Football

Struggling Burnley held by Brighton after horror own goal

April 14, 2024 7:28 am

[Source: Reuters]

An embarrassing own goal by goalkeeper Arijanet Muric dented Burnley’s Premier League survival hopes as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at Turf Moor.

Burnley remained 19th in the standings with 20 points from 33 matches and Brighton are 10th.

Substitute Josh Brownhill put the home side ahead in the 74th minute when he intercepted Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba’s back-pass and fired past the keeper with a left-footed shot.

Article continues after advertisement

Burnley’s joy was short-lived, however, as Sander Berge’s back pass to Muric went under his boot and rolled into the net five minutes later.

Burnley were much the better side in the first half and had several chances to take the lead.

Jacob Bruun Larsen wasted a golden opportunity in the 18th minute, firing just wide, and on the stroke of halftime David Datro Fofana failed to connect with Wilson Odobert’s inviting cross.

It was a disappointing result for Burnley, whose manager Vincent Kompany was serving a two-match touchline ban after being charged with misconduct following his protests in their 2-2 draw at Chelsea.

Burnley assistant coach Craig Bellamy, however, refused to blame Muric for the loss.

“It’s the way we play. It happens. It’s not his fault it’s our fault. It’s how we play and it’s not Aro’s fault. We take full responsibility for that,” Bellamy told Sky Sports.

“We played well, especially (in the) first half, (and) created a lot of chances against an outstanding team. They are manager by a brilliant manager, have outstanding players, but we’ve been playing really well.

“(We) got ourselves in good positions and today it was just the final finish.”

Fellow promoted clubs Luton Town and Sheffield United are 18th and 19th in the table.

“We work to win, we try to score. We’ve done it quite well all season, but the points haven’t shown that,” Bellamy said. “A couple of games in this league we haven’t been at the level we’d like but only a few.

“The attitude has been outstanding, and through the week, you go into it feeling you can win the next one. We thought this was a good opportunity for us, (but) it wasn’t to be.

“We’re aware of the situation we’re in and the games that are left but we’ll be working all week again to try and get those points.”