Burnley vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
Turf MoorAttendance20,027.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley and QPR at Turf Moor as Chris Martin scored a late winner to boost Gareth Ainsworth's side's survival hopes on Saturday.
Saturday 22 April 2023 19:01, UK
Vincent Kompany's Burnley must wait to be crowned champions after a stunning late goal from QPR substitute Chris Martin inflicted a first home defeat of the season on the Premier League-bound Clarets.
The veteran forward had only been on the field for three minutes when Ilias Chair forced a corner with a shot that was well saved by Arijanet Muric.
Burnley failed to clear the resulting set-piece and Jamal Lowe was allowed space to attack from the left and cross for Martin to head in from six yards and seal the 2-1 victory.
After a run of just two points from the previous 21 available, Gareth Ainsworth's side were hardly expected to worry a team who secured promotion earlier this month.
But Rangers stunned Turf Moor on 58 minutes when they took the lead through skipper Sam Field, just reward for their committed display under intense pressure.
The goal owed much to poor defending from the home side, who failed to deal with a routine long throw from Ethan Laird.
Having allowed the ball to bounce, Burnley were punished when Taylor Harwood-Bellis's half clearance was met by the unmarked Field who scored with an impressive volley from just inside the area.
Burnley thought they had at least salvaged a point, on 76 minutes, when Manuel Benson collected a pass on the right wing, cut into the area and curled an unstoppable finish into the far corner of the visitors' goal.
But, seeking the three points they needed to be certain of the Championship title, Burnley should have buried QPR under an avalanche of first-half goals.
Kompany's team missed three glorious chances in a couple of seconds, in an extraordinary ninth-minute incident.
Benson headed Anass Zaroury's cross against the bar, Ashley Barnes' shot from the rebound was blocked by the keeper and Benson, again, shot only for Rob Dickie to clear off the line.
The same Rangers defender had headed off his line from an Ian Maatsen shot after just six minutes.
And that set the tone for numerous Burnley chances with Barnes heading over from one good opening and Harwood-Bellis missing from six yards as he connected with a Josh Brownhill cross.
For the visitors, with just one win from their last 20 league games, resistance was impressive in the first half, although the shock of going behind clearly unsettled the hosts.
Harwood-Bellis was booked for a foul on Sinclair Armstrong, as the substitute broke upfield, with the QPR bench appealing for him to be sent off.
Kompany used his bench to try and find a way back but substitute Jay Rodriguez followed his team-mates' examples by heading straight at Seny Dieng from Benson's 73rd-minute cross.
Burnley's Vincent Kompany:
"You have to respect the fact we're playing teams who aren't going to roll over for us. I'm not disappointed, I actually expected it. What it shows is we're inexperienced in these trophy-winning moments.
"I had the experience as a player at (Manchester) City and it's an incredible learning experience - you have to keep your game simple and play to win the game, not chase to win the trophy."
QPR's Gareth Ainsworth:
"I'm a Blackburn lad and I know this is tough place to come. I always get stick here and when the stick intensifies I know I must be doing something right. The Blackburn connection is a big one.
"Chris is my captain but I told him yesterday I wanted to play on the counter attack and this wasn't the sort of game for him. But I put him on because I thought a bit of experience from him might get me a point. I didn't realise it would get me the winning goal."
