Crysencio Summerville’s goal in the first half of extra time helped West Ham secure a 1-0 win and reach the 5th round of the FA Cup after a tough afternoon away to League One Burton Albion.

West Ham went into the tie with a heavily rotated side. Captain Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek were all rested and left out of the match day squad. Konstantinos Mavropanos, handed the armband for the Hammers trip to the Pirelli Stadium, was the only player in the starting eleven who also started last time out at home to Manchester United.

From a West Ham perspective, it was an incredibly dull, dreary and disappointing first half performance. Burton were certainly the better side in the opening 45 minutes. The League One side moved the ball with much more intensity than the Hammers. They won the ball back with a greater sense of urgency and got into some promising positions. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men did not register an effort on goal until the 37th minute.

The first half ended goalless. While Burton didn’t have any clear cut chances, they found more openings and were more threatening going forward. They looked anything but a side currently sat 21st in League One.

Early in the second half, the Hammers moved the ball crisper, cleaner and with more pace and purpose than they did in the entirety of the first half. Up until around the 70th minute, the Hammers had the better of the second half exchanges. They continued to move the ball with more confidence and had their first real efforts on goal of the game.

As the game progressed, Nuno turned to his substitutes bench. Freddie Potts, Taty Castellanos and Crysencio Summerville were all introduced as the Hammers searched for a breakthrough.

The game drifted in the later period of the second half. When the referee blew his whistle at the end of normal time, signalling an additional 30 minutes of football it came as little surprise. Neither side had that one real moment that felt like their chance to snatch the tie. The Hammers certainly hadn’t done anywhere near enough to get over the line, Burton deserved full credit for dragging Nuno’s men into deep waters and making it a tough afternoon.

West Ham finally found their breakthrough early in the first half of extra time. The games first real moment of any quality came from the in form Crysencio Summerville. The forward drove at Burton’s backline, cut inside, and his curling effort was helped via a deflection into the back of the net. The Dutchman now has six goals in his last seven games.

Five minutes later, Freddie Potts was shown a straight red card in what was a rather bizarre moment. It was admittedly a rash challenge from the Hammers midfielder. The referee initially took out a yellow card, had a look at the Burton player rolling round in pain surrounded by a number of the League One side’s players, changed his mind and dismissed the 22 year old.

Burton threw all they could at 10-men West Ham in the second half of added time. The Hammers stood resolute and defended wave after wave of attack. Despite a handful of chances, the ball just wouldn’t fall for Burton and West Ham saw the game out.

It was far from a vintage display by West Ham, but ultimately Nuno Espirito Santo’s side got the job done and sealed another victory. The Hammers have now lost just one of their last seven in all competitions and will take their place in the FA Cup fifth round.