Portsmouth 0-0 Burnley: Clarets lose ground in fight for promotion with 10th goalless draw
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Scott Parker’s men drew 0-0 for the TENTH time this season after struggling to stand up to Pompey’s physical, battling approach.
While the Clarets kept yet another clean sheet, their eighth in a row - a club record - it counted for little as the away side struggled to create much at the other end.
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Hide AdIn fact, it was struggling Pompey who looked the most likely to make the breakthrough, putting Burnley under the cosh for large periods and creating more problems than a lot of sides have managed this season.
Parker’s men lacked their normal control and lacked invention going forwards. While much of this was down to Portsmouth’s harrying and pressure, a lot of it was also self-inflicted.
With Leeds United and Sheffield United both winning, the Clarets now slip three points behind the Blades in second, with fourth-placed Sunderland still to play.
Burnley were dealt some mixed injury news prior to kick-off. In one respect, they were boosted by the long-awaited return of Manuel Benson, who featured in a match day squad for the first time since August.
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But they were without skipper Josh Brownhill, after Burnley’s top scorer picked up a knock against Leeds, and Luca Koleosho.
Lucas Pires came in for Bashir Humphreys at left-back, while Jeremy Sarmiento took Brownhill’s spot in the number 10 role.
Jonjo Shelvey was named in the Burnley squad for the first time since arriving on a free transfer.
Jordan Beyer, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei and Nathan Redmond all remain sidelined, while Shurandy Sambo and Mike Tresor missed out again.
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Hide AdAs for Pompey, they made three changes from their 1-0 midweek defeat to Millwall, with a couple of new signings included on their bench.
It was the home side that were the first to threaten, as Callum Lang whipped in a dangerous ball from the right which Connor Roberts did well to turn behind, with Colby Bishop lurking just behind him.
Zian Flemming, meanwhile, curled a free-kick straight at goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid after the striker himself had been tripped 30 yards from goal.
The visitors struggled to get much going early on, as Pompey harried them and forced them into mistakes whenever they got on the ball.
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Hide AdIt had to be said though, the Clarets weren’t helping themselves by not exactly taking care of the ball.
Saying that, Burnley soon clicked into gear and produced two or three really good openings.
The first was created by Jaidon Anthony, who picked out Lyle Foster at the back post with a pinpoint cross, but Foster’s header was kept out by the legs of Schmid.
The keeper was forced into making another good stop to tip over Anthony’s rising drive before Anthony failed to make clean contact with Foster’s pullback.
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Hide AdPompey did retain a threat though, threatening when Zak Swanson headed towards the near post, but James Trafford stood tall to make the block.
The dangerous Josh Murphy then fired wide from range after Lucas Pires, who endured a troublesome first-half, had carelessly given the ball away in his own half.
Maxime Esteve made a crucial block to stop the hosts from taking the lead seven minutes before the interval when he got back to turn Matt Ritchie’s low shot around the post after the winger had been played through on goal.
Having been under the cosh for much of the first-half, Burnley were a little fortunate not to go a man down when Connor Roberts committed a rash foul while already on a yellow. The Pompey fans, as you would expect, weren’t entirely happy with the referee’s decision to issue a foul and a free-kick only.
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Hide AdThe second-half continued to be a scrappy, bitty affair, which certainly suited the home side. Burnley, meanwhile, continued to lack any sort of control or composure.
Pompey could easily have edged their noses in front within 10 minutes of the restart when Murphy curled in a dangerous ball from the left which Colby Bishop almost turned home at the near post.
The visitors continued to live dangerously, allowing Murphy in particular to deliver some threatening balls into the box. Lang, meanwhile, failed to hit the target after being picked out in space from a corner.
Slowly but surely, Burnley began to see a bit more of the ball, but they were lacking in invention and resorted to a lot of aimless long balls.
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Hide AdPompey threatened once again from a cross when Conor Shaughnessy headed straight at Trafford from a free-kick.
As the away side struggled to make any sort of impression on the game against a side in the bottom three, it resulted in the home fans chanting “boring, boring Burnley” during a stoppage in play.
The Clarets ignored these taunts to finally pile on some pressure during the final stages of the game as Lucas Pires had a shot blocked before another goalbound effort from the left-back was cleared away by Andre Dozzell near his own goalline. Burnley’s appeals for handball, meanwhile, fell on deaf ears.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, Foster almost broke the deadlock when he took down Roberts’ crossfield ball before letting fly. His effort took a wicked deflection and could have gone anywhere, but deflected kindly into the keeper’s arms.
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Hide AdWith only five minutes remaining, Burnley almost lost it but were grateful to a remarkable double save from Trafford, who leapt off his feet to throw himself in front of Colby Bishop’s close-range effort.
Bishop squandered another golden chance to win it for the hosts in the third minute of stoppage time when he fired over after the ball landed for him inside the box.
TEAMS
Pompey: Schmid, Ogilvie, Shaughnessy (Matthews), Atkinson, Dozzell, Potts (Hayden), Swanson (Devlin), Lang, Murphy, Ritchie (Bramall), Bishop
Subs not used: Archer, Pack, Saydee, Waddingham, Blair
Burnley: Trafford, Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires, Cullen, Laurent, Sarmiento, Anthony, Foster, Flemming
Subs not used: Hladky, Egan, Worrall, Humphreys, Sonne, Hannibal, Shelvey, Benson, Barnes
Referee: David Webb
Attendance: 20,381 (1,664 Burnley)
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