Burnley boss Sean Dyche admitted dropping Joe Hart for the game against West Ham was a difficult decision, but hailed Tom Heaton s professionalism after he came in and kept a clean sheet in a much-needed 2-0 win.
The Clarets had conceded 41 times in their 19 Premier League games heading into Sunday s encounter at Turf Moor, and Dyche responded by dropping former England international Hart.
Long-serving Burnley stopper Heaton was drafted in for a league game for the first time since September 2017 and was not breached as Burnley picked up their first victory in four matches to move level on points with 17th-placed Southampton.
It was a tough one on Joe, but Tom is a great pro and his professionalism has paid him back, Dyche told a news conference afterwards.
I must say, though, Joe was the first one jumping off the bench when he made that save at the end, which tells you a lot about the group.
Burnley scored twice in the first 34 minutes as Chris Wood s opener was followed by an effort from Dwight McNeil, who became the first ever teenager to score a Premier League goal for the Clarets.
He s a young player but we think a lot of him, Dyche told Match of the Day.
19y 38d Dwight McNeil has become the first ever teenager to score a Premier League goal for Burnley. Kicks.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
It s been hard to get him more football this season because we are where we are and it s been tough. I decided the time was right and I felt the game was right.
West Ham have good attacking prowess but they do at times leave pockets where you can work in. He s good at that, he s a clever player and he s got some ability and quality. He showed that today.
His family should take great pride in what he s doing, and him himself it s a big moment for a young man.
West Ham had been unbeaten in their previous five away games but boss Manuel Pellegrini felt they were at a disadvantage having faced Southampton on Thursday, with Burnley having an extra day to prepare.
It s frustrating because we wanted to win this game, Pellegrini said.
It was a good opportunity to go to seventh position in the table, but I think we lacked the energy to win it.
“We arrived back from Southampton at 2am on Friday, and then [the Burnley game was] 48 hours later. I m sure that affected the recovery because that s the only reason why we played the way we did.
“It wasn t only that we didn t create many chances, they also created a lot of chances. Two-nil was not the score that they deserved – they deserved at least a couple more.
