Antonio The Hero As West Ham Banish Burnley Voodoo

West Ham climbed two places in the Premier League after a narrow victory over a resilient Burnley side.

Michail Antonio opened the scoring as he finished off a great team move from West Ham. The home side did ride their luck at times and would be happy to escape with the three points. David Moyes, however, would have liked to of seen his team be more clinical in front of goal.

Match Build Up

David Moyes would have been happy as he was able to recall Lukasz Fabianski to the starting eleven. The goalkeeper has missed the team last two matches after pulling out of the Everton match.

The other change to the starting line-up was in the striker position. Last time in the Premier League Sebastien Haller led the line from the start. Now an Ajax player his position needed filling. Michail Antonio just back from injury was given the responsibility from the start.

There were two new names on the West Ham bench. Ademipo Obudeko and Frederik Alves were given places in the matchday squad. Alves has only just joined the club and seems to be impressing quickly. Obudeko is the only other striker in the club, and there is a lot of hope surrounding the young striker.

Match Report

West Ham seemed off the pace during the opening exchanges. Burnley were pressing high and looking dangerous. Josh Brownhill tested Fabianski from range inside the first seven minutes. The returning goalkeeper managed to palm the effort down comfortably.

Despite the slow start, the Hammers took the lead. On his return to to the starting, eleven Antonio was the scorer. Jarrod Bowen made good progress on the right-wing before cutting a pass back to Pablo Fornals. The Spaniard whipped in a cross which evaded the Clarets defence. Antonio was left with a tap-in and made no mistake.

The goal was West Ham’s first against Burnley since Chicharito’s effort in 2018. The Hammer’s won that game 4-2, but have lost every encounter against the Clarets since.

The match evened out after the opening goal. Burnley were dominating most of the possession but struggling to break down the Hammers. The Home side looked to double their lead via a counter-attack, but their final ball was letting them down.

Burnley thought they had dragged themselves level. After good play from the Clarets, Chris Wood fired in a low cross which was inadvertently backheeled into the goal by Aaron Cresswell. There was however an offside against Wood in the build-up.

The let-off seemed to wake up the Hammers. Angelo Ogbonna rattled the post with a header. The Italian did well to get to the ball while under heavy pressure from Ben Mee. Wood then went close for the visitors. The Kiwi hit a low shot from 25-yards, but it was a couple of yards wide of the left-post.

The Hammers pushed for a second goal before half-time. Said Benrahma managed an effort from 20-yards, but it was tame and well saved by Nick Pope.

Second Half

David Moyes kept the same eleven for the second period. Sean Dyche, on the other hand, made one change. Dwight McNeil was sent on in place of Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson. The change was definitely an attacking one as the Clarets looked for an equaliser.

It was the Hammers that started the second half on the front foot. Antonio went close to doubling the lead and his own tally. Vladimir Coufal delivered a looping cross and to the Englishman. Antonio’s header was goalbound but cleared off the line by Mee.

Declan Rice went close for the Hammers before the hour mark. Antonio one a free-kick on the edge of the box near the byline. The England international tried to be clever and whipped a shot goalwards. Rice put too much on the shot as the ball went over the crossbar.

West Ham were playing brilliantly and were deserving of a second goal. Chances for Antonio and Fornals were well defended. Moyes wanting to kill off the game decided to make his first change of the match. Attacking midfielder Manuel Lanzini came on for Said Benrahma to add some fresher legs.

As the Clarets started to look more dangerous going forward, Dyche made another change. Wood was replaced by Jay Rodriguez. The 29-year-old had been well marshalled by the Hammers defence for once. Usually Wood manages to grab a goal or two against West Ham.

With just over ten minutes to go Burnley were inches from going level. Substitute McNeil hit a cross-come-shot which looked destined for goal. The ball, however, hit the crossbar with Fabianski at full reach.

Moyes made another change moments later. Bowen who had missed a glorious chance to double the lead was replaced by Andriy Yarmolenko. The Englishman dallied on the ball for too long and saw the defence clear.

Yarmolenko then had a chance to finish the contest. Rice played the Ukrainian through on goal. Like Bowen, Yarmolenko took to long to make up his mind and was closed down by Mee. The Hammers would have felt the comfort of another goal, and Burnley were looking threatening when they went forward.

The Hammers managed to hold on to the lead and win the game. West Ham now find themselves in eighth place in the League table for the meantime. Next up is a match against former manager Sam Allardyce’s West Brom.