Burnley 1-0 Bristol City: Clarets move level on points with Leeds United after richly deserved win
Burnley have moved level on points with Leeds United in the race for promotion following a richly deserved victory against Bristol City.
Scott Parker’s men dominated proceedings and had the chances to make this a lot more comfortable for themselves. The Robins couldn’t have complained had they lost this 3 or 4-0.
As it was, the Clarets had to settle for a 1-0 win thanks to Zian Flemming’s delicious first-half free-kick from 30 yards.
The away side barely threatened Burnley’s goal as they kept a 28th clean sheet of the season. They’re also now unbeaten in 26 league games.
More significantly, while the Clarets remain third, they’re now level on points with Leeds after they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City.
There were no major surprises with Parker’s team selection, as the Clarets named an unchanged side from the XI that comfortably beat Swansea City 2-0 prior to the break.
It meant Lyle Foster, who was on the scoresheet for South Africa during the week, had to settle for a place on the bench, with Zian Flemming preferred ahead of him.
Josh Laurent also retained his place in the midfield ahead of Hannibal following his Man of the Match display against the Swans last time out.
Jordan Beyer, Bashir Humphreys, Jonjo Shelvey, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei and Mike Tresor all remain sidelined.
As for the Robins, they made two changes from their last outing, a 2-1 win against play-off rivals Norwich City. Former Claret Scott Twine started while Nahki Wells was on the bench.
The game got off to an incredibly flat start, with neither side able to get much going in the attacking third.
But with 16 minutes on the clock, Burnley edged their noses in front with a moment of real quality from Zian Flemming.
Standing over a 30-yard free-kick, the Dutchman curled a beauty of a delivery over the wall and into the top corner, past Max O’Leary’s despairing dive.
The Clarets could easily have doubled their lead when they broke from one end of the pitch to the other to create a good opening for Jaidon Anthony, but the winger was only able to shoot straight at the keeper after getting the ball stuck under his feet.
It took until midway through the half for the visitors to threaten for the first time as Anis Mehmeti dragged a low shot comfortably wide of the far post.
Burnley really ought to have added a second when Flemming turned creator for Anthony, who somehow managed to head well wide of the target from close range. Connor Roberts then curled just wide as the Clarets ramped up the pressure in search of a second.
The home side were the first to threaten in the second-half, as Josh Laurent lobbed over the bar from a tough angle after the Robins had partially cleared their lines from a weak back header from Mark Sykes.
At this point, the visitors were beginning to look a bit ragged defensively, as Burnley worked their way into the final third on a consistent basis.
Just after the hour mark, the Clarets squandered two big chances to put the game to bed. First skipper Josh Brownhill had a shot cleared away near the goalline before Anthony was denied again, this time by a block from inside the six-yard box.
Burnley were excellent in the second-half, but were just missing that final bit of quality in the final third to make their dominance tell.
Ex-Claret Nahki Wells almost got in behind on a rare attack for the Robins, but Maxime Esteve made a trademark recovery run to snuff out the danger.
The Clarets had to endure some late nerves, with a free-kick three minutes from time hammering into the Burnley wall.
Bristol City could have broken Burnley’s hearts with the last kick of the game, but thankfully Yu Hirakawa’s last-gasp strike was straight at James Trafford.
TEAMS
Burnley: Trafford, Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires, Cullen, Laurent, Brownhill (Hannibal), Edwards (Koleosho), Anthony, Flemming (Foster)
Subs not used: Hladky, Worrall, Sonne, Benson, Sarmiento, Barnes
Bristol City: O’Leary, Vyner, Dickie, Roberts (McCrorie), Sykes (Hirakawa), Knight, Bird, Pring, Mehmeti (Earthy), Twine (Bell), Armstrong (Wells)
Subs not used: Bajic, Morrison, McGuane, Williams
Referee: Andrew Kitchen