West Ham came out 5-3 winners in an astonishing match against Burnley at Upton Park. Jack Collison had put the Hammers ahead on 18 minutes as he slotted home following Scott Parker’s quick free-kick, and Junior Stanislas made it 2-0 from Guille Franco’s pass after half an hour. Things got worse for Owen Coyle two minutes before the interval when Carlton Cole converted a penalty after Robbie Blake had fouled Jonathan Spector, and it was 4-0 six minutes into the second half when Stanislas turned provider for Franco as the Mexican headed home.
West Ham had their fifth on 63 minutes as goalkeeper Brian Jensen fouled Luis Jimenez in the area, and the on-loan Inter Milan attacker stepped up to extend his team’s advantage. The offside flag then spared Jensen as he brought down Zavon Hines in the box, and Burnley started to make amends as Steven Fletcher was left with a simple finish from Chris Eagles’ cross.
The duo repeated the feat on 68 minutes as Fletcher again scored from Eagles’ cross to make it 5-2, and the drama continued into injury time. First, Steven Caldwell was dismissed for a foul on Hines, but Burnley continued to narrow the gap as Eagles made it 5-3 from Tyrone Mears’ pull-back.
