Less Than Ideal Start For Hammers

You have to go back to the 2021/22 season for the last time that West Ham United won an opening day fixture. They had to come from behind twice to beat Newcastle United 4-2 at St James’ Park. Well, they were on course to take all three points back from Turf Moor on Sunday afternoon, only for fellow-relegated club Burnley to score two late goals and grab a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Nuno Espírito Santo made one change to the team that won 3-1 in Stratford to knock fellow Sky Bet Championship outfit Portsmouth out of the Carabao Cup nine days earlier. New signing Manor Solomon was handed his debut, as the Israeli winger took the place of Edson Álvarez who had reportedly picked up an injury. Fellow new recruit Joël Veltman was named on the bench, as were youngsters Ezra Mayers, Airidas Golambeckis, George Earthy, Joshua Ajala and Josh Landers.

The Hammers are being tipped to lift the title at the end of the season and to be fair, they started the game looking like they would be a handful for any team in this league. The Clarets did have a sight of goal in the opening seconds but to the delight of those in the away end, former Millwall man Zian Flemming sent his attempt over the top after latching onto Jacob Bruun Larsen’s cross.

The home faithful saw their team fashion another chance just three minutes later but thankfully, the Hammers survived, as Aaron Ramsey sent his shot wide from outside the area.

Shortly after captain Jarrod Bowen had tried his luck, the visitors went ahead. A corner was awarded after Pablo Felipe’s shot was deflected wide and the skipper delivered the set-piece into the box where Max Kilman was able to head into the net unopposed past home goalkeeper Max Weiss to not only add to his goal in the 1-1 draw against FC Madgeburg in the club’s last pre-season friendly, but also claim his first competitive goal for the club since moving to East London from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2024.

Mindful of the fact that Espírito Santo’s men did the double over them last season, the home side didn’t give up. Great combination play involving both Bruun Larsen and Marcus Edwards set up Ramsey but again, the shot was no trouble for visiting goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

The Irons grew into the game and started to dominate. They were awarded a free-kick when Solomon was fouled but, Konstantinos Mavropanos wasted a decent opportunity after Bowen had played the ball up to the Greek defender.

Hermansen then survived a massive scare when he presented the ball to Oliver Sonne after trying to clear the ball away but somehow, the Burnley man only managed to head wide of an open goal from 30-yards out.

The visitors were certainly the better side by this point but couldn’t extend their advantage. However, they could count themselves extremely fortunate that Nicky Hayen’s men were just as wasteful.

Espírito Santo saw his side pass up two more opportunities, as Solomon had a shot blocked, before Valentín Castellanos missed the target.

Chance after chance came and went for Burnley as both Flemming and Ugo Raghouber tried their luck but couldn’t affect the scoreline.

Solomon was looking impressive and he might have extended the away teams’ advantage just before the break but unfortunately, Weiss wasn’t troubled by his left-footed shot.

The only disappointment for Espírito Santo’s men when referee Josh Smith blew for half-time was that they were only were one goal ahead.

James Ward-Prowse was on loan with the Clarets last term and with Felipe sustaining an injury to his calf during the first-half, the midfielder came off the bench to replace the Brazilian for what was a rare appearance for the club under the current Head-Coach.

The hosts started the second-half with the same intensity as they have done in the first forty five minutes. However, despite having more purpose in their play, they still couldn’t get the ball past Hermansen. Flemming had four chances in quick succession but fortunately for those of a West Ham persuasion, he managed to waste all of them. Having said that though, he was perhaps unlucky not to make more of either the third or fourth attempts after hitting the post and then seeing the final chance expertly cleared off the line by Scarles.

With the second-half just twelve minutes old, Hayen decided to make a double change by throwing on both Josh Laurent and Zeki Amdouni for Hannibal Mejbri and Raghouber.

The changes certainly had the desired impact for the home side as the momentum of the game had certainly shifted. That being said, there was no immediate change in the scoreline.

West Ham withstood the latest spell of pressure from the home side and went on to score their second of the afternoon. Kilman had inadvertently got in the way of a shot from Bowen and you could have been forgiven for thinking that the chance may have gone.

Clever play from youngster Mohamadou Kanté allowed him to pick up possession and make his way past two defenders. His cross then took a slight deflection off Weiss and fall invitingly for Solomon who emphatically thumped the ball past the helpless goalkeeper.

A further eleven minutes had passed with Espírito Santo’s side still seemingly in firm control. However, on eighty three minutes, Burnley were handed a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty after Scarles had brought down Edwards in the box. Flemming was desperate to get a goal and he duly did by sending Hermansen the wrong way.

Four minutes later, West Ham made another substitution, as El Hadji Malick Diouf was introduced to take the place of Scarles, as the deficit had already been halved and Espírito Santo was trying all he could to protect the now slender advantage that his side held.

The home fans and players must have been thinking that they could get an equaliser. However, by the time that Joël Veltman had entered the fray to try and quell the home side’s threat, it still wasn’t forthcoming.

Although Hayen’s side were unable to find one in the six minutes of normal time that remained, the home fans were encouraged when another five were added for stoppages. Just two minutes into the allotted period, the inevitable happened. Flemming had been a constant thorn in the side of the Irons all afternoon and his scuffed shot beat Hermansen to the disbelief of the ever-loyal fan base.

It was always going to be difficult coming up against another of the relegated clubs in the opening fixture, as both will surely be chasing the same goal come the end of the campaign.

Here’s hoping that it will be more straightforward when Charlton Athletic arrive in Stratford for the first London derby of the campaign on Saturday afternoon.

The home side should be able to include new recruit Arne Engels in the matchday squad for that game and there may even be more new faces coming into the club this week. News on any movement will be available as soon as it is announced.