Crysencio Summerville spared West Ham’s blushes as he came off the bench to score an extra-time winner against League One Burton and put Nuno Espirito Santos’ side into the FA Cup last 16 with a 1-0 victory.
Summerville made it six goals in his last seven when he struck in the 95th minute of a poor contest, cutting in from the left and beating two defenders before hitting a shot which deflected off Terence Vancooten to beat Brad Collins.
The Hammers may have won three of their last five in the Premier League to offer renewed hope of avoiding the drop, but a side sporting 10 changes from the 1-1 draw with Manchester United laboured against a side 47 league places below them, fourth bottom of League One.
They finished the match hanging on after Freddie Potts was sent off in the 101st minute for a poor challenge through the back of Julian Larsson, with Jack Armer, Kain Adom and Kyran Lofthouse all flashing shots narrowly wide for the hosts.
Before kick-off, Hammers fans had arranged for a plane to fly over the Pirelli Stadium calling on directors David Sullivan and Karren Brady to go, and this was hardly a performance to quell feelings of discontent.
Burton boss Gary Bowyer spent the week trying to inspire his players with screenings of the then non-league Brewers' 0-0 FA Cup draw against Manchester United back in 2006, and they offered a match for the Hammers for long periods but did not have the quality to test Alphonse Areola.
While Nuno rang the changes, Bowyer chose to go full strength despite their own relegation worries, and it showed as a well-organised Burton side made the stronger start, with Sebastian Revan and George Evans just off target before Tyrese Shade hit a low shot at Areola.
Top scorer Jake Beesley appealed optimistically for a penalty after tumbling under a challenge from Konstantinos Mavropanos but was ignored by referee Lewis Smith.
West Ham did not threaten until the 38th minute but Callum Wilson's curling effort from the edge of the box did not worry Collins. Their next effort from Mohamadou Kante landed in the car park.
West Ham made a better start to the second half as they kept Burton pegged back, but they still lacked a real threat. Set-pieces looked their best bet with Mavropanos - the only player to keep his place from Monday - saw a header held by Collins after getting clear.
Wilson then tested Collins with a dipping strike but it was clear this tie was heading for extra-time.
Summerville, an 83rd-minute replacement for Ollie Scarles, soon provided the inspiration the game had lacked for so long.
But just as quickly as they had gained control of the game, West Ham threatened to lose it as Potts cut down Larsson with a scissor action. Smith initially held a yellow card in his hand but soon produced a deserved red.
That offered Burton some hope as they began to pour forward, forcing West Ham deeper and deeper, but the late pressure came to nought as Kgaogelo Chauke's shot hit the side-netting at the death.
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo on Summerville: "He's in a good moment, full of confidence. Everything that he does seems to go well, so we have to take advantage of it.
"It's confidence. With forward players you know how it is. It's all about confidence because many of the actions are individual. He's in a good moment, he's working for the team, he knows that he can make the difference."
On Potts' sending off, Nuno said: "I didn't see the images so it was not fair for me to judge the decision. But I insist again, I feel Freddie Potts is not a violent player. He's very fair. He's aggressive, he has to be, but he's not violent at all."
Burton boss Gary Bowyer: "The way we took a Premier League team to the last seconds of extra-time is a credit to the boys and the football club.
"We started the game well. We knew they'd made 10 changes so it takes a while to get into the flow. Our pitch as well is a bit of leveller so we knew there were opportunities for us.
"In the key moments we haven't quite been able to execute them and then it's a piece of quality from Summerville. It's what he can do, isn't it?"
