Ashley Westwood’s signal to the bench was instantaneous. London Stadium fell silent. The Burnley midfielder orchestra soon left for the hospital, with the incident overshadowing the rest of the 1-1 draw.
It seemed harmless, Westwood won the ball in front of Nikola Vlasic. But after a few seconds, the seriousness was obvious. Declan Rice waved a stretcher as Vlasic lifted his shirt to hide his tears. His teammates comforted him, as well as several opponents, confirming the lack of malice.
It was a strange incident with a potentially terrible outcome. Mike Jackson, a Burnley co-worker, could not confirm whether it was Westwood’s ankles, legs or both. “You can see from the players’ reaction that it’s not good,” he said. “It was a big blow for the band – it’s been here a long time and it’s well thought out. He looked mad. Our thoughts are with him. “
For Jackson and the small pocket of visiting fans, the noise returned soon after, when after Jay Rodriguez hit his head in the corner of Maxwell Cornet against the crossbar, Wut Weghorst nodded at the rebound. This was the first goal for the Dutchman since February.
For a while, it seemed that life after Sean Deitch would begin with a precious victory. If Cornet had not taken a penalty in the first half, the return of the kings of Lyon would probably have been ruined. Instead, it was a difficult second half, with the late equalizer of Tomasz Soucek winning a point at West Ham. Only Nick Pope’s heroic actions prevented a complete turnaround.
The defeat would be severe for Burnley, who deserved a point after 72 hours of testing. One not-so-good Friday marked the last day for Deitch to take the lead, a late win against Everton that did not fill the sandwich enough with five defeats.
Most wondered about the solution. More still questioned the five-day wait after Norwich’s loss, especially with no immediate signs of an heir; Jackson, promoted from under 23, hardly yells at a firefighter. But performance suggests hope. “You need a little foundation to build on – hopefully this comes from today,” Jackson said. He declined about his future: “My thoughts are to get on the bus, get food and go home. When it is ready to be said, I am sure that the board and the chairman will provide the information that the supporters want. “
After Tottenham and Arsenal missed the race for fourth, no one seems to want to win, David Moyes’ laconic responses after the match showed his bitter disappointment. A valuable point at the end of the season? “I do not think so. It was a great opportunity today and we didn’t use it. “
Nikola Vlasic (kneeling) was comforted by players from both sides after being involved in the incident that led to Ashley Westwood’s injury. Photo: Ryan Pierce / Getty Images
He can use some bodies, especially in the front, where Mikhail Antonio is the only option for seniors. Oh, to have Carlos Tevez, who took the microphone before the game, say, “Come on, Iron.” Antonio’s overall contribution has improved in recent weeks, but he was shot in the door: an early shot inadvertently turned the ball into Ben Johnson’s side.
Pope soon made his first intervention to turn down Jarod Bowen after a clever corner, before Aaron Creswell nearly celebrated his 250th appearance in the league in onboard with a sweet hit. James Tarkowski blocks.
Then came Westwood’s injury. West Ham conceded first, which is remarkable that they have done more than Burnley this season. A less foreign scenario for them than, say, the European semifinals, then. The mountain had to be strengthened before the breakthrough when reserve Josh Brownhill sent Cornet to be overthrown by Lukasz Fabianski. After 22 successful Burnley penalties, what could go wrong? After the streamer, it won’t start, everything. It was another bad time for Cornet after his poor pass to Norwich.
After the interval, West Ham scored Burnley. Johnson centered for Antonio, who hit his head wide. The cameras turned to Tevez. At the break, Cornet found Johnson’s blindside and bet on Rodriguez, whose effort was wayward.
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Restricting West Ham’s movement finally paid off 16 minutes to the end when Sowcek hit a cross from Manuel Lanzini. This created a frantic last five minutes, with Pope making great saves. Antonio’s drive was overturned, Isa Diop was rejected from the resulting corner and Antonio was soon released … Sure? No: Pope blocks to make a dozen league champions for the striker.
“That’s why he’s the England goalkeeper,” Jackson said. “He demands those standards of himself.” Moyes was less efficient: “He has to score,” he said of Antonio as a whole.
Burnley remain three points away from the last safe place, West Ham five on fourth. They have radically different ambitions, but none of them can afford to stop. At least West Ham have a viable alternative to the Champions League. The championship has one entry point.
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