West Ham 0-1 Burnley: Jay Rodriguez header leaves David Moyes’ men mired in Premier League relegation battle as Nick Pope makes string on fine saves
- Jay Rodriguez headed into top corner to give the Clarets the lead on 38 minutes
- Michail Antonio missed chance to equalise when he hit the post moments later
- Nick Pope then made a fine save to deny substitute Sebastien Haller an equaliser
- Burnley’s Chris Wood found the net on 76 minutes but was ruled offside by VAR
What a difference a week made for West Ham. Back at the London Stadium seven days after the rousing victory over Chelsea that seemingly gave their survival bid lift-off, they failed to hit the same heights against Burnley.
Inspired and fired-up against their London rivals, they were significantly flatter this time, failing to make their big moments count.
This loss, on the back of blowing the lead twice in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle, means they remain far too close to the bottom three for comfort.
Jay Rodriguez celebrates after heading Burnley into the lead against West Ham on Wednesday
Dejected West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski picks the ball out of his net on 38 minutes
Moyes, whose side face Norwich on Saturday, said: ‘I’m disappointed we didn’t take something. This was a must-win and Newcastle was a must-win. We have been in that situation for a while, probably since I took the job.’
While West Ham, four points above the bottom three, continue to look over their shoulder, Burnley are still in the running for Europe.
Jay Rodriguez produced the game’s decisive moment with a perfectly-placed first-half header, though Burnley were also indebted to a rock-solid rearguard and in particular goalkeeper Nick Pope. Manager Sean Dyche said: ‘Nick’s a top keeper. He was outstanding and so were the entire back five.’
West Ham forward Michail Antonio races through on goal before hitting outside of the post
Chris Wood thought he had given Burnley a two-goal lead before his effort was ruled offside
Jay Rodriguez produced the game’s decisive moment with a perfectly-placed first-half header, though Burnley were also indebted to a rock-solid rearguard and in particular goalkeeper Nick Pope. Manager Sean Dyche said: ‘Nick’s a top keeper. He was outstanding and so were the entire back five.’
Depleted they may have been, missing Ben Mee, Jack Cork and Ashley Barnes among others, but Burnley posed most of the early threat, going close through Erik Pieters and Matej Vydra.
West Ham, though, livened up after the first drinks break.
Michail Antonio threatened twice either side of Tomas Soucek testing Pope with a close-range flying volley and the half ended with Antonio hitting Pope’s post before the goalkeeper denied Andriy Yarmolenko.
But before those last two attempts Rodriguez headed in from Charlie Taylor’s cross, his 10th goal of the season and 51st for the club.
Burnley defended with real determination throughout, though stand-in skipper James Tarkowski appeared to overstep the mark, escaping with just a yellow for thigh-high challenge on Jarrod Bowen.
Moyes said: ‘It’s a red card. It’s not going to change anything but it might have done during the game.’
Moyes turned to substitute Sebastian Haller with 28 minutes to go but sadly, when presented with a golden chance with his first touch, the outcome summed up his campaign and Pope’s performance — Haller’s finish was unconvincing and Pope stuck out a boot to divert West Ham’s best chance of an equaliser wide.
Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope makes a fine save from Tomas Soucek’s first-half volley
Pope makes another excellent save with his legs from substitute Sebastien Haller
Ryan Fredericks attempts to race past Burnley winger Dwight McNeil in the first half
West Ham manager David Moyes looks dejected as the Premier League game draws to a close
