Winners & losers as Brighton’s poor form continues with defeat to Burnley

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Burnley climb out of the drop zone with a 1-3 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in a windswept and sodden evening on the south coast. 

Brighton were very unlucky in this game and the result does not reflect their determined performance at the Amex Stadium.

But, as always, it doesn’t matter how well you played. Putting it in the back of the net is all that matters in this game and Burnley made their chances count.

Brighton’s poor result was not helped, however, by referee Stuart Attwell who overlooked two very clear penalty shouts in the second half.

A Brace from Chris Wood and a spot kick from Ashley Barnes was enough to sink the Seagulls. Here’s four winners and two losers from the Premier League’s Saturday evening kick off.

Winners

Chris Wood

Chris Wood benefited from Tom Heaton’s safe hands at the other end of the pitch when made a confident finish for the Clarets moments later. Ashley Barnes, who had been denied by the cross bar earlier in the game, found his strike partner with a perfectly weighted chip over the Seagulls’ back-line.

Lewis Dunk couldn’t stay on his feet on the sodden Brighton pitch, which left Wood all the time in the world to compose himself and give his side the lead, as he smashed it past ‘keeper Mat Ryan. Wood has now scored six league goals against Brighton; only against Huddersfield (7) has he netted more in the English leagues. The Kiwi secured his brace after Burnley hit Brighton on the counter in the second half. His finish was cool and collected after McNeil put him through on goal.

Tom Heaton

The Burnley stopper had a busy evening on the south coast, especially in the first half , as he had to make four key saves. Solly March was the closest to defeat Heaton when he latched onto Jurgen Locadia’s ball. The midfielder cut inside and unleashed a wickedly swerving effort at goal, but Heaton’s wrists remained strong as he palmed the ball away from goal. Heaton then capped of a sensational first half with a spectacular finger-tipped save from Pascal Groß’s close-range shot just before the break. Heaton was unlucky not to keep a clean sheet, but Shane Duffy rose to grab, what would be, a consolation goal late in the second half. Burnley have now won more games with Tom Heaton in goal this season than with Joe Hart.

Ashley Barnes

Barnes was fantastic for the Clarets on Saturday evening. He had a disappointing start to proceedings when he only managed to hit the crossbar after being gifted a free header in the box.

His hard work on the left flank more than made up for it minutes later when he played in Wood for the opener. He consistently threatened Brighton throughout this clash and was rewarded with a goal when he converted a penalty after being down by Ryan after a surging counter attack.

Dwight McNeil

The 19-year-old Manchester United Academy graduate earned Burnley’s Youth Team Player of the Year award last season and the Rochdale born midfielder has enjoyed a decent run in the side this term.

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McNeil almost ruined his side’s afternoon when he appeared to have given a penalty away in the first half. But, after some cunning histrionics he managed to convince the referee that he was the one with a grievance. Dishonesty is not the best way to earn praise for your performance, but it showed an experience beyond his years. Happily his other contributions to the game were more than enough to earn him a place here.

McNeil was excellent in possession and provided excellent coverage to Phil Bardsley on the right flank. His moment of the match came when he assisted Wood for his second of the game. All in all, a solid performance for the youngster.

Losers

Lewis Dunk

Brighton should have been in a better position after the first 45 minutes, as they dominated possession and consistently threatened the Clarets’ goal. Burnley relied on Heaton and Hendrick’s goal-line clearance to stay afloat in the first half and the Seagulls were unlucky to be behind at the break.

Brighton’s misfortune was down to Dunk’s own terrible luck. They say at this level that it only takes one slip to change a game or, indeed, a season – just ask Steven Gerrard. And it’s Dunk’s slip that saw the Seagulls go behind.

Barnes’ chip was of high quality, but it was perfectly manageable as Dunk was close to Wood as he advanced on goal. That was until he slipped and fell on his backside, leaving the Burnley striker with time for a cup of tea and a game of soldiers before he belted it past Ryan.

Southampton

Burnley’s victory lifts the struggling Lancashire outfit out of the bottom three, but it’s at the expense of the Saints who return to the drop zone once again.

The road to safety only gets steeper for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men as they face top four candidates Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in their next four Premier League games.

Southampton might be buoyed by Burnley’s fixture list which sees them have to face Liverpool and Spurs in their next four games. It’s all to play for in the bottom three.

The post Winners & losers as Brighton’s poor form continues with defeat to Burnley appeared first on Squawka News.



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