West Ham 5-3 Burnley: Hammers survive late scare to pull clear of relegation zone
Published 17:10 28/11/09 By MirrorFootball
West Ham beat Burnley 5-3 at Upton Park to move clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.
Jack Collison put the Irons ahead on 18 minutes, with Junior Stanislas and a penalty from Carlton Cole making it 3-0 by half-time.
Guillermo Franco headed in a fourth on 51 minutes, with substitute Luis Jimenez netting another penalty before Steven Fletcher's late double gave some consolation to Burnley, who had Steven Caldwell sent off for a professional foul in stoppage time and then saw Chris Eagles net a third away goal.
The home side made three change for the visit of Burnley.
Captain Matthew Upson was missing with a hamstring injury, along with Valon Behrami while Julien Faubert dropped to the bench.
Radoslav Kovac, Jonathan Spector and Herita Ilunga all came in from the team which drew 3-3 at Hull.
Burnley manager Owen Coyle selected the same starting XI for the fifth consecutive Barclays Premier League match.
It was a positive start by the Hammers, who remain far too close to the relegation zone for comfort - out of the bottom three only on goal difference following just one league victory since beating Wolves on the opening day.
Scott Parker, captain for the afternoon, burst forward, and the ball was eventually fed out to Jack Collison on the left, but his cut-back into the penalty area was hacked clear by Steven Caldwell.
West Ham looked nervy at the back, as England keeper Robert Green spilled a near post strike from Andre Bikey.
Chris Eagles, the former Manchester United trainee, whipped over a cross from the right which flew through the six-yard box.
Burnley - who have yet to win away on their return to the top flight - almost took the lead on nine minutes when Clarke Carlisle's downward header from a corner was cleared off the line by Parker.
The Irons, though, were then denied by the woodwork after Guillermo Franco's header from Collison's cross came off the top of the bar.
It needed a timely tackle from Manuel Da Costa to stop Steven Fletcher as the Burnley striker burst into the West Ham penalty area.
West Ham, however, took the lead on 18 minutes.
Parker's quickly-taken free-kick caught the Burnley defence cold as Collison beat a static offside trap to run clean through and slot past Brian Jensen.
Burnley responded well, as Wade Elliott shot over from the edge of the penalty area.
Franco was off target with his looping header from Ilunga's cross.
Referee Chris Foy felt the wrath of the Upton Park faithful after he called play back for a foul on Parker as Carlton Cole was away down the left touchline, before West Ham doubled their lead on 34 minutes.
The busy Franco slipped a reverse pass to Junior Stanislas on the right.
The England Under-21 winger looked to have missed his opportunity when Jensen made a smart save at his near post only for the Burnley keeper to get his angles all wrong from the rebound as Stanislas guided the ball inside the far post.
There was a moment of concern when Cole needed treatment for what looked like a foot injury and had to go off.
The England forward, though, was soon back in the action.
West Ham were then awarded a penalty when Spector charged onto Kovac's pass and into the area before being brought down by Robbie Blake.
Cole stepped up to drill in the spot-kick for his seventh goal of the season.
It was no surprise to see Cole, who had just come back from injury, replaced by youngster Zavon Hines for the start of the second half, manager Gianfranco Zola taking no chances with his side well in command.
West Ham continued to knock the ball about freely, but there was - as expected - much more urgency from Burnley.
However, it was game over on 50 minutes when Franco made it 4-0.
Stanislas whipped a free-kick from the right across the six-yard box, where Franco got in front of the Burnley defenders to head home and wrap up three much-needed points for the Hammers.
Burnley made a double change when Stephen Jordan and Robbie Blake were replaced by Christian Kalvenes and David Nugent.
The former Preston and Portsmouth striker missed two golden chances in quick succession to pull a goal back for the visitors, which just about summed up their afternoon.
Franco was given a well-deserved rest when Luis Jimenez came on after 60 minutes.
Foy pointed to the spot once again after the on-loan Inter Milan winger was brought down by Jensen as he dashed into the right side of the penalty area.
Jimenez stepped up to take the spot-kick himself, and lashed it into the right corner for his first West Ham goal.
To their credit, Burnley kept going - and netted a consolation when Fletcher scored at the far post following good work from Eagles on the left after 67 minutes.
Fletcher pulled another goal back for the Clarets, again converting a low centre from Eagles to give the travelling fans something to cheer.
Eagles then saw his long-range free-kick hit the post, but West Ham - who have thrown away commanding leads before this season - closed out five minutes of stoppage time, during which Burnley captain Caldwell was shown a straight red for pulling down Hines.
Burnley winger Eagles netted a third for the visitors from close range.
