Burnley 1-2 West Ham || the-gorila Match Report

☝ Source - My computer screen.

On paper, this didn't look like it would be the most exciting game of the weekend, but I'll take what I can get and settled down, the-baby-gorilla in arms, to watch a bit more football.

The game was incredibly scrappy to start with and lacked any real quality, both teams playing very direct with plenty of long balls. And it was a long ball that Burnley took an early lead from. Josh Brownhill played a ball over the top which Issa Diop misjudged and then should've cleared but under Chris Wood's pressure and persistence, he failed to do so. Wood bundling past him and then getting clattered into by Tomas Soucek to give away a penalty. Having been fouled, Chris Wood stepped up to take it and beat Fabianski low to his right ⚽ 1-0 ⚽ to Burnley.

This seemed to wake West Ham up and saw them up the pace, moving the ball quicker and with increased movement off the ball. Vladimir Coufal who's crossing was dangerous throughout, playing the ball in from the right onto the head of Antonio. Antonio brushed Lowton aside all too easily to nod home from inside the 6-yard box ⚽ 1-1 ⚽

Benrahma, Lingard and Fornals had a fluidity about them that you sensed would be the difference between the 2 teams and it proved to be the case on the half hour. Lingard picked up the ball on the left, drifted inside and played it back out to where he'd come from as Benrahma drifted into the space. Left with plenty of time to cross, he picked out Antonio again who nipped in and poked home to make it ⚽ 2-1 ⚽ to West Ham.

West Ham looked so fluid at this point and justified why they're still in the fight for a Champions League spot. The aforementioned trio and Antonio's movement were pulling the Burnley midfield and defence all over the place.

The only weak spot appeared to be Issa Diop at the back. Having already been at fault for Burnley's lead, the long balls over the top kept causing him problems. Even the diminutive Matej Vydra outmuscled him before having an effort cleared off the line.

The 2nd half followed the same pattern as the 1st. West Ham continued to probe and see most of the ball but couldn't finish the game off. On another night, Antonio could've easily scored a hat-trick but he'll have to settle for the 2.

Despite West Ham's dominance, Burnley could've left with a point, Jay Rodriguez having come on as a sub had a chance almost instantly - a goal mouth scramble which saw him somehow miss from less than 6 yards out.

☝ Source - My computer screen.

He really should've scored from there.

There were nervy moments at the end as Burnley got a couple of corners (including Nick Pope getting involved) but West Ham were able to hold on and keep themselves within touching distance of Chelsea.

With games against Everton, Brighton, West Brom and Southampton, West Ham's fixtures are favourable so they've definitely given themselves a chance.

👇 Match Highlights from SkySports Website
(Open the link below in a new window to view)

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12294447/antonio-double-keeps-hammers-top-four-hopes-alive