Burnley 1-0 Swansea City: Relief as Jay Rodriguez' last-gasp penalty earns much-needed win

It looked as though Burnley’s wait to find the back of the net was about to extend to six hours after being frustrated once again by a stubborn Swansea outfit.

But hometown hero Rodriguez came off the bench to slot home a spot kick to end Burnley’s four-game run without a win – and breathe a huge sigh of relief into Turf Moor.

Burnley were once again found wanting in front of goal despite creating some presentable chances, none more so than Zian Flemming failing to hit the target with a free header in the first-half.

Swansea threatened to steal all three points when Liam Cullen crept a header past James Trafford, but Maxime Esteve was there to make a crucial clearance off the line.

It looked as though Burnley were about to lose more ground on the leaders, but the gap to the top two now sits at just four points heading into the international break.

Parker opted to keep faith with the side that played out a goalless draw at West Brom on Thursday night, as he named an unchanged side.

Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Joe Worrall, Hannes Delcroix, Aaron Ramsey, Manuel Benson, Nathan Redmond, Mike Tresor and Lyle Foster all remain sidelined.

As for the Swans, they made two changes from their midweek 1-0 win against Watford as Joe Allen and Josh Tymon returned to the side.

Given the lack of goals on show, eight in their last 12 for Burnley and 11 all season for the visitors, it was no great surprise to see the game get off to a slow and sluggish start, with plenty of possession but little penetration.

The first shot in anger came from Burnley’s Josh Brownhill, who fired over the Swansea bar from 25 yards out.

Burnley otherwise made a relatively sluggish start, as Joe Allen wastefully side footed wide from a central position for the Swans.

The hosts squandered a golden chance to take the lead in the 19th minute though when Zian Flemming failed to even hit the target with a free header from Lucas Pires’ corner.

The Clarets began to up the tempo as Brownhill tried his luck with another long-range effort, only to be denied by ex-Claret Lawrence Vigouroux.

At the other end, Allen arrived late into the Burnley box again to stab an effort down into the turf and straight into James Trafford’s grateful arms.

The Clarets otherwise struggled to create anything of note, as their overall play continued to be uninspiring and lacking in tempo.

Pires did, however, provide a teasing ball in from the left that was begging to be stuck away, but Brownhill opted not to throw himself at it and the chance went begging.

Swansea briefly threatened when Zan Vipotnik slammed a powerful effort into the side netting from a tight angle.

The game briefly sparked into life on the stroke of half-time as Antony curled narrowly wide before a dangerous Swansea cross somehow eluded everyone in the six-yard box.

Burnley ended the half with Luca Koleosho stinging the palms of Vigouroux with a powerful drive that stung the keeper’s palms after cutting in from the left flank.

The hosts looked to find a way through Swansea’s stubborn resistance at the start of the second-half but had to wait until the 58th minute for their first real chance of the half as Jeremy Sarmiento fired over on the turn from Connor Roberts’ pullback.

The movement and intensity to Burnley’s play was better, but they were still lacking that all-important ingredient: quality in the final third.

Just after the hour mark, Flemming could only head straight at Vigouroux from Anthony’s cross - although this chance was a lot more difficult than his gilt-edged one in the first-half.

A couple of minutes later, the Swans almost broke the deadlock against the run of play as substitute Liam Cullen crept a header past Trafford, but thankfully for the Clarets Maxime Esteve was there to clear off the line.

The Frenchman opted to take matters into his own hands as he marauded forward to launch a Burnley attack before being hauled to the ground right on the edge of the Swansea box, but no foul was given.

To Burnley’s credit, they stuck at it and almost broke the deadlock seven minutes from time when CJ Egan-Riley’s near post header from an Anthony corner was superbly kept out by Vigouroux.

Swansea were incredibly fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men late on when Cullen crunched Connor Roberts with a cynical tackle on his ankle, but only a yellow was flashed in his direction.

That wasn’t the only major flashpoint though, as drama ensued deep into stoppage-time as Burnley were awarded a last-gasp penalty for a handball. The referee took an age to give it, but eventually pointed to the spot following loud appeals from the Burnley faithful.

Skipper Brownhill initially took the ball, before eventually handing it over to substitute Jay Rodriguez to send the goalkeeper the wrong way – and send Turf Moor into raptures.

TEAMS

Burnley: Trafford, Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires (Humphreys), Cullen (Laurent), Brownhill, Anthony, Sarmiento (Hannibal), Koleosho (Agyei), Flemming (Rodriguez)

Subs not used: Hladky, Egan, Dodgson, Hountondji

Swansea: Vigouroux, Key, Cabango, Tymon, Franco, Darling, Allen (Cullen), Grimes, Ronald (Christie), Peart-Harris (Naughton), Vipotnik (Bianchini)

Subs not used: McLaughlin, Pedersen, Tjoe-a-on, Abbey, Abdulai

Referee: David Webb

Referee: David Webb