West Ham 1-0 Burnley
by Paul Donovan 
at the London Stadium

WEST HAM made heavy weather of beating Burnley on Saturday, surviving several late chances despite having dominated for long stretches.

Manager David Moyes was full of praise for striker Michail Antonio, who converted a cross from Pablo Fornals to put the Hammers up after only nine minutes.

“We need to be careful with him,” said Moyes of Antonio, who put in a solid 90 minutes following his lay-off for injury. “He’s shown a great level of robustness in the last six months and hopefully we can get him back up to that.”

Moyes also confirmed that he is seeking to sign back-up for the forward after the departure of Sebastien Haller to Ajax.

The game was really one for defenders, though, with Moyes particularly fulsome in his praise for centre-backs Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson.

The east Londoners were in charge from the kick-off, with neat interchanges of passing and movement from front runners Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma.

After Antonio’s goal, West Ham should have been home and dry by the second half — but Bowen squandered a chance when put clear by a great cross-field ball from Declan Rice. The former Hull striker managed to hit the side netting with the goal at his mercy.

A Rice free-kick then bent just over.

But by the final 20 minutes Burnley had stepped up a gear, leaving the home side hanging on.

Applying heavy pressure, Ben Mee headed just wide and Dwight McNeil grazed the bar with a cross.

West Ham should have wrapped things up in injury time, though, when substitute Manuel Lanzini blazed over despite having clear sight of goal.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche felt it was his side’s failure to find the “killer moment” that had once again cost them.

“It has been the story of our season so far,” he said. “We need to find that detail in the final third.”