JOHN CAREW became an instant hero with the Aston Villa fans when he scored on his home debut to plunge West Ham deeper into relegation trouble.

The former Lyon striker was a constant threat before leaving the pitch to a standing ovation with 20 minutes remaining, after helping to pile the misery on the Hammers.

But it needed two superb late saves from Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to deny Alan Curbishley's men a share of the spoils.

Overall Villa deserved to register what was only their second win in 14 league games and they have now moved above the 30-point mark to allay any fears of being dragged into a relegation battle.

They showed some some admirable flair and purpose, with Carew and Ashley Young shining, and were not flattered by the scoreline.

Gavin McCann won the midfield battle in typically unfussy style while Olof Mellberg and Wilfred Bouma were solid at the back.

West Ham seldom threatend to rescue a point until a late rally almost pulled the game out of the fire. Martin O'Neill left his latest signing, £1 million striker Shaun Maloney from Celtic, on the bench and instead kept faith with the side which had played well in defeat at Newcastle.

Villa made a bright start start and Roy Carroll was quickly called into meaningful action when he tipped away a shot from Young.

Carew showed his power to reach the byline before cutting back an inviting cross for Young but Luis Boa Morte got back to put in a crucial challenge.

Matthew Upson's Villa Park injury curse struck agains after 28 minutes when the Hammers' £7.5 million signing injured an ankle on his debut after falling awkwardly.

He had suffered a ruptured achilles in the warm-up when playing for Birmingham last April.

Carew was creating a favourable impression and after 36 minutes the 27-yearold collected Young's pass before holding off Calum Davenport and driving his shot past Carroll.

McCann came within inches of doubling Villa's lead just after the hour mark when Carroll was well beaten by a low left-footed shot which fizzed past the post.

Carroll tippled over a piledriver from Stilian Petrov while substitute Patrick Berger had the ball in the net but was penalised for stepping offside.

West Ham finally came to life and Thomas Sorensen made two superb saves to deny Matthew Etherington and Davenport at point blank range while Bouma deflected a George McCartney header onto his own crossbar.