Martin O'Neill's men, who were sporting their white third kit, looked strangely similar to the England national team and it was one of Fabio Capello's men who gave them the lead. Emile Heskey was the man with the goal finishing off some neat Villa build up play.
But, a number of defensive lapses by Curtis Davies and Carlos Cuellar threatened to wreck another good attacking performance and with just five minutes to go Tristan finally restored parity for West Ham.
The away side would have stolen all three points at the end but Brad Friedel kept out Mark Noble's goalbound effort.
Villa went into the game still harbouring hopes of catching Arsenal, who sat eight points clear of fifth prior to kick off.
With the Gunners in F.A. Cup action, the real Claret and Blue had a great chance to secure a confidence booster against an attacking West Ham side who are normally given a warm welcome to the Midlands.
But, Hammer manager Gianfranco Zola nearly saw his flowing football policy pay off in the early stages as young winger Junior Stanislas cut open the Villa defence only to find Friedel in defiant mood.
The early signs were not good for a Villa defence who have shipped an astonishing 11 goals in their last three Premier League games.
Cuellar was preferred to Zat Knight and he did little to justify his selection as West Ham beat the home backline on a number of occasions.
But it wasn't just the Hammers who were having some luck going forward and Villa who have hardly been goal shy of late opened the scoring on 15 minutes.
After a neat build up - James Milner took up the ball on the right and slid in Heskey who side footed past the helpless Robert Green.
Upright
Suspicions of offside were raised but the goal stood and the big England striker wheeled away in celebration.
A quick strike was just what Villa needed. So often of late it has been they who have conspired to let in early goals but this time the boot was on the other foot.
The real Claret and Blue, looking to make the most of their momentum, then hit the post twice in the space of 10 minutes.
First to test the resistance of the West Ham upright was Ashley Young, who struck a left foot shot from the egde of the area which clipped the post on its way past.
Heskey then came even closer as he latched onto Mark Noble's poor backpass and lifted the ball over the on-rushing Green only to see his shot bounce off the inside of the same goalpost.
Zola noticed that his side were struggling to cope with their dominant hosts and he subsequently decided to haul off defender James Collins who was replaced by Kieron Dyer.
The former England midfielder is a rare sight on a football pitch these days after a long sequence of injuries and his introduction pushed James Tomkins into a central defensive position with captain Lucas Neill taking up a familiar right back berth.
The change did little to stem the Villa tide, though, and after half time the flow of traffic was again one-way.
Heskey could have doubled his tally after being played in neatly by John Carew but he took too long and could only shoot straight at Green.
A number of Villa corners also came to nothing as West Ham looked dangerous on the break with Noble pulling the strings in midfield.
The young Englishman was teasing the fragile Villa backline and his low shot was blocked by Davies.
Torrid
O'Neill introduced teen striker Nathan Delfouneso, who was strangely positioned on the left, with Young playing through the centre.
Craig Gardner also made an appearance as a replacement for Milner but the changes proved ineffective as West Ham continued to grow in confidence.
With five minutes to go, Villa were well and truly on the back foot and after a ball into the box wasn't dealt with - Dyer fired in a shot which was diverted into the net by Spanish striker Tristan.
It was yet another Hammer blow in a torrid season for Villa on their own turf and they must have wanted the game to end there and then. But, West Ham were not content with insult they wanted to add injury as well.
Noble so nearly netted a soul destroying winner but his effort was well tipped over by Friedel.
With just seconds remaining and the Holte End urging their side forward, Carew surged into the box only to see the ball taken away by Tomkins, who virtually caught the ball with his left hand.
The home fans were rightly convinced that it should have been a penalty but Stiles waved the protests away and with that the game effectively ended.
Another game which Villa had deserved to win ended in a less than satisfying draw and the result now virtually ensures that they will be in the UEFA Europa League next season.
Strangely, West Ham, who should have been on the receiving end of comfortable Villa double this season, will also most probably line up in the same competition.
From dreams of Barcelona and Juventus to the prospect of an all English meeting with Zola's men in the Europa League knockout stages.
How the early season excitement has evaporated.