Michail Antonio proved to David Moyes he can be the man to replace Sebastien Haller after securing all three points for West Ham United against Burnley.
The forward capitalised on a mis-placed header from Ben Mee with less than ten minutes on the clock at the London Stadium to power past Nick Pope and secure a 1-0 win.
Antonio, who had not scored since October, is the only senior striker for the Hammers after Haller joined Ajax last week and grabbed his 40th Premier League goal for the club on his 400th career appearance.
After bright work from Jarrod Bowen down the left hand side, his pass found Pablo Fornals to cross into the box, with Mee taking the ball away from James Tarkowski and diverting it onto Antonio’s out-stretched right boot.
The visitors were flat in the first half, with the introduction of Jay Rodriguez and Dwight McNeil in the second half injecting some much-needed pace and vitality into the Clarets.
But West Ham were never truly in danger of seeing their lead chalked off and just needed to be more clinical in front of goal.
Rumours about a £15million move for Stade Reims striker Boulaye Dia are understandable given Antonio’s injury record since moving to West Ham in 2015.
But, as long as he remains fit and sharp, David Moyes can rest easy in the knowledge he has a certified Premier League quality striker up front.
Early in the second half Declan Rice went close with an audacious angled free-kick which flew narrowly over and Fornals’ goal-bound shot was blocked.
Rice then fed Bowen, who raced clear of Dwight McNeil but buried his shot into the side-netting.
Burnley have only scored four goals on the road this season so their prospects of an equaliser looked thin.
They threatened one when Mee headed Robbie Brady’s ball wide, and came even closer when McNeil’s cross looped over Fabianski and grazed the crossbar.
But West Ham are made of sterner stuff under Moyes these days and they held on for a third successive 1-0 win since the turn of the year.