If titles are won by grinding out victories with poor performances, West Ham should feel confident of lifting honours this season.

Once again the Hammers produced a performance which fully justified the 14,000 empty Upton Park seats before seeing Adam Nowland's first ever goal for the club secure them a narrow victory.

The former Wimbledon man has taken his time over settling in since his January switch from Milton Keynes, but Saturday's show hinted at the quality he may have to offer.

Sadly for him, his winning goal was overshadowed by a bizarre finale which saw a stoppage-time brawl prompted by Marlon Harewood and John McGreal, followed by a red card for young Chris Cohen.

Nowland's winner, on 62 minutes, came as the hosts began to tighten the screw against their well-organised yet limited opponents.

A lively opening to the second half was starting to banish memories of a turgid first stanza, and a string of three Hammers corners kept Burnley pegged back in their own area.

Too many incomplete clearances eventually saw Hayden Mullins' deep right-wing cross break for Nowland on the edge of the box.

And the midfielder thumped a first-time effort into the floor and saw it zip off the turf and over Danny Coyne's dive to open the scoring.

That largely ended Burnley's stubborn resistance. Mattie Etherington's powerful drive was parried, with Harewood inches from converting the rebound.

Then Sheringham headed home from an off-side position and Etherington was hauled down by Frank Sinclair when breaking forward with menace.

But that was overshadowed by the game's unlikely conclusion. In stoppage time Harewood was fouled by McGreal, and the two embarked on a wrestling match.

A melee developed involving every outfield player bar Tomas Repka, while referee JP Robinson seemed to lose control of proceedings.

Harewood was lucky to escape with a yellow card after appearing to have McGreal by the throat, while Anton Ferdinand and - surprisingly - Burnley's Michael Duff were also cautioned.

Published Monday August 30, 2004

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