalised eight minutes later through an own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos, who diverted John McGinn’s cross past his own goalkeeper under pressure from Ollie Watkins. Jarrod Bowen restored the visitors’ advantage midway through the opening half, deflecting Freddie Potts’ low shot beyond Marco Bizot at close range.
Rogers assumed control after the interval, driving Villa’s fightback despite Bowen having a goal ruled out for offside. The forward demonstrated composure and technical quality to drag his side level before snatching all three points with a remarkable long-range effort.
His equaliser arrived five minutes into the second half, a sharp finish on the turn that beat Alphonse Areola. The winner came in the 79th minute, a dipping strike from distance that looped over the stranded West Ham goalkeeper.
The result lifted Villa further clear of their top-four rivals, whilst West Ham’s battle against relegation intensified. Rogers’ contributions proved decisive in a fixture that delivered five goals and significant implications at both ends of the table.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
