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3 weeks ago
8
For Burnley this felt like the beginning of their Premier League farewell tour, while West Ham reignited their fight for survival. In truth, there was little between the two but the Hammers showed why they have hope of staying up, providing the brief moments of quality, something the Lancastrians could not.
Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos expertly finished from two perfect assists to send West Ham to victory, leaving them three points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, the place above the relegation spots. Burnley showed fight in the second half but a 16th straight game without a win, including 11 defeats, brought derision from the home supporters and demands for change in the dugout and boardroom.
There was more than an air of resignation around Turf Moor before the first whistle was blown. Nothing in the opening 12 minutes suggested either team had the desire or capability to get out of the relegation zone as the game began at a pedestrian pace.
Burnley, as Scott Parker puts it, are often on the wrong side of the Premier League’s “fine margins” but it is often of their own making. On this occasion, Lucas Pires gave the ball away needlessly on the halfway line, Mateus Fernandes broke and slipped a precise pass through to Summerville, who reminded Kyle Walker of his advancing years, before dinking over Martin Dúbravka.
Neither fans are happy with life but the visitors were more vocal, chanting “sack the board” in the hope of ousting Karren Brady and David Sullivan, though Burnley supporters were not short of toxicity come the 26th minute. The second was far too easy as El Hadji Malick Diouf was afforded the left wing to himself, allowing him to send in a perfect cross, headed home by Castellanos, who did well to get across his man.
Boos rang out at Turf Moor, in the knowledge getting back into the match was nigh-on impossible for Burnley. At least when in a difficult situation at the turn of the year, West Ham acted in the market to bring new players to refresh the squad, earning January wins against Tottenham and Sunderland to help turn things around, with Castellanos looking a smart deal. Burnley, on the other hands, only had the ineligible James Ward-Prowse to show for their workings in a quiet window.
Another new arrival, Axel Disasi, was eased back into Premier League action against a blunt Burnley. The centre-back, on loan from Chelsea, has not played a minute of first-team football all season but was comfortable in the heart of defence to add further encouragement that West Ham have the quality to move up the table.
Chanting “We want Parker out”, “we want our club back” from owners ALK Capital and telling substitute Jacob Bruun Larsen “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” after calling for more encouragement from the home fans, summed up the mood. The Burnley head coach did have some support inside Turf Moor but it came from the away end, having served West Ham as a player for four years.
Considering the inept nature of the first-half performance, Burnley came out with intent sourced from within the dressing room. They were on top in the early stages, creating numerous dangerous situations, which should have resulted in a goal, only for two fine blocks from Marcus Edwards and Zian Flemming chances.
West Ham struggled to create chances to kill the game off, to keep things vaguely interesting. They were happy to absorb pressure and give Burnley the ball, content with their lack of cutting edge in the final third, as they failed to score for the ninth time this season. The only great escape Burnley could muster was the mass early exit of fans, and no one could blame them. West Ham fans stayed to the end, savouring the surroundings in the hope they will not be back next season.
