Burnley left battered

Thomas Hitzlsperger was on target on his West Ham debut as Avram Grant’s side shrugged off their Premier League relegation worries to book a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 5-1 hammering of Championship Burnley at Upton Park last night.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Feb 2011, 09:53 BST

The German, who had been out for six months with a thigh injury, opened the scoring with a 25-yard thunderbolt before Carlton Cole – seen above right after making it 2-0 – scored twice in three second-half minutes to put the Hammers in the driving seat.

The second of the England forward’s strikes – a beautifully-taken half volley – was followed by Winston Reid’s powerful header on the hour to make it 4-0.

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An error by Robert Green gave Jay Rodriguez a consolation goal for the Clarets, but Grant’s team scored again through Freddie Sears in stoppage time to seal the emphatic win and set up a quarter-final away to Stoke.

For Grant, the match represented a chance to deflect attention from his side’s lowly league position and make up in some part for his team’s failure to make it to Wembley in the Carling Cup in which they were defeated in the semi-finals by Birmingham.

It had been reported that Achilles injury victim Matthew Upson would be out for the rest of the season but the Hammers captain allayed those fears by saying before kick-off that he expected to be back in training “very soon”. picture: anthony devlin/pawire.

Related topics:Premier LeagueAvram GrantBurnleyWest HamEngland