Portsmouth vs Burnley. Sky Bet Championship.
Fratton ParkAttendance20,381.
Portsmouth 0-0 Burnley: Scott Parker's Clarets keep eighth straight clean sheet
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Portsmouth and Burnley at Fratton Park on Saturday; Scott Parker's Clarets keep eighth straight clean sheet in draw on the south coast
Saturday 1 February 2025 18:32, UK
Burnley lost ground on the Championship's top two after being held to a goalless draw at Portsmouth.
The Clarets maintained their remarkable defensive record, making it 770 minutes without conceding a league goal, the longest run in their history, but were unable to break down their struggling hosts.
Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford kept his 20th clean sheet of the season, but victories for leaders Leeds and second-placed Sheffield United left the visitors three points off the automatic promotion places.
Burnley's defensive strength is the envy of the league, but at the other end of the pitch they created few clear chances.
- Championship highlights | Table | Fixtures
- All you need to know - Streaming Sky Sports with NOW | Get Sky Sports
- Download the Sky Sports App to watch every Sky Sports+ game
- Live EFL on Sky Sports+ & how to watch | Get more EFL to your phone with WhatsApp
Their first opening saw Zian Flemming fire a free-kick straight at Nicolas Schmid.
The Portsmouth goalkeeper was made to work harder in the 20th minute when he stuck a foot out to block Lyle Foster's header after an enterprising run by Jaidon Anthony.
Anthony tried a shot of his own a minute later, but Schmid tapped the rasping effort over the crossbar.
Portsmouth, who lost their seven-match unbeaten home record against Millwall on Tuesday, were far from timid going forward but a lack of quality proved their downfall.
Zak Swanson clipped an effort just over the bar from range before the right-back's back-post header almost snuck in before Trafford's intervention.
The hosts' best chances of the first half saw Josh Murphy flash a shot across goal and Freddie Potts release Matt Ritchie, only for the winger to stumble when shooting.
The 41st minute brought up a new club record for Burnley, making it 680 minutes since they had conceded a league goal.
Connor Ogilvie flicked a header just wide for Portsmouth, while two tempting Murphy crosses were bundled behind as the stalemate continued.
Conor Shaughnessy, on his first start after injury, powered in a header from a Ritchie cross, but again Trafford held on.
A rare second-half attack from the Clarets saw Josh Cullen's drive put behind before a spot of penalty area pinball ended with Lucas Pires' shot saved on the line by Andre Dozzell, with shouts of handball waved away by referee David Webb.
That spurred on Burnley and Foster was unlucky his strike soon after deflected towards Schmid.
The managers
Portsmouth's John Mousinho:
"We are slightly disappointed to only take a point considering the chances we created but happy with the performance against a top side in the league.
"Building on that is the most important thing going into next week and we have tried to emphasis that to the players to believe in themselves based on performances like that.
"They clearly have one of the top defensive records in the country and you can see why.
"Even when we get chances in the box, their goalkeeper bails them out.
"I thought we did some of the attacking things well and got a little unlucky. That is how Burnley's season and defensive record has gone this season - they just don't concede goals."
Burnley's Scott Parker:
"I am immensely proud of the defensive records.
"People swing it the other way (about not scoring enough) because that is the world we are in, but it has given us a platform with a young squad that was put together with the flick of the switch. They have done unbelievably.
"I don't want to base our game solely on the defensive structure, I want us to be a scoring team, but that is something we need to improve at this moment in time.
"I thought it was an entertaining game, even though there were no goals. They are a tough team to come to, at home they are a different animal.
"We fell short a little today, we weren't at our best. Defensively we were rock solid and for a decision over a penalty it might have looked slightly different."
