Riding high on last weekend’s win against Newcastle, it was hardly surprising to see West Ham fly out of the blocks against relegation rivals Burnley.
For all their early pressure, a Jarrod Bowen free-kick that flew straight into the Clarets' wall was as close as they came to an early breakthrough.
The first good chance of the game fell the way of Burnley, as Kyle Walker’s raking ball in behind found Quilindschy Hartman, whose teasing ball across the box was inches away from being tapped in by Zian Flemming.
It only seemed a matter of time before Scott Parker’s men eventually found a breakthrough, and it duly arrived 10 minutes before the break. Lesley Ugochukwu was influential throughout the opening 45 minutes, and it was his teasing delivery which was inch-perfect for Flemming to power a header back across goal and into the corner.
The Clarets had a stronghold of the game for large parts, but they threw it all away on the stroke of half-time when a short corner routine bamboozled their defence and Crysencio Summerville’s blocked shot fell favourably for Callum Wilson to head home from inside the six-yard box - his seventh goal in his last five starts against Burnley.
The interval probably came at a bad time for West Ham, who were just starting to build up a head of steam before referee Michael Sallisbury sounded the whistle.
Those seeking goals after half-time perhaps would’ve been wise to tune into another game besides this one, as goalmouth action was certainly at a premium after the break.
Changes disrupted the flow of the game at times, but once both sides settled back into their rhythm, it was the Hammers who looked the brighter, hitting the side netting through Summerville before Jarrod Bowen stung the palms of Martin Dubravka from the edge of the area.
Burnley’s resistance was eventually broken a little under 15 minutes from time in rather comical circumstances. Lucas Paquetá’s curling effort was only palmed back into the danger area by Dubravka, and substitute Tomas Soucek was on hand to bundle the ball home with his midriff.
The third, and clinching, goal was hardly dissimilar either, as Soucek’s long-range strike was fumbled into a dangerous area by Dubravka, and substitute Kyle Walker-Peters bundled in the rebound.
Josh Cullen did at least snatch a late consolation goal, but it didn’t prevent Burnley from falling to a fifth defeat from six away league games this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tomas Soucek (West Ham)
