Ashley Barnes celebrating his goal against Manchester City (Getty Images)
Burnley ended their winless run by beating West Ham United 2-0 at Turf Moor to revitalise their hopes for staying in the Premier League. Chris Wood and Dwight McNeil came up with the goals for Sean Dyche’s men, who are now 18th in the table, just a goal difference adrift of the safety.
The Clarets manager made five changes to the side that lost 5-1 on Boxing Day to Everton. Joe Hart was benched in favour of Tom Heaton, who was playing his first league game in 15 months. Youngster McNeil also started for the home team.
They went ahead in the game through Wood in the 15th minute. The New Zealander with an emphatic right-footed finish from the left-hand side of the penalty area. Burnley doubled their lead 11 minutes before half-time when an Ashley Westwood cross was turned in McNeil.
They had several other chances on the break to make the scoreline more emphatic, however, both Barnes and Wood were guilty of missing some chances. Lukasz Fabianski did make some good saves as well.
For West Ham, they struggled to create chances on a regular basis. The return of Marko Arnautovic wasn’t enough to add an extra threat in the final third. Their best chance came through substitute Andy Carroll, whose header was well saved by Heaton.
The Hammers should be disappointed with the way they finished December, a month in which they had already won five of the six games played before this.
But for Burnley, it was a welcome return to winning ways.
Here’s how their fans reacted on Twitter after a rather pressure-releasing win:
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