MX23RW : Thursday, November 14 21:38:22| >> :600:96785:96785:
[monks data]
Attendance: 20,933
Burnley logo
Premier League | Gameweek 20
Dec 30, 2018 at 2.15pm UK
 
West Ham logo

2-0

Wood (15'), McNeil (34')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Burnley boss Dyche: Meeting Timmy Mallett caps off good day against West Ham

Burnley boss Dyche: Meeting Timmy Mallett caps off good day against West Ham
© Reuters
First-half goals from Chris Wood and teenager Dwight McNeil gave the Clarets a confidence-boosting win.

Sean Dyche seemed most excited about meeting Timmy Mallett but Sunday's 2-0 win over West Ham could go down as a pivotal day in Burnley's season.

First-half goals from Chris Wood and teenager Dwight McNeil, coupled with some resolute defending and an outstanding late save from Tom Heaton – picked ahead of Joe Hart to make his first Premier League start in 15 months – gave the Clarets a confidence-boosting win.

Dyche was already beaming from the result when he walked into his post-match press conference, but his smile grew wider when he spotted children's entertainer Mallett sat front and centre – accompanying his son who is visiting all 92 league grounds.

"Goodness me! Timmy Mallett!" Dyche exclaimed. "Legend! Very rarely do I get selfies but I might today. It caps off a good day, that."

If Burnley can stay in the Premier League, the picture he got with the former Wacaday presenter could become a treasured memory.

This was a return to the Burnley of last season when they played their way into Europe: tight at the back, dangerous going forward.

Wood, McNeil and Ashley Barnes all had fine chances to add to their lead after McNeil made it 2-0 34 minutes in, while Heaton was not troubled until a late header from Andy Carroll which he acrobatically pushed on to the crossbar.

The return of the popular goalkeeper added to a feel-good factor which seemed to start even before kick-off, with fans not dwelling on the 5-1 home loss to Everton four days ago which had left Burnley with one win in 12.

"It wasn't easy walking out there today but I've got to give the fans credit," Dyche said. "In a situation like this, after such a big thing last season, they can start asking questions and that can go into the crowd with the noise.

"There might be questions, I'm not stupid about that, but there was a great noise today, a positive noise. That gives the players a start point and the players delivered on that today."

Dyche made five changes to the side thrashed by Everton. McNeil and Johann Berg Gudmundsson gave them impetus in midfield while Wood seemed an obvious choice given his record against West Ham, and he duly delivered a fifth goal in four games against the Hammers.

The decision to drop Hart would always draw more attention of course, but Dyche could not ignore the number of goals going in.

"Joe's done well for us," he said. "He's a quality keeper, a quality professional and as a bloke as well. He was the first to jump up when Tom made the save at the end. There's a big respect for him here certainly...

"I can only pick eleven and I can only pick one goalkeeper.

"I am quite loyal to people and I think I've been loyal to Joe. But eventually you have to look at the stats against us and the conceded goals.

"The final piece I hadn't changed was the goalkeeper and I felt it was necessary and appropriate."

West Ham have picked up 15 points in an impressive December but ran out of momentum here, with Manuel Pellegrini suggesting the combination of an intensive schedule and a lengthy injury list finally caught up with his side.

"Normally I don't like to give excuses when you lose a game but I think today it was clear from the very first minute the physical (condition) was so different between the two teams that we couldn't play," the Chilean said.

West Ham were away to Southampton on Thursday night, giving them less recovery time than Burnley who played at home on Boxing Day afternoon.

"We arrived to London on Friday at 2am in the morning and we are playing again 48 hours after that against a team who always work very hard and are physical," Pellegrini added.

"They recovered better than our team without any doubt because they have 30 hours more."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Ian Parker, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '88da48d8-a127-4bdd-a8e7-927063b02ffe');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Burnley boss Dyche: Meeting Timmy Mallett caps off good day against West Ham'});

ID:345535: cacheID:345535:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6578:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Sean Dyche watches on during the Premier League game between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley on December 15, 2018
Read Next:
I know I'm not immune from the sack, says Dyche
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!