Thomas Hitzlsperger scored on his debut to give West Ham the
lead with a long-range shot in the 23rd minute, and Cole decided the game with
two quick strikes shortly after the break. Winston Reid headed in the fourth in
the 59th before Jay Rodriguez scored a consolation goal for the second-tier
club in the 71st.
Reid then prevented another goal in injury time, clearing
the ball off the goal line with a diving header that bounced off the bar and
left post, and Freddie Sears completed the rout at the other end moments later.
West Ham will travel to Stoke in the next round.
For a night at least, West Ham shrugged off its Premier
League relegation concerns and gave manager Avram Grant yet another impressive
cup result.
Grant has been under fire for much of the season but also
led West Ham to the League Cup semifinals before being eliminated by
Birmingham. Last year, Grant took struggling Portsmouth - which was later
relegated - to the FA Cup final, where it lost to his former club Chelsea.
“Our target and first priority is the league, but it's
always good to come into the quarterfinals of the cup,” said Grant, whose team
is next-to-last in the Premier League. “We want to win every game. We know in
the cup you lose one game and you're out, but in the league there is always the
next game to make things better.” Hitzlsperger, who had been out for six months
with a thigh injury, opened the scoring when he cut inside a defender and unleashed
a hard left-footed strike from 25 meters that swerved past goalkeeper Lee Grant.
“I didn't know what to expect after such a long time out,”
Hitzlsperger said. “The manager was speaking to me before the game about
whether I would play 30 minutes or start, but I'm delighted to start with a
goal and an important win for us.
“It's going to bring some confidence back to the camp and
that's important with the games ahead of us.” Cole made the game safe with his
two rapid goals, the first coming in the 48th when he stabbed home the ball
from a lying position after tumbling over an onrushing Grant - despite an
apparent handball after he fell.
The second was a much cleaner finish. Mark Noble sent a long
ball over the Burnley defense and Cole controlled it with one touch before
sending a perfect half-volley high into the net.
Reid's powerful header from Hitzlsperger's corner put the
result beyond doubt, and West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green could afford to gift
Burnley a consolation in the 71st.
Green's poor clearance hit Tyrone Mears on the head inside
the six-yard box and the ball fell to Rodriguez who nodded home into an empty
net.
Sears wrapped the win up with an 15-yard strike in the final
minute of injury time.
In San
Sebastian, Spain, Raul Tamudo's second-half goal lifted Real Sociedad to a 1-0
win over Mallorca on Monday in the Spanish league.
Under gusting winds and rain, both teams had difficulties
creating clear-cut scoring chances in the first half at Anoeta stadium.
Sociedad was the better team after the restart, and Tamudo
rose up to head home Daniel Estrada's cross in the 55th for his third goal in
four games.
Xabi Prieto came close to doubling the Basque club's lead in
the 70th when his lob hit the crossbar.
It was Sociedad's third straight home win and pushed the
club to within three points of the Europa League positions.
Earlier in round 24, Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 to
remain five points clear of second-place Real Madrid, which downed Levante 2-0.
