Premier League
Burnley 1-1 West Ham United 

Saturday, 14th October 2017
by David Fletcher

Ten-man West Ham settled for a share of the points at Turf Moor after their 1-1 draw with Burnley.

Though it might taste slightly bitter now - having been in the lead for well over an hour - the Hammers fought hard to keep their opponents at bay, taking into account their one-man disadvantage following Andy Carroll's 29th minute dissmissal, only to fall short just five minutes from time.

It was a stale start to the encounter. Neither side had the edge. However, that didn't mean that the players weren't up for it. Both teams were lunging into challenges, taking advantage of the fact that referee Stuart Attwell seemed reluctant to book any players so early on.

Despite the lack of chances, the deadlock was broken, though to be fair, it was out of nowhere. The decisive pass came all the way back from West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart, when his lobbed ball forward found Michail Antonio on the charge who knocked it around Burnley 'keeper Nick Pope, subsequently tapping it into an empty net.

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Bewildered at the circumstances, the home team didn't know what to do. Regardless, just minutes later, the match took a dramatic turn when West Ham saw themselves reduced to ten men.

Bizarrely, Andy Carroll was booked twice in less than two minutes for identical infringements, lunging into aerial duels with his elbow, receiving his marching orders for the second offence to the delight of the partisan home crowd.

Things could got worse for West Hammoments later had it not been for Atwell's decision to let play go on, after Joe Hart appeared to have inadvertently brought down Chris Wood in the penalty area.

From then until the half time whistle, the Hammers were impatient to see the first period come to an end and when the referee's signal finally came, the away supporters breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that their side would re-group and come back stronger in the next 45.

Indeed, they came back stronger in the second period having made a few tactical changes. One was proving to be very effective, the introduction of Pedro Obiang for Marko Arnautovic to install a bit more order in midfield.

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The Spaniard also injected a bit of quality and skill to the side with two sumptuous one-touch moves combining with Manuel Lanzini and Javier Hern??ndez that Michail Antonio couldn't finish off.

However, that would be the best that West Ham would produce and for the rest of the second half, they were on the back foot. Numerous chances came Burnley's way including a very lucky escape for opposing goalkeeper Joe Hart when Johan Berg Gudmunsson's long range effort hit the woodwork and rebounded off the England 'keeper.

As a result of the home side's persistence, they finally managed to break through in the 86th minute when Gudmunsson's cross from the left found Chris Wood in the six-yard box; the former Leeds man powered his header past Hart, who could only stand and stare.

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Player Ratings

Joe Hart
A good all-round performance from Hart in goal. Had total control of the six-yard box forever clearing danger with his fists.


Pablo Zabaleta
Putting his body on the line and hard to beat and break down from a Burnley point of view.


Aaron Cresswell
Solid in defence, yet provided precious little in attack.


Winston Reid
Gritty defensive performance again from the skipper. A reliable figure at the back.


Jose Fonte
Resolute and compact at the back. A consistent performanve from the Portuguese international.


Cheikhou Kouyate
Caused a few problems for his teammates with clumsy decisions.


Marko Arnautovic
Another anonymous game from Arnautovic. Created next to nothing and was poor in defence.


Manuel Lanzini
Having been out for a considerable amount of time due to injury, he failed to find the rythm of the match. Did show signs of what he is capable of on his day.


Michail Antonio
Got back on the scoresheet with a clever goal and was hard to deal with due to his sheer power. Though he did get very frustrated in the second half making unnecessary tackles and losing the ball constantly.


Javier Hernandez
Was very affected by Carroll's dissmissal, having to take a more defensive role. However he did hold up the ball well and showed his skill on a few occasions.


Andy Carroll
Was getting bullied in the air by the two Burnley centre-halves which ultimately made him lash out on both of them, only to see himself get sent off and hinder the team's performance.



Substitutes

Pedro Obiang
Had a very cool head in midfield when introduced and was the mastermind behind West Ham's best moves in the second half.


Diafra Sakho
Failed to maintain the intensity shownvny Chicharito. Never looked likely to score.


Arthur Masuaku
No comments.


Adrian San Miguel Del Castillo
Did not play.


Angelo Ogbonna
Did not play.


Mark Noble
Did not play.


Andre Ayew
Injured during warm-up.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Aaron Cresswell, Winston Reid, Jose Fonte, Cheikhou Kouyate, Marko Arnautovic, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio, Javier Hernandez, Andy Carroll.

Goals: Michail Antonio 19                  .

Booked: Andy Carroll 25 Pedro Obiang 80        .

Sent Off: Andy Carroll 27    .

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Ward, Arfield, Cork, Defour, Brady, Hendrick, Wood..

Subs not used: Lindegaard, Taylor, Westwood, Long..

Goals: Woods (86).

Booked: Defour (41).

Sent off: None.

Referee: Stuart Atwell.

Attendance: 20,945.

Man of the Match: Pedro Obiang.