Burnley's James Trafford opens up on back and forth with Portsmouth fans after 'throwback' encounter

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James Trafford seemingly enjoyed his back and forth with Portsmouth fans during Burnley’s drab goalless draw at Fratton Park – in a game the keeper described as a “throwback”.
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The stopper continues to dominate much of the headlines after keeping an eighth straight clean sheet, meaning he’s not conceded a goal in over 12 hours’ worth of football, which beats the club record previously set by Jimmy Strong.

Trafford has now also kept 20 of Burnley’s 21 clean sheets this season.

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Despite keeping another shutout, he was kept a lot busier at Fratton Park on Saturday than he’s often been this season, especially late on when he made a superb double save from close range.

The England Under-21 international also found time to wind up some of the more boisterous Pompey fans housed behind the goal in the second-half. It all started when he required medical treatment in his six-yard box to help take the sting out of the game before later hanging on his crossbar and exchanging a few words at full-time.

“It was nothing compared to some games,” Trafford said, with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

“They didn't like it when I went down injured but I'm actually quite sore, my right side is really tight.

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PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: James Trafford of Burnley F.C. reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Portsmouth FC and Burnley FC at Fratton Park on February 01, 2025 in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: James Trafford of Burnley F.C. reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Portsmouth FC and Burnley FC at Fratton Park on February 01, 2025 in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: James Trafford of Burnley F.C. reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Portsmouth FC and Burnley FC at Fratton Park on February 01, 2025 in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“So yeah, the problem is they haven’t played at this level, I presume, so they don't understand the physical toll it takes on the body at this point in the season.”

While disappointed not to pick up the win, Trafford says it wasn’t the worst point in the world given the tough battle they faced against the relegation strugglers.

“It's a good point in some aspects. If you can't win, don't get beat and that's what we did,” the 22-year-old added.

“I believe it should have been three points though because we should have had a penalty. There's no physical way the guy [Andre Dozzell] could have stopped the ball without using his hand.

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“It's always going to be a tough place to come though. It was a bit of a throwback game in terms of the style. It was quite rough and ready, lots of long balls. There was a lot of throwing people around, a lot of contested balls.

“In that aspect it was a bit of a throwback game in a way. They're extremely direct, especially here. So it's one of them, it was a good one.”

After playing out their 10th 0-0 draw of the season, much of the debate among the Burnley fans centred around the team’s struggles in front of goal.

Scott Parker’s men have now failed to score in five of their last eight outings and league leaders Leeds have 24 more goals to their name.

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“We do everything we can on the pitch and off the pitch to score as many goals as we can,” Trafford insisted.

“It's tough to create chances against these a lot, especially here because the defenders are really low.

“We created a few chances though and we should get a penalty as well, so it is what it is.”

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