adminA victory is a victory, and a clean sheet remains a clean sheet, but there is no sense of celebration at West Ham United after their win over Burnley. Neither Jarrod Bowen nor Nuno Espirito Santo are getting ahead of themselves.
First-half goals from Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos inside the opening 30 minutes lifted the Hammers to within touching distance of Nottingham Forest above the relegation line. Both attackers were clinical in front of goal, while at the other end Mads Hermansen vindicated Nuno’s decision to bring him back into the side for his first Premier League appearance since September.
Hermansen produced several crucial saves to prevent Burnley from repeating the kind of turnaround that cost West Ham dearly last week. The Hammers had surrendered a 2-0 lead at Chelsea, marking the second time under Nuno that they had thrown away a two-goal advantage. In total, 18 points have now been dropped from winning positions during his tenure.
Despite this time holding on, Bowen admits there is still work to be done. Solid contributions from Hermansen, debutant Axel Disasi and the commanding Konstantinos Mavropanos ensured Burnley’s most dangerous spell — between the 45th and 60th minute — passed without consequence.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Bowen stressed the importance of the result but acknowledged the team’s recurring vulnerability after half-time.
“We knew how important it was to come here and win,” he said. “I thought we were very professional away from home. We had to ride our luck at times and defend properly, but two good goals and a clean sheet is a strong result.
“At the start of the second half, we can definitely improve. We saw what happened at Chelsea — 2-0 up and we lose. We have to start second halves better.
“You expect a reaction when you’re 2-0 up away from home. I thought we defended our box well, and Mads made some top saves. Overall, we played well.”
Bowen admitted the Chelsea defeat was a painful blow, especially after building such a strong position. However, he believes the response at Burnley showed resilience.
“When you lose like that, it’s tough to find positives, but there were some, particularly in the first half. Today we were in the same situation at 2-0, and this time we saw it through. We’re trying to build on what we’ve been doing over the past few weeks.”
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 defeat to Leeds offers West Ham an opportunity to draw level on points in midweek, although the task looks challenging. Forest host Wolves, while West Ham prepare to face an in-form Manchester United side under Michael Carrick.
Bowen insists the focus must remain internal.
You always know other results, but we can’t depend on them. We have to concentrate on ourselves — what we can do and how we get out of this position.
“We’re still in the bottom three, but we’ve picked up good results recently and put in strong performances. We just have to keep pushing, keep fighting. There’s another big game on Tuesday, and we’re ready for it.”
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