LONDON, Sept 11: Argentine Carlos Tevez made his eagerly awaited debut for West Ham United when he came on as a 61st minute substitute in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.

Tevez, 22, who signed for West Ham along with compatriot Javier Mascherano just before the close of the transfer window on Aug 31, did not have a huge impact on the match which both sides came close to winning.

Mascherano, who also signed from Brazilian club Corinthians, did not come off the bench to play in an evenly fought match.

Villa took the lead in the fourth minute at Upton Park through defender Liam Ridgewell who prodded the ball over the line after the West Ham defence failed to clear.

West Ham equalised after 51 minutes when a header from Paul Konchesky took a deflection off team mate Bobby Zamora's thigh and flew into the net past goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson.

Results: