Bournemouth vs Burnley. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance10,302.
Wednesday 29 November 2017 23:19, UK
Burnley moved up to sixth in the Premier League thanks to goals from Chris Wood and Robbie Brady in a 2-1 win over Bournemouth.
Joshua King pulled one back for Bournemouth with 11 minutes left on the clock but they could not find an equaliser in the closing stages.
Prior to the opener, Burnley were repeatedly dangerous from crosses with Wood hitting the crossbar early when his header from a Brady corner looped onto the top of the goal frame.
The New Zealander came close again when Phil Bardsley cross from the right found him in the centre of the box from where he headed the ball into the ground forcing Asmir Begovic to react quickly and tip it over.
Wood eventually found the back of the net at the third time of asking in the 36th minute when good work from Jack Cork resulted in Brady picking up the ball on the left and sending a cross in which deflected into the path of the Kiwi who calmly slotted into an empty net from six yards.
Brady got his reward for constant endeavour after the break as Johann Berg Gudmundsson broke down the right to the edge of the area where he laid it off to the Irishman, allowing him to set it onto his right foot and curl a shot beyond Begovic via a slight deflection.
It looked like Bournemouth were out of the game but King pulled one back with 11 minutes to go when Simon Francis crossed one in from the right onto Callum Wilson's chest into the path of Jermain Defoe, whose miss-hit cross landed at the Norwegian's feet at the back post as he turned the ball home from a few yards, but it would be the host's final chance.
Burnley were resolute throughout with the goal conceded one of only two shots Bournemouth managed to get on target.
Ben Mee and James Tarkowski could easily have been man of the match as both were superb throughout, keeping Wilson, King and Defoe quiet for the majority of the 90 minutes.The victory sends Burnley into sixth place into the league, one place above Spurs in the table, as Bournemouth slip down to 15th, making it an unhappy 40th birthday for manager Eddie Howe.
Eddie Howe: "We were off it. They strangled us; we never got our passing game going and that's credit to them, that's how they play - and I think they were better than us.
"I don't think they do surprise, they're very good at what they do.
"From our perspective we use the ball better, get more tempo in our game. We were just flat and barely got going."
Sean Dyche: "I was very pleased with that, we wanted to come down and be on the front foot. There was no hangover from Sunday.
"I thought first half in particular we were very dominant, we hit the bar, we made the 'keeper work. We scored a fine goal we kept our 'keeper very quiet.
"To be fair to Woodsy, he didn't deserve to come out of the team but he was fatigued. It's a squad game, I've just mentioned to the lads the respect I have for them.
"Bardo [Phil Bardsley] has come in today and not put a foot wrong. He's been waiting for his chance and that's important - the squad mentality, to keep themselves right - and when they're needed to deliver and they delivered tonight."
Burnley's style is based around keeping things tight, meaning a composed striker in front of goal is key for Sean Dyche's side.
The New Zealander's movement in the box ensured he had two good chances before his goal and he did the most important thing by opening the scoring for his team and setting them on the way to a win.
Bournemouth play host to Southampton on Sunday at 1.30pm live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Burnley will head to Leicester on Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.
