Crash and Burn for sad Moyes
WEST HAM 0 BURNLEY 1
WHAT will Burnley do without Sean Dyche?
Who could they possibly attract to inspire the same impact from the players at his disposal if they allow their manager to make his exit?
West Ham battered them for much of this game but Jay Rodriguez’s superb first-half header ensured Dyche headed home with another three points.
Smash and grab it may well have been but on the other hand you could perhaps point to the organisation, the defensive resilience and the character Dyche has instilled in his men.
This is now three wins from their last four. A third victory on the road in their last five.
It comes, too, despite their 5-0 demolition by Manchester City, the financial crisis enveloping the club and the fact that so many of Dyche’s players have yet to receive the new deals they are after.
His side were helped here by the fact that VAR didn’t even review James Tarkowski’s high, dangerous lunge on
Jarrod Bowen. Had the video assistant seen it, Tarkowski would almost certainly have been off.
Burnley were also helped by the fact that West Ham simply can’t defend. David Moyes’ side have now gone 15 games since they last kept a clean sheet.
Fortunately for them, the bottom three are awful. But West Ham have to find a way to stop conceding goals.
On this occasion it was Ryan Fredericks who failed to prevent Charlie Taylor sending in a superb cross from the left seven minutes before the break. Rodriguez powered in a header that smacked the bar and bounced over the line.
Before that Tomas Soucek had blown a number of chances to put the home side ahead. Just four minutes in, he found himself in space outside the box but sent his effort over the bar. Eleven minutes later he sent a header just too high.
Then after 29 minutes, he ghosted into the Burnley box to meet Fredericks’ cross – only to send his volley straight at keeper Nick Pope.
Sebastian Haller came off the bench to add more firepower to Moyes’ frontline and could have levelled with his first touch from eight yards in the 62nd minute. Trouble was, the Frenchman was rusty. Pope, by now, was hot, saving with his right leg.
It could have been even worse for the home side had substitute Chris Wood not been offside when he tapped in Phil Bardsley’s low cross from close range.
WEST HAM (4-5-1): Fabianski 6; Fredericks 6, Ogbonna 6, Diop 6, Cresswell 7; Yarmolenko 6 (Haller 62, 5), Rice, Fornals 6 (Ajeti 86), SOUCEK 7, Bowen 7; Antonio 6. Subs: Randolph, Lanzini, Balbuena, Noble, Wilshere, Masuaku, Johnson. BURNLEY (4-4-2): POPE 8; Bardsley 7, Long 7, Tarkowski 7, Taylor 7; Brownhill 7, Pieters 7, Westwood 7, Mcneil 7; Rodriguez 8, Vydra 7 (Wood 58, 8). Subs: Peacock-farrell, Gudmundsson, Brady, Thompson, Dunne, Benson, Goodridge, Driscoll-glennon. REFEREE: Michael Oliver 7