Crisencio Somerville didn’t blush at West Ham as he came off the bench to secure an extra-time win over League One Burton and send Nuno Espirito Santos’ side into the last 16 of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win.
Summerville struck in the 95th minute of a poor performance, cutting in from the left and beating two defenders before hitting a shot that deflected off Terence Vankuten to beat Brad Collins.
The Hammers may have won three of their last five Premier League games to give them fresh hope of avoiding the drop, but the team, who made 10 changes from their 1-1 draw with Manchester United, struggled against a side who sit 47th in the league table, fourth bottom in League One.
They finished the game after Freddie Potts was sent off in the 101st minute for a poor challenge through the back of Julian Larsson, while Jack Armer, Kain Adom and Kyran Lofthouse all had flashing shots just wide for the hosts.
Before kick-off, Hammers fans flew a plane over the Pirelli Stadium and asked managers David Sullivan and Karen Brady to go, but this was not a performance meant to allay their frustration.
Burton manager Gary Bowyer spent a week trying to inspire his players by screening the then non-league Brewers’ 0-0 FA Cup draw with Manchester United in 2006 and they have long offered the Hammers a game but lacked the quality to test Alphons Areola.
Referee Lewis Smith shows West Ham’s Freddie Potts a red card.
While Nuno signaled the change, Bowyer decided to go all out despite his own relegation worries and a well-organized Burton side appeared to have made the stronger start with Sebastian Revan and George Evans just wide of the target before Tyrese Shade struck a low shot from Areola.
Top scorer Jake Beesley optimistically appealed for a penalty after going down under a challenge from Konstantinos Mavropanos, but was ignored by referee Lewis Smith.
Burton Albion’s Kane Adom and West Ham’s Sungutu Magasa are competing for possession.
West Ham did not threaten until the 38th minute when Callum Wilson curled a shot from the edge of the box but Collins was not worried. Mohamadou Kante’s next attempt landed in the parking lot.
West Ham got off to a better start to the second half as they kept Button tied but still lacked any real threat. Set-pieces saw the best of the contest, with Collins having a header saved after a clearance by Mavropanos, the only player to keep his place since Monday.
Wilson tested Collins with a dipping strike, but it was clear this tie was headed to overtime.
Burton Albion’s Udoka Godwin-Mallife is tackled by West Ham’s Oliver Scales.
Summerville, who replaced Ollie Scarles in the 83rd minute, soon provided the inspiration the game had been lacking for so long.
However, as soon as they took control of the game, West Ham were on the verge of defeat when Potts knocked down Larsson with a scissors action. Smith initially had a yellow card in his hand but was soon handed a well-deserved red.
This gave Burton some hope as they started to push forward and pressured West Ham deeper and deeper, but their late pressure was canceled out when Kgaogelo Chauke’s shot hit the side netting at the death.
