news-engine

Burnley 2-2 West Ham: Zian Flemming at the double in dramatic league opener Burnley come from behind to draw 2-2 with West Ham in league opener Burnley came from two goals down to kick off their 2026/27 Championship campaign with a dramatic draw against West Ham. The Clarets looked to be heading to a cruel opening day defeat to the title favourites, who scored twice from their only two shots on target. But Nicky Hayen’s side, who had earlier missed some glorious chances at key moments in the game, showed a great mentality to keep going, getting their reward with a Zian Flemming brace. The former Millwall man halved the deficit eight minutes from time from the penalty spot before salvaging a point with a scrappy finish in stoppage-time. While Burnley’s long wait for a home league win stretches to 302 days, supporters will be hugely encouraged by much of what they witnessed. They played with a real urgency, looking to pass forward at all times and take the game to West Ham. Until Flemming’s late brace, they just lacked a clinical touch in the final third while they needed to show more conviction and better decision-making. But Hayen will be pleased to celebrate his 46th birthday with a point to get his Burnley reign off to a positive start. New loan signing Max Alleyne came straight in for his debut, having signed from Manchester City on Friday. But fellow new arrival Dastan Satpayev was not involved, having not received international clearance in time to feature. Oliver Sonne was preferred to Connor Roberts at right-back, with the Welshman not even named on the bench, while Ugo Raghouber made his first league outing in midfield. Jordan Beyer, Josh Cullen, Enock Agyei, Jaydon Banel and Ashley Barnes all missed out through injury. The likes of Hjalmar Ekdal, Lluc Castell, Lyle Foster and Michael Obafemi were all left out, meanwhile. The Clarets, roared on by a boisterous Turf Moor crowd, almost made the perfect start as Jacob Bruun Larsen was set free by Hannibal down the left inside the opening 60 seconds. The winger picked out Zian Flemming with his cross and the former Millwall man flicked narrowly over the top corner. Hayen’s men remained on the front foot early on, as Aaron Ramsey curled wide after space opened up for him 25 yards from goal. Yet for all of their early running, it was the Hammers - almost predictably - who took the lead with their first chance on goal. Defender Max Kilman was the man to get it, escaping Aaron Ramsey’s attention to head home from a corner right in front of the away end. Three minutes later, Ramsey almost atoned for the error by coming close to an immediate equaliser, skewing just wide after Bruun Larsen’s pullback had been cleared to him. The West Ham goal otherwise sucked all of the life out of Turf Moor, after what had been a really bright, encouraging and noisy start. Subscribe now for HALF PRICE and catch every minute of our Clarets coverage this season - from pre-season to the final whistle. Click here Burnley again came close to an equaliser though, this time in fairly bizarre circumstances as Oliver Sonne’s header from all of 40 yards out bounced just wide after goalkeeper Mads Hermansen had come racing off his line to deal with a long ball forward. Despite the disappointment of going behind, Burnley continued to rally and were still playing pretty well, as Flemming dragged a shot that had the keeper scampering just wide from 20 yards out. We saw a microcosm of Burnley’s first half performance in the 38th minute when Hannibal did really well to charge forward from midfield, only to ignore options either side of him and delaying his shot, causing the move to break down on the edge of the West Ham box. While Burnley were unchanged after the restart, West Ham introduced former Clarets loanee James Ward-Prowse. The first chance of the half fell Burnley’s way as Bruun Larsen once again picked out Flemming, only for the Dutchman to head straight at Hermansen. Hayen turned to the bench for the first time in the 57th minute, replacing Raghouber and Hannibal with Josh Laurent and Zeki Amdouni. Just after the hourmark, Burnley were incredibly unfortunate not to equalise when it looked like the net was about to bulge. Marcus Edwards was the creator, providing a sublime cross that Flemming headed back across goal - only for the ball to rebound off the inside of the post and fall straight into the keeper’s grateful arms. The Clarets were really knocking on the door at this point, as Flemming’s glanced header from an inswinging corner looked to be heading in, only for Ollie Scarles to head off the line. The hosts were well on top at this point, as West Ham did everything in their armoury to try and slow things down and frustrate. But in an utterly predictable twist of fate, West Ham - just as they did in the first half - scored with their first chance to double their lead, having offered precisely nothing in an attacking sense since the restart. Manor Solomon was the man to get it, ghosting unmarked to slam home high into the roof of the net after Mohamadou Kante had been allowed to march to the touchline without much opposition. Burnley were given a late lifeline in the 82nd minute when they were awarded a penalty for a blatant trip on Edwards by Scarles. Flemming dispatched the spot kick with confidence, sending Hermansen the wrong way to halve the deficit and set up a grandstand finish. Amdouni fired just over with a vicious effort from range as the Clarets chased a dramatic late equaliser. The drama wasn’t finished there though, as Flemming struck a bobbly, scrappy finish into the bottom corner in stoppage time to rescue Burnley a richly deserved point. TEAMS Burnley: Weiss, Sonne, Walker, Alleyne, Humphreys (Pires), Raghouber (Laurent), Hannibal (Amdouni), Ramsey (Broja), Edwards, Bruun Larsen (Tresor), Flemming Subs: Amos, Worrall, Sambo, Hountondji West Ham: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Mavropanos, Scarles (Diouf), Kante, Orford, Bowen, Solomon (Veltman), Pablo (Ward-Prowse), Taty Subs: Areola, Earthy, Landers, Golambeckis, Mayers, Ajala Referee: Josh Smith