FA CUP LIVE: West Ham 5 Burnley 1 - the action from Upton Park as it happened

By DAN RIPLEY FOR MAILONLINE
Updated: 17:10 EST, 21 February 2011

Follow Sportsmail's coverage of the FA Cup where West Ham host Burnley at Upton Park in a fifth round clash. The Hammers are struggling in the Premier League but will be favourites to overcome Championship opposition. Email me your thoughts on the game at [email protected]

22.00: Well that just about wraps things up from me.

But don't forget to check back tomorrow where Sportsmail will bring you more live football coverage as Chelsea travel to Copenhagen in the Champions League and Blackpool host Tottenham in the Premier League.

I'm telling you now that has goals written all over it. Thank you for following and good night.

21.56: For Burnley that was quite a damning case against their defence.

It was all over the place and as good as they are going forward, they would struggle to prevent shipping goals left, right and centre in the Premier League, big improvements needed if they are to get promoted.

21.53: Say what you want about his league form but Avram Grant is a cup expert.

One semi-final already this season, the Hammers have the chance to reach another when they travel to Stoke for their quarter-final in this competition.

Top performance from West Ham tonight and thoroughly deserving of their last eight place.

Full-time: West Ham 5-1 Burnley

90+3min: GOAL! WEST HAM 5-1 Burnley

Just 28 seconds after Iwelumo's chance, the Hammers counter and Spector lays the ball in to the path of Freddie Sears in the box who clips the ball over the top of Grant.

What could have been a respectable result for Burnley suddenly turns in to a rout.

90+2min: Nearly a goal for Burnely to make this look respectable but Iwelumo's header is expertly cleared off the line by Reid, whose own header to clear crashes off the bar and out.

The centre-back put everything on the line there as he crashes on to the concrete at the back of the net. Don't question his commitment to the cause.

90min: Three minutes added on, as fans from all corners start to stream out the ground.

I hate it when people leave early from games but having been to Upton Park, I also understand it is an absolute pain to get out of.

88min: Amongst my belly laughs and substitutions, I forget to let you know Elliot was booked in the 73rd minute for a late trip on Noble...sorry.

87min: Just playing out time now, Hitzlsperger announced as man-of-the-match by the stadium announcer. Trouble for him is he has set his standards too high, top debut.

84min: And here is Burnley's. Steven Thompson is on for Eagles to play the last six minutes.

Long tome coming: Even Grant (centre) can afford a smile as he congratulates Hitzlsperger on his contribution

82min: And there is West Ham's final sub as Ba is replaced by Frederic Piquionne.

He must fancy his chances against this defence. Even I would, and I played my entire career for Abbey Youth at right-back.

81min: Unlucky from Ba, his first time effort from 18 yards is well struck but Grant does well to tip the powerful effort over for a corner.

79min: In fact of anyone is going to get a goal it's West Ham who are just a bit sloppy with their final ball at the moment but are looking dangerous. I still fancy another goal in this - the defending has been so awful!

76min: The games has quietened a lot since the introduction of the subs, Burnley seem to have accepted their goal was a consolation and nothing more.

73min: Double sub from Burnley, Rodrigiez now stays on as Wallace and Dean Marney go off to be replaced by Chris Iwelumo and Graham Alexander, the latter is making his 950th appearance.

For West Ham, Jonathan Spector is on for Cole.

71min: GOAL! West Ham 4-1 BURNLEY

This makes Cole's first look like a stunner. I'm still laughing as I type this!

Wayne Bridge casually runs towards Green on his own byline and after Green's attempted clearance cannons off Tyrone Mears' head, Jay Rodriguez nods in to an empty goal. Straight from the school of football comedy, what was Bridge thinking?!

70min: Awful from Rodriguez. He is in acres of space (and offside) as he receives the ball 20 yards out, but despite having a good first touch he curls his shot well over the bar. Poor effort and Burnley are preparing to take him off. I don't blame them.

67min: What a reception on his debut. Hitzlsperger is taken off to a big cheer from the West Ham fans and is replaced by Pablo Barrera.

Four-head: Winston Reid (2) scored the Hammers' fourth goal with his head

66min: And it's spreading to the rest of the team after Rodriguez is booked for a cynical trip on Lars Jacobsen.

65min: Burnley can't get the ball and frustration is creeping in to their game, with Wallace needlessly clipping Wayne Bridge. the former England full-back isn't too impressed with the very late challenge.

62min: And only a top save from Grant prevents it from being five. Ba is in acres of space on the right side of the box before his low shot across goal is just tipped behind for a corner.

59min: GOAL! WEST HAM 4-0 Burnley

Maybe we wills see eight! Hitzlsperger's corner to the near post is met by Winston Reid who powers a header past Grant to score his first goal for the club. More importantly this tie is over.

58min: Even Avram Grant can afford to flash a smile, and that is a photographer's collectors item.

56min: I fear for Burnley here. Their defence seems to have more holes than a tennis racket. The Hammers can fill their boots here if they wanted to.

53min: It really was too easy for West Ham that. Burnley respond but Eagles' low strike from 20 yards out is dragged well wide.

At the double: Carlton Cole's early second-half brace effectively put West Ham out of sight

50min: GOAL! WEST HAM 3-0 Burnley

That's better! Another Noble ball over the top and this time Carlton Cole does control the ball properly before smashing a high shot past Grant. In the space of 120 seconds, Burnley look down and out.

48min: GOAL! WEST HAM 2-0 Burnley

The beauty of a 'goal' is whether it's a 30 yard cracker or 'this one' they all count the same.

First off, Carlton Cole is offside as he latches on to Noble's through ball but his control is absolutely shocking and the chance looks to have gone after Grant fumbles him at his feet.

But the ball somehow falls back to him on the floor and after handballing it, manages to scramble it home despite the defenders looking favourite to sweep up the danger. It's something i expect to see at an Under 5s match.

47min: Thank you OptaJoe, who back up my midfield claim at 20.59:

12 – Of a total of 121 passes attempted in the first half, West Ham’s midfield trio only misplaced 12. Tidy.

46min: Oh, and no changes to tell you about.

Second-half: Apart from when Hitzlsperger gets the ball 30 yards out, the Hammers fans have been mostly quite.

Signs of nerves maybe? West Ham get us going again.

20.59: No matter the result of this game, West Ham seem to have a solid midfield here to take in to Premier League games.

Parker, Mark Noble and Hitzlsperger have done well together and will only get better as the German settles.

20.54: I live in the west of Ireland and have been a Hammers supporter for many years.

My last two games at Upton Park have been a cup match 20 years ago against Everton which we won with a penalty save by Phil Parkes and last January when West Ham beat Burnley 5-3.

At half time when we were 5-0 ahead, a fan turned to me and said 'Only at Upton Park could you be 5-0 up and still be nervous.'

David O'Connor

Remember that last game well. I don't think we will see eight goals again this evening but I can't see this finishing 1-0.

20.48: On the balance of play a deserved score line, but Burnley are still in this and will take heart knowing that the Hammers back line looks far from secure...even if their own doesn't exactly resemble a fortress.

Half-time: West Ham 1-0 Burnley

45min: One minute added on.

Fumbled: Rodriguez (top) can't find a way past Robert Green

44min: Wallace is back on and that's a good effort from Freddie Sears, whose shot although lacks power drifts just wide across goal from 20 yards.

43min: Man down for Burnley and Ross Wallace appears to be in some pain as he holds his ankle. West Ham in possession don't rush in kicking the ball out so he can receive treatment.

They don't have to of course but they had no real advantage in keeping the ball in play.

42min: Evidently nothing, as another corner is headed clear.

41min: We will see if the Hammers have learned anything from Burnley's corners after Demba Ba's shot is deflected behind.

38min: Once again it is cleared and I can't help but feel the Championship side are wasting their set-piece opportunities here.

37min: Seems the home side have eased off a bit, and Burnley win another corner.

34min: And it's those two who combine for the Claret's latest chance.

Rodriguez's clever flick gives Eagles room to shoot 20 yards out, but his low stinging shot is just a little too close to Green, who does well to turn the ball away to safety.

32min: Not that I'm writing off Burnley though. Eagles and Rodriguez still look sharp but their team mate's head seem to have dropped for the time being.

29min: West Ham look such a different team now, the visitors can't get anywhere near them and are also leaving quite a few gaps in the full-back areas.

26min: Confidence is brewing in the home side now and those 'shoot' shouts from the home crowd for the German have got considerably louder.

Off the mark: Hitzlsperger's strike on his Hammers debut was one to remember

23min: GOAL! WEST HAM 1-0 Burnley

I set him up and he didn't disappoint! Thomas Hitzlsperger is 30 yards out when unleashes a left-foot strike that leaves Lee Grant diving at thin air.

In truth the ball looks to move in the as the keeper gets his hand-eye co-ordination completely wrong but this ball is not the Jabulani and he gets no sympathy vote from me. Brilliant strike either way.

22min: West Ham starting to settle a bit and in truth if anybody has looked good on the ball it is the home side.

19min: I have enjoyed these opening few minutes but there does seem to be quality lacking.

Both midfields are taking turns to be easily over-ran and both sides are struggling to put two passes together. Strangely intriguing though.

16min: And it's Green at the rescue again after doing well to parry away Wallace's 20-yard-shot before turning away Rodriguez's point blank rebound. Offside had already been called but Green was not to know that.

14min: Shocking from Winston Reid. Burnley loop a nigh ball in the box and Reid decides to let the ball bounce giving Jay Rodriguez a free chance to have a shot at Robert Green.

He elects to chip the England stopper from six yards out but the keeper gets a good hand to turn it over before giving his centre-back a good telling off.

12min: The visitors pose a genuine threat though and have another corner after Wayne Bridges takes no chances in headering a cross behind. The Hammers clear.

Heads up: Burnley's Jay Rodriguez (left) and West Ham's James Tomkins challenge for an aerial ball

9min: West Ham fans haven't forgotten the German though. Every time he gets the ball anywhere near 30 yards out they all scream shoot.

To be fair he did hit a couple of crackers in his days at Aston Villa, Hammers looking the better side early on.

6min: Great play from Carlton Cole, he cuts back after a run down the right to give himself space for a cross and his ball to the back post is aimed at Hitzlsperger.

Nothing wrong with the pass but the German perhaps looks a little rusty as he takes one touch too many before the visitors clear.

5min: Burnley get a corner themselves but Ross Wallace's cross is well headed away by James Tomkins.

3min: Good start this, Hitzlsperger wins a corner after his cross is blocked which Burnley clear. The one outstanding feature so far is that the Burnley back line is about as straight as a hairpin.

1min: Early sighter from Wade Elliott whose volley from 25 yards out is well wide. Would have done well to just get that on target though.

Kick-off: Dean Marney and Chris Eagles get us going for the visitors.

19.57: The prize for the victors this evening? A quarter-final trip to Stoke. Wembley will have to be reached the hard way that's for sure.

19.54: Here come the players, Burnley in their change strip of white for this one with Upton Park looking quite full with a top atmosphere to match. This all points towards a good game.

19.51: Looks a fairly chilly night in east London, many players doing their warm up under the comfort of gloves but thankfully I am yet to spot a snood.

The FA Cup doesn't do for that sort of thing.

19.48: Time for a quick-fire stat from OptaJoe:

9 - West Ham have won their last nine FA Cup matches against lower division teams. Bullies.

19.45: Just to underline how close this tie really is, there is still a good possibility of these sides switching leagues come May.

Just nine places separate these two teams across two divisions and under Eddie Howe, Burnley are on a bit of a role as they chase a play-off place and an instant return to the Premier League.

19.42: Burnley have previous form when it comes to Premier League London teams. Remember their 'capital punishment' they handed out in the Carling Cup in 2008? Fulham, Chelsea, Arsenal and to some extent Tottenham all tasted defeat to the Clarets in an incredible run to the semi-final.

West Ham could be next and this time there is no Roman Pavlyuchenko to spoil the party for the visitors.

19.39: Goodness me I never thought i would see the day. Thomas Hitzlsperger will finally make his Hammers debut after being injured since arriving from Lazio last summer.

I just hope he can make it through the 90 minutes unscathed. Owen Hargreaves and Jonathan Woodgate are just two players who have failed to do that on their comebacks from lengthy lay-offs this season.

19.36: Team news is in:

West Ham v Burnley
West Ham: Green, Reid, Tomkins, Jacobsen, Bridge, Sears, Parker, Noble, Hitzlsperger, Cole, Ba. Subs: Boffin, Barrera, Boa Morte, Spector, da Costa, Hines, Piquionne.
Burnley: Grant, Mears, Duff, Carlisle, Fox, Elliott, Cork, Eagles, Marney, Wallace, Rodriguez. Subs: Jensen, Alexander, Iwelumo, Edgar, Bikey, Easton, Thompson.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

19.33: Still this has been dubbed the 'claret derby' in the office. (Not my call Aston Villa fans) and although West Ham are naturally the favourites, Burnley are more than capable of causing huge problems this evening.

19.30: I don't know about you but I am starting to lose track of the what on earth is going on in the FA Cup this season.

Last weekend alone I saw fifth round ties, fourth round replays and a quarter-final draw that just continues to confuse me in what I should be focusing on.

The FA Cup may be losing its sparkle but jumbling it up so much is not going to help it all.

It's a shame, because there has been some brilliant games in the competition this season and I have a feeling tonight's semi-final...fourth round...ermm...tie, is going to be a tasty affair. Team news on the way folks.

Stand in skipper: Scott Parker will captain West Ham for the rest of the season