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kumb.com · unknown author · 2026-08-17T11:29:10+00:00 · nguồn gốc

There are few things more frustrating as a football supporter than watching your team turn a comfortable winning position into a draw. And yet, somehow, it feels like we have seen this particular film many times before. West Ham looked to be heading for the perfect start to life back in the Championship at Turf Moor, only to surrender a two-goal advantage in the final ten minutes and leave Lancashire with one point instead of all three. Max Kilman's early header - his first competitive goal in a West Ham shirt - and latest arrival Manor Solomon's debut goal had put the Hammers firmly in control, but former Millwall striker Zian Flemming's late double turned what should have been a hugely encouraging afternoon into another exercise in frustration. On the one hand, Burnley away is not the easiest start to a new campaign, given their position as another recently relegated side with ambitions of returning immediately to the Premier League. And there were certainly periods when West Ham looked the better side - including much of the first half - while, at 2-0 up with less than 20 minutes remaining, the game appeared to be won. But that is precisely why the manner of the collapse by Nuno Espirito Santo's team was so disappointing. Once Solomon doubled the advantage with a close range effort following some excellent work by Mohamadou Kante, as was the case frequently last season West Ham seemed to retreat rather than attempt to kill the game off. Meanwhile the hosts grew in confidence, the home crowd became increasingly vocal - and the pressure eventually told. Oliver Scarles' mistimed and ill-advised challenge - which came minutes after he'd been perfectly place to clear a goal-bound effort off the line - handed Flemming the opportunity to reduce the deficit from the penalty spot, before the Dutchman scrambled home the equaliser in the second of five added-on minutes. There was almost an inevitability about Burnley's fightback that will concern supporters. The Hammers spent much of last season developing an unwanted reputation for surrendering winning positions, and seeing it happen again in the very first game of a promotion campaign is far from reassuring. There were undoubtedly positives too, though; Kilman's goal was a welcome contribution from the central defender, while winger Solomon could hardly have made a better competitive debut after arriving from Tottenham. The aforementioned Kante also impressed in creating the second goal, suggesting there are genuine reasons for optimism among those championing the inclusion of some of the younger members of the squad. However the bigger concern is what happened once the game began to turn. Santo has already acknowledged the need for further attacking reinforcements, and the thinness of the bench was noticeable - so much so that teenage striker Josh Landers was included on the bench, one of EIGHT Academy graduates involved on the day. And as today highlighted, West Ham need a squad capable of surviving the physical and relentless nature of Championship football - not one which leaves the manager with extremely limited options when a game becomes uncomfortable. So while a point from Turf Moor isn't disastrous - In isolation, it is a perfectly reasonable result to kick off the campaign- from 2-0 up with seven minutes of normal time remaining, it feels like two points lost. And after everything West Ham supporters endured last season, the last thing anyone wanted was another reminder that this team still hasn't learned how to close out a game. Welcome back to the Championship, I suppose. West Ham Utd: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles (Diouf 87), Orford, Kante, Bowen (c), Solomon (Veltman 89), Castellanos, Pablo (Ward-Prowse 46) Unused subs: Areola, Mayers, Golambeckis, Earthy, Ajala, Landers Goals: Kilman (10), Solomon (72) Booked: Kante, Castellanos, Hermansen Burnley: Weiss, Walker (c), Alleyne, Humphreys (Pires 76), Sonne, Bruun Larsen (Tresor 82), Ramsey (Broja 76), Raghouber (Laurent 57), Edwards, Hannibal (Amdouni 57), Flemming Unused subs: Amos, Sambo, Worrall, Hountondji Goals: Flemming (83 pen, 90+2) Booked: Flemming Referee: Josh Smith Attendance: 20,229 * Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.