Danny Ings had not scored in the Premier League since February 2023 but could have ended this game with a hat-trick.
On as substitute in the 82rd minute, the striker’s half-volley earned West Ham what could prove to be a valuable point and broke the hearts of his former club Burnley.
In the space of 16 minutes, Ings saw a goal ruled out for offside, brought his team level and then hit the bar with a long-range strike.
West Ham had been booed off at half-time after David Datro Fofan’s thunderbolt and an own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos had given Burnley a 2-0 lead. But a stirring second half performance, with Lucas Paqueta halving the deficit before Ings’ eqauliser, ensured the points were shared.
Hammers boss David Moyes will feel his team have been hard done by when it comes to handball decisions this week.
His side were denied a late penalty in their 1-0 Europa League defeat at Freiburg and they felt they had a strong case for a spot-kick at the death here when Sander Berge appeared to head the ball against both of his arms.
Moyes knows these are the types of games his team need to win to finish in the European places but he will be encouraged by his side’s fightback ahead of next week’s second leg with Freiburg.
For Burnley, this was a tale similar to that of Sheffield United – who had thrown away a 2-0 lead against Bournemouth a day earlier. Vincent Kompany’s side were by far the better team in the first half but once the momentum turned, they always looked likely to concede their lead.
Gareth Southgate was in the stands to watch West Ham’s three England hopefuls – Jarrod Bowen, Kalvin Phillips and James Ward-Prowse. With the latter two hooked at half-time, only Bowen seems to have a strong case for selection next week.
Ward-Prowse’s last appearance for England in June 2022 and last time he was picked in a squad was September the same year.
Phillips and Bowen were both part of Southgate’s last squad. Phillips came off the bench in England’s 2-0 win over North Macedonia. Bowen, though, was forced to withdraw through injury and will be keen for another opportunity to impress before the summer.
This was a great opportunity for Phillips, who was making only his third start and his first since he was sent off at Nottingham Forest last month.
But neither he or Ward-Prowse can say they did enough to impress Southgate in their 45 minutes – and neither covered themselves in glory for Burnley’s opener. The visitors had been by far the brighter side in the early stages and were rewarded in the 11th minute.
Sander Berge played a pass in-between Phillips and Ward-Prowse to Fofana’s feet. He was immediately closed down by Nayef Aguerd, but the forward earned a slice of luck when his attempted pass hit the defender and bounced back into his path. He then pushed the ball past Aguerd and shrugged off a half-hearted challenge from Phillips before unleashing a thunderous shot into the top right corner.
West Ham could have been level when Vladimir Coufal’s cross to the back-post looked to find Ward-Prowse, but the midfielder was deceived by the bounce of the ball and the chance went begging.
The hosts were showing signs of improvement towards the end of the first half as Mavropanos went on a driving run from defence before firing a shot just wide of the left post.
Just as things looked to be improving, Burnley extended their lead. Josh Cullen’s cross was not heading in the direction of a team-mate when Mavropanos stuck out a leg to divert the ball past Alphonse Areola and into his own net.
The loud boos at half-time were to be expected, but an immediate response came from Moyes’ side after the break. Maxime Esteve was caught in possession and Paqueta pounced before driving forward and slotting a calm finish past James Trafford.
An equaliser nearly came five minutes later when a goal-mouth scramble saw a wayward clearance hit Bowen and head towards the net, only for Paqueta to inadvertently block it on the line. The Brazilian then curled an effort just over the bar as the hosts ramped up the pressure.
Mohammed Kudus should have brought West Ham level just past the hour mark. Bowen’s cross picked out the winger at the far post. After cutting inside, he had the whole goal to aim at, but could only fire over the bar.
The hosts again went close when Coufal’s deflected cross nearly sneaked into the far corner, but Trafford did well to push the ball onto the crossbar.
The equaliser looked to have come when Antonio chested a lofted ball into the path of Ings, who poked a chipped finish over the on-rushing Trafford. But West Ham’s celebrations were cut short when a VAR check showed Antonio was offside in the build-up.
It was tight and Moyes looked furious. But he and Ings were soon celebrating again minutes later. Kudus wrestled Lorenz Assignon off the ball on the left wing and fed Ings, who took one touch before turning and hitting a half-volley into the bottom right corner.
