Burnley 0 West Ham 1
By Longsider
April 17 2005
The Clarets conceded a late goal to end any lingering hopes of a push towards the play offs. The game was heading for a goaless draw before John Oster made a poor error with a back pass which resulted in Teddy Sheringham scoring for the Hammers.
Burnley 0 West Ham 1
Sporting Life
Teddy Sheringham's late intervention kept West Ham's push for the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs on track as he slotted home with time running out to sink Burnley at Turf Moor.
For long spells there was little entertainment on offer as the two sides cancelled each other out and far too often wasted the ball in the final third.
But with seven minutes left former Manchester United man Sheringham, who turned 39 this week, once again proved he has not lost the ability to turn matches as he latched onto Marlon Harewood's ball across the area to tap home the only goal.
Burnley - who made just one change to the side that won 3-1 at home to Watford on Saturday with goalkeeper Danny Coyne coming in for Brian Jensen - started brightly.
Ade Akinbiyi posed their early threat and could perhaps have made more of an opening after four minutes when he sprung the offside trap only to see the ball hacked away.
West Ham, though, gradually settled to their task and Sheringham got his first sight of the target with a dipping volley after 16 minutes that only just cleared the crossbar.
Mark Noble was pulling the strings from midfield for the Hammers and five minutes later he set away Harewood to fire in a low piledriver that Coyne did well to turn round the post.
But at other end, the visitors were almost caught out by a breakaway from Mo Camara as the Guinea full-back sprinted away down the left and crossed for Graham Branch to head tamely at goal.
Two minutes later Camara was involved in the action again - this time for the wrong reasons - and became the first player in referee Keith Friend's notebook after reacting to the official's decision to award a free-kick.
Then Akinbiyi got away from his marker in the final minute of the half only to steer the ball wide of the target.
Having survived that let-off, West Ham came out with greater purpose after the break.
Harewood was busy in the immediate aftermath of the interval and screwed a shot wide of the post when well placed.
Yet in truth, there was very little end product from either side.
As Burnley took up the fight, James O'Connor summed up what was fast becoming a very dull game as he sliced a shot from just outside the area out for a throw-in.
And even when the hosts did break through, their delivery was found wanting as Camara raced away on the left after 69 minutes only to see Hayden Mullins hack his cut-back away.
Sheringham was trying his best to inject some sort of life into proceedings and five minutes later he blasted a 20-yard effort wide of the target before glancing a header from Mark Noble's corner over the bar.
Then finally, with seven minutes left, the veteran striker's persistence paid off as Harewood raced away to take the ball round Coyne in the area and squared back for the former Manchester United man to side-foot home.
Teams:
Burnley Coyne, Sinclair (Grant 87), McGreal, Cahill, Camara, Oster (Valois 83), Hyde, O'Connor, Branch (Duff 75), Bowditch, Akinbiyi.
Subs Not Used: Roche, Jensen.
Booked: Camara.
West Ham Walker, Ward, Repka, Ferdinand, Powell, Newton, Reo-Coker, Mullins (Fletcher 76), Noble (Etherington 76), Sheringham, Harewood (Zamora 85).
Subs Not Used: Bywater, Williams.
Booked: Mullins, Reo-Coker.
Goals: Sheringham 83.
Att: 12,209
Steve Cotterill had this to say after the game
"I didn't actually see the goal. I was talking to [Burnley substitute] Michael Duff and Danny Coyne had the ball in his hands, the next thing the ball was in the back of our net. It was just a stupid goal to give away."
Cotterill believed that Sheringham was the difference between the two sides.
"You don't want him to have the ball six yards out because there's only one answer," he said.
"You know he's going to score and you would rather it had been someone else as they might have panicked but he was very cool and slotted it away."