Match report and free highlights as Tomas Soucek and a Dara O’Shea own goal see West Ham snatch a last-gasp 2-1 win at Burnley, who have now lost all seven of their Premier League home games since promotion; Jay Rodriguez fired the Clarets ahead from the spot moments after half-time
By Ron Walker, Digital Football Journalist @Ronnabe
Some Mohammed Kudus magic inspired a late West Ham turnaround to stun Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor and inflict a seventh straight home defeat on the Clarets.
Vincent Kompany’s side became the first in top-flight history to lose all six of their first home league games of a season before the international break. But they looked certain to finally break their duck after Jay Rodriguez fired them ahead from the penalty spot three minutes after half-time.
They retained that lead until the dying embers, when an individual moment of brilliance from Kudus beat four players and teed up Divin Mubama, who snatched an equaliser via a deflection off Dara O’Shea (86).
Burnley’s sense of deja vu still had another level to reach, however. More Kudus magic, this time from a half-cleared corner, saw an inviting cross whipped to the back post where Tomas Soucek was on hand to power a 91st-minute winner past James Trafford.
“That’s why you’re going down,” sang the West Ham support from the away end, as Burnley’s fans headed for the exits. They had been four minutes, excluding stoppage time, from moving off the bottom of the Premier League – but instead remain rooted to 20th position having lost all of their league matches at Turf Moor since promotion.
How Burnley snatched defeat from jaws of victory
Even an otherwise entirely forgettable first half at Burnley could not avoid some level of VAR drama, with the video official refusing to intervene despite conducting a review when Vladimir Coufal appeared to catch Luca Koleosho with a trailing leg inside the area.
That punctuated a 45 minutes controlled by Burnley, without the cutting edge to trouble Alphonse Areola aside from a curling effort from out wide from Koleosho, who was easily denied by the West Ham goalkeeper.
The second half was a very different prospect. Any resentment at that earlier penalty appeal was lost three minutes after half-time when referee Samuel Barrott pointed to the spot after Kudus trod on Koleosho after a jinking run into the area.
Rodriguez’s superb penalty sparked Burnley into life, and they could have doubled their lead through O’Shea’s header at a corner or Zeki Amdouni’s powerful drive which was tipped behind by Areola.
It appeared that the Clarets’ almost nine-month wait for a home league win may be finally over as the clock ticked towards full-time, until Kudus took matters into his own hands out of nowhere.
Trapping the ball with a perfect first touch, he burst past a number of Burnley shirts before reaching the byline and spotting Mubama’s near-post run. He picked out the substitute, whose flick was turned into his own goal by O’Shea for a heartbreaking equaliser.
The Ghanaian had been largely quiet for the preceding 85 minutes but now decided he was not done there. From a half-cleared corner, James Ward-Prowse set him away before another superb delivery through the six-yard box was met by Soucek, who bundled home his fourth goal in as many games for club and country.
Back-to-back wins increased ninth-placed West Ham’s gap to the teams below them to four points, while Luton’s win over Crystal Palace means Burnley are now five from safety and on a six-game losing streak in the Premier League.
Kompany: We were outstanding for 86 minutes
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has called on his players to ‘keep going’ after suffering a ‘tough’ loss at home to West Ham.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany to Sky Sports:
“It’s tough. I’d like to stand here and say it was an outstanding performance, because that’s what it was for about 86 minutes.
“But then we concede the first and second goal, and then we have a completely different feeling. I’m a big believer that we have to keep going and it’ll happen for you. We’re still getting punished by the margins in this league, the details, the moments.
“There’s too many good things happening for us to think that this is not going to happen. Every game recently have been at a very good level, but the results haven’t been there.
“How many times have I stood here and talked about decisions? The thing I say to my players is nothing is going to be given for us. It’s not been the case so far, why would it change? We’ve got to go and take it.
“With what the team is doing in terms of effort and sacrifice to some extent, every single day before crossing that line, they’ve been of the highest level. I just wish that they get rewarded with results.”
Moyes: International break took its toll on us
David Moyes says his West Ham side showed their resilience and determination after coming from behind to beat Burley.
West Ham manager David Moyes to Sky Sports:
“I don’t know if I’d call it special but it was certainly important, because I was disappointed with the first half and how we performed.
“I thought there was a bit of a carry-over from getting the players back from international duty, a couple of injuries, but we stuck at it, were resilient, and got the result.
“The first half, we hardly laid a glove on them. We never played the ball forward. I thought we had to get a little more direct, get the ball up, and we did that after half-time.
“We got ourselves in areas to score then, and it looked as if it wasn’t going to happen – but in the end we got the equaliser and the winner which was great.
“I thought Kudus had been really quiet but with games away in Africa, travelling back late and then up to Burnley, all those things play a part. His ability to get us goals and make us goals has been brilliant for us so far.
“We thought about changing him but felt keeping him on was the right decision, and thankfully it worked out that way.”
What’s next?
Burnley host fellow strugglers Sheffield United in a crucial Premier League game next Saturday; kick-off 3pm. Vincent Kompany’s side then travel to Wolves on December 5; kick-off 7.30pm.
West Ham are in Europa League action on Thursday when they make the trip to Serbian side Backa Topola; kick-off 5.45pm. The Hammers’ focus then switches back to the Premier League when they host Crystal Palace next Sunday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 2pm.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
