Burnley 0-0 Preston North End: Clarets held to frustrating draw in underwhelming Lancashire derby
Burnley were held to another frustrating goalless draw – this time at home to local rivals Preston North End – following a lethargic and underwhelming lunchtime derby at Turf Moor.
Scott Parker’s men once again lacked a cutting edge as they failed to create any chances of real note.
By comparison, Preston had two or three good openings in a first-half where they were by far the better team, but failed to capitalise on a sloppy and tetchy Burnley display.
The second-half was a non-event in terms of action at both ends of the pitch, but tempers briefly flared when referee Gavin Ward let things boil over, subsequently handing out numerous cards when the game didn’t really merit it.
Despite the frustration at not picking up the three points, the Clarets are now unbeaten in their last six games. They remain second ahead of the 3pm kick-offs, a point adrift of leaders Sunderland.
While the results have largely been positive, there will be concern over Burnley’s lack of goals, having scored just five in their last seven games.
The Clarets came into the game off the back of an edgy 1-0 win against lowly Plymouth Argyle and Parker opted to stick faith with the same team, naming an unchanged line-up.
The positive news came on the bench, where Connor Roberts and Zian Flemming made their return from injury.
Owen Dodgson and Andreas Hountondji were the two to drop out of Burnley’s squad.
Joe Worrall remains sidelined with an impact injury alongside the longer-term absentees Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Hannes Delcroix, Aaron Ramsey, Manuel Benson, Nathan Redmond and Mike Tresor.
Preston, meanwhile, made two changes from the midweek 3-0 win against Watford.
One was enforced, as Milutin Osmajic served the first game of his eight-match ban for biting, while Stefan Thordarson also dropped out. Brad Potts and Emil Riis were the two men to take their place.
Riis had the ball in the back of the Burnley net after just four minutes following a clever free-kick routine, but thankfully for the Clarets the linesman’s flag was raised for offside.
It was a slice of good fortune for Parker’s men, as replays showed the PNE man was clearly onside.
Burnley took a while to settle, looking a little tetchy early on as they struggled to deal with the Preston press.
In fact, the start to the game was incredibly lethargic from both sides, perhaps typical of the lunchtime kick-off, with missed places and poor touches galore.
The visitors were the side offering the biggest threat though, as Ali McCann volleyed over the bar on the turn from just inside the Burnley box.
Maxime Esteve then denied Riis with an important block as the ball fell kindly for the Preston man at the near post.
Defensively the Clarets continued to look unsettled and nervy, summed up when James Trafford took two or three goes at juggling the ball as Preston headed the ball back towards his goal.
We had to wait until the 28th minute for Burnley’s first chance of the game as Lucas Pires picked out Jaidon Anthony’s run with a clever through ball. The winger cut inside to set up the shot on his stronger right foot and his forced a good save out of Freddie Woodman, who parried his curling effort away to safety.
Burnley made the necessary adjustments and looked to be turning the tide, pinning Preston in and regularly working the ball into the final third.
Luca Koleosho teed Josh Brownhill up with a threatening cross from the right flank but the midfielder couldn’t quite get enough contact on his header to direct it towards the Preston goal.
The visitors soon restored their control though and ended the half on top, almost scoring when Robbie Brady stung Trafford’s palms with a powerful snapshot from the edge of the box, before Ali McCann squandered a huge chance - the clearest opportunity of the half - by skewing over from just eight yards out.
Burnley managed to keep it goalless until the half-time interval, although that was in some doubt with the final action of the half as Preston’s Kaine Kesler-Hayden clipped the top of the crossbar with a side-footed effort at the back post.
After such a lethargic first-half, it was no surprise to see Parker make a change at the interval as Bashir Humphreys was sacrificed for the returning Connor Roberts at right-back.
Burnley began to see more of the ball but it was all a bit too predictable when they got to the final third, often devoid of ideas to break down a stubborn Preston backline.
The away side’s first chance of the second-half fell to Mads Frokjaer when he ignored a man in space to his right to drag a shot two or three yards wide of Trafford’s upright.
A couple of minutes later, Burnley’s appeals for a penalty were ignored when Jaidon Anthony appeared to be having his shirt pulled back inside the box. Despite that, Anthony still managed to get a shot off at goal, only for a Preston man to make the block.
Things soon threatened to boil over as both Scott Parker and Lyle Foster were booked for their complaints. A minute later, Josh Brownhill was also carded for shoving Ali McCann after being scythed down by the PNE man, who was also shown a yellow.
Referee Gavin Ward was rapidly losing control of the affair, as a second melee in as many minutes ensued after a ball was kicked at Lyle Foster while he lay on the floor.
The constant stoppages meant there was no flow to the game at all, meaning there was a real lack of goalmouth action at both ends of the field.
With a minute left on the clock, it looked for the world that Foster was about to snatch the win for Burnley at the death when the ball fell kindly for him eight yards out, but the striker was crowded out as he fired towards goal.
Burnley looked the more likely to steal the points during the seven minutes of stoppage time but, true to form, they struggled to create any clear-cut chances and Preston held out for their point.
TEAMS
Burnley: Trafford, Humphreys (Roberts), Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires, Cullen (Laurent), Brownhill, Hannibal (Flemming), Koleosho, Anthony (Sarmiento), Foster
Subs not used: Hladky, Egan, Massengo, Agyei, Rodriguez
Preston: Woodman, Lindsay, Storey, Hughes (Whatmough), Kesler-Hayden (Ledson), Potts, Brady (Thordarson), McCann, Whiteman, Frokjaer (Holmes), Riis
Subs not used: Cornell, Stewart, Okkels, Best, Bowler
Referee: Gavin Ward