Another lacklustre performance from Aston Villa saw them sink into the relegation zone, losing 2-0 to Hull City.
There was very little action in the opening period of the game with both teams knowing the importance of the fixture.
However, Nikica Jelavic opened the scoring after 22 minutes for the hosts as his shot lopped over Brad Guzan after the striker’s shot deflected over Ciaran Clark’s outstretched leg.
Villa offered very little threat going forward for the remainder of the half, despite their front three of Sinclair, Agbonlahor and Weimann and even the impressive Carles Gil was struggling to make an impact.
The score remained the same until the break with Villa becoming increasingly frustrated, never particularly troubling a comfortable looking Hull.
Christian Benteke was introduced at half-time, replacing the ineffective Andreas Weimann. However, the Belgian striker failed to make too much of an impact.
Although Villa enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, the Midlands team still looked no more likely to produce a goal, appearing to be a side severely scarce of creativity and flair.
The game was effectively over when new £3m signing Dame N’Doye tucked in a rebound off his own shot with a little over a quarter of an hour remaining.
The result doesn’t bode well for the future of Paul Lambert, with an ever-increasing amount of fans calling for his sacking. The statistics of Lambert’s side speaks for themselves.
Though credit should not be taken from Hull City, they were rarely tested at all by a Villa side lacking terribly in confidence and leadership as they fall just one position above 19th-placed Burnley, who could leapfrog them with as little as a draw at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.