Oxford United 0-0 Burnley: Frustrated Clarets fail to make dominance pay as winning run comes to an end

Scott Parker’s men controlled the game from start to finish and created some gilt-edged chances, but were unable to find a way past a dogged U’s outfit.

While the visitors lacked a real cutting edge in the final third, they still had the opportunities to take the victory, with Lyle Foster and Jeremy Sarmiento in particular guilty of some poor misses.

The draw, which doe at least extend Burnley’s unbeaten run to four games, sees the Clarets drop down to fourth in the table, two points off top spot.

There were a couple of surprises prior to kick-off when it was announced Joe Worrall and Zian Flemming were both absent.

Parker made two changes to the side that came from behind to beat Portsmouth 2-1 last week, as Bashir Humphreys returned from suspension to replace Worrall while Jeremy Sarmiento came in for Jaiden Anthony.

It came after Sarmiento had come off the bench to score within two minutes to get Burnley back on level terms against Pompey before Josh Brownhill’s last-gasp winner.

Connor Roberts missed out for a third game running due to a knock he picked up on international duty with Wales.

Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Hannes Delcroix, Aaron Ramsey, Manuel Benson, Nathan Redmond and Mike Tresor all remain absent.

As for Oxford, they made two changes to the side that was beaten 2-1 by Bristol City last week.

Burnley continued from where they left off last week, dominating possession against a side that were happy to sit off and wait for their moments.

Josh Cullen almost picked out Lyle Foster with a teasing, curling cross but the midfielder’s delivery just evaded his teammate at the back stick.

On a couple of occasions inside the first 20 minutes the Clarets were able to get Luca Koleosho in space down the right flank, but his crosses were either cut out or failed to find its intended target.

On the third occasion Koleosho did find a teammate though as he picked out Lyle Foster just eight yards out, but he wastefully blazed over with his first-time finish.

Foster came closer with a second chance just before the half-hour mark, seeing his low effort deflect just wide of the near post - with the goalkeeper completely wrongfooted.

The visitors remained in total control of the game, but needed to offer more in the final third to find that breakthrough.

James Trafford was finally forced into some sort of action three minutes into the second-half when he made a routine catch from Elliott Moore’s back post header. Prior to that, the 21-year-old had been a virtual spectator.

At the other end, Koleosho was denied a stunning goal by U’s keeper Jamie Cumming, who got a strong hand to his curling effort that appeared destined for the top corner after a quick give and go on the edge of the Oxford box.

The Clarets were playing with much more of an urgency at the start of the second-half, moving the ball much quicker in an attempt to break Oxford’s resistance.

Parker’s men were awarded a free-kick in a promising position just outside the Oxford box on the hourmark, but Foster’s strike was straight into the wall.

Sarmiento missed a gilt-edged chance to break the deadlock in the 65th minute when he blasted wildly over the bar from just 10 yards out. It followed a superb run and pullback from Koleosho, who had switched flanks with Sarmiento.

Parker made his first change shortly afterwards and it was Sarmiento who made way for Jaidon Anthony in a like-for-like replacement.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, Oxford almost enjoyed a rare opening when they caught Maxime Esteve on the ball but his centre-back partner CJ Egan-Riley was there to make an important block.

Oxford began to show a bit more adventure at this point, with a Tyler Goodrham shot prompting a goalmouth scramble in the Burnley box, which the visitors just about managed to survive.

The hosts, having offered virtually nothing all game going forwards, sensed they could win this late on, as Burnley ran out of ideas. But eventually they were happy to settle for a point.

TEAMS

Oxford: Cumming, Brown, Vaulks, Moore, Kioso, El Mizouni, Nelson, Goodrham, Rodrigues (Edwards), Dembele (Dale), Harris (Scarlett)

Subs not used: Ingram, Long, McEachran, Ebiowei, Sibley, Leigh

Burnley: Trafford, Humphreys, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires, Cullen, Brownhill, Hannibal (Hountondji), Koleosho, Sarmiento (Anthony), Foster (Rodriguez)

Subs not used: Hladky, Egan, Dodgson, Massengo, Laurent, Agyei

Referee: James Linington

Attendance: 11,570