Burnley 2-1 Portsmouth: Clarets leave it late to come from behind and snatch big three points

It looked as though Scott Parker’s men would be held to a 1-1 draw at home for the second game running, just as they were in the derby against 10-man Blackburn Rovers.

But the Clarets came from behind to make it two wins from two thanks to Josh Brownhill’s stoppage-time winner.

That came after Jeremy Sarmiento had equalised just moments after coming off the bench, after Pompey took a first-half lead through Callum Lang.

While the Clarets dominated possession in a role reversal of last week’s encounter against Leeds United, they struggled to create clear-cut chances.

Their play was often far too slow and predictable and Burnley’s players were guilty of taking the safe option on far too many occasions.

But the Clarets found a way to get over the line to record their fourth win of the season, which sees them move up to third in the Championship table.

Parker made three changes to his Burnley side as Lyle Foster returned to the starting line-up after recovering from a virus that saw him miss last weekend’s 1-0 win against Leeds United.

Bashir Humphreys was shown two yellow cards during that game, meaning he missed out with suspension, while Josh Laurent and Zian Flemming dropped down to the bench.

CJ Egan-Riley replaced Humphreys at right-back as Connor Roberts missed out through injury once again.

Josh Cullen came in for Laurent in midfield while Foster was also a like-for-like replacement for Flemming in attack.

As for Pompey, they made two changes from last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to West Brom, as Regan Poole returned from a 10-month lay-off to start.

The start of the game was the complete opposite of last week, where Burnley had to dig in and withstand heavy spells of pressure from a possession-heavy Leeds side.

On this occasion, it was the Clarets who saw all of the ball, with Pompey happy to sit in and not press too high up the pitch.

We had to wait until the 12th minute for the first real goalmouth action, as Josh Murphy skewed comfortably wide for the visitors after Burnley had failed to clear their lines from a long throw.

For all of Burnley’s dominance of the ball, it was Pompey who looked the more likely to score the game’s first goal.

That’s almost what happened just before the half-hour mark when Connor Ogilvie climbed above James Trafford from a Portsmouth corner, only to see his header rebound off the post.

In response, Burnley finally produced a shot on goal a few minutes later, although it wasn’t a good one as Lucas Pires volleyed well over from 30 yards out.

It did at least raise the noise decibels inside Turf Moor, bringing about some much-needed urgency to Burnley’s play as Lyle Foster then saw a shot blocked from 10 yards.

The Clarets finally wrestled control of the game and ended the half well on top, with Jaidon Anthony shooting straight at former Claret Will Norris before seeing another drilled effort well blocked.

It was ironic then that, just as it appeared Burnley were beginning to wake up from their slumber, they were instantly punished for switching off.

No-one tracked Paddy Lane’s run into the Burnley box and the left-back was able to cross towards the back post, where Callum Lang was left completely unmarked to tap home.

If Burnley thought Pompey had been organised and compact prior to that, they were given an even bigger mountain to climb in the second period.

The game continued in much of the same vein though, with the visitors happy to sit off and frustrate them.

It wasn’t until the hour mark until we saw some of a goal threat, as Luca Koleosho volleyed over from a tight angle at the back post.

That was the moment for Parker to finally turn to his bench and make not one, but two changes, as Jeremy Sarmiento and Zian Flemming replaced Jaidon Anthony and Hannibal.

One of them made an instant impact as Sarmiento curled home a delightful, controlled finish with his first touches of the ball to bring his side level.

It was a goal completely out of nothing from the winger. Nothing was on but Burnley have that individual quality to create something with the click of a finger.

The hosts almost edged their noses in front through their other sub, as Flemming saw a shot blocked after being slipped in by Koleosho.

The Clarets wanted to build on their new-found momentum but Pompey took every opportunity to wind the clock down, with the referee seemingly letting them get away with it.

While Pompey were happy with their point, they could have even snatched a late winner when substitute Sam Silvera saw his volley well claimed by Trafford.

It was at the other end where the final drama arrived though, as Brownhill snuck in a stoppage-time effort - through a crowd of players and wrongfooting the keeper - to snatch a last-ditch three points.

TEAMS

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

Subs not used: Hladky, Egan, Sambo, Massengo, Hountondj

Pompey: Norris, Swanson (Williams), Poole, McIntyre, Ogilvie, Potts (Dozzell), Pack, Lane (Ritchie), Lang (Silvera), Murphy, Saydee (Blair)

Subs not used: Schmid, Towler, Kamara, Sorensen

Referee: David Webb