But with next Saturday's crunch class at Bolton Wanderers looming on the horizon, Hammers boss Glenn Roeder refused to be downbeat saying: "We couldn't have given any more and we have let Aston Villa off the hook today.
"There are still 15 points to play for and we'll be playing for every one of them because there is still a massive belief that we'll be OK come May."
In a topsy-turvy end-to-end encounter West Ham almost took the lead as early as the sixth minute when Steve Lomas header crashed back off the bar and post.
Shortly afterwards Jermain Defoe skated clear before screwing his shot beyond the far post.
However, in the 15th minute it proved third time lucky for West Ham when Frederic Kanoute's right-wing cross was nudged on by Defoe for Trevor Sinclair to blast an unstoppable ten-yarder through Petr Enckleman.
In reply, Mustapha Hadji nodded Thomas Hitzlsperger's corner inches over, before Tomas Repka collected his 12th yellow card of the season for his cynical chop on the fleeing Darius Vassell.
Just ten minutes before the break, Villa found themselves back in it when another senseless shove by Repka on Marcus Allback allowed Vassell to clinically equalise from the penalty spot.
As the interval beckoned only a brilliant David James save prevented Hitzlsperger from putting the Midlands side ahead in an increasingly niggly affair.
In the 53rd minute, though, Villa did get their noses in front when Gareth Barry's low cross was allowed to find its way to the unmarked substitute Oyvind Leonhardsen who ghosted in at the far post to score with his first touch.
The Norwegian, Allback and J Lloyd Samuel each went uncomfortably close to ending the contest.
But midway through the half, Kanoute plucked the industrious Joe Cole's pinpoint pass out of the sky to equalise with a low ten-yarder.
After that, it was simply all West Ham as Enckleman brilliantly denied Glenn Johnson and Kanoute with athletic parries while Les Ferdinand and Defoe each skied over with the goal at their mercy as the Eastenders finally had to settle for a point.