‘A Season’s Work’: Part One

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A look back at a unique year which again saw the Clarets rise to the challenge and keep their place among the elite

2021-06-02T08:59:26.879Z

‘A Season’s Work’: Part One

A look back at a unique year which again saw the Clarets rise to the challenge and keep their place among the elite

2021-06-02T08:59:26.879Z

A look back at a unique year which again saw the Clarets rise to the challenge and keep their place among the elite

A season like no other – played almost throughout in empty stadiums and finishing with Premier League status successfully assured once more – kicked off for the Clarets in the League Cup.

A postponement of the scheduled opening Premier League game against Manchester United meant a first night out against Sheffield United and a penalty shoot-out win at Turf Moor.

A 100 per cent record from the spot brought Sean Dyche’s men only a second win in the competition since 2014 and when Millwall were beaten 2-0 at the New Den in round three, a prolonged run in the competition looked possible until Manchester City came out of the hat to lead to a fourth-round exit.

That was perhaps a mixed blessing given the paucity of Dyche’s resources following a quiet summer in the transfer market and a crippling injury list that had the Clarets struggling to fill their bench at times.

And those early-season personnel problems took their toll in a testing start that had Burnley on the back foot.

Following the latest ever start to a Premier League season, the Clarets finally got underway on 20 September and despite scoring twice were beaten 4-2 by Leicester City, Jimmy Dunne’s debut goal not enough to set up a successful comeback.

Defeats at home to Southampton and away to Newcastle were to follow and it wasn’t until game four that Dyche’s side put a first point on the board from the league’s first goalless draw of the season at West Bromwich Albion.

Burnley briefly climbed off the foot of the table but back-to-back home defeats to Tottenham and Chelsea had them back at the bottom heading into November.

The Clarets needed a lift and the return of captain Ben Mee after four months out through injury provided it at Brighton, where a welcome clean sheet under-pinned a no-nonsense 0-0 draw to prompt the start of the recovery.

Crucially, that was backed up by a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace as Chris Wood scored the first home league goal of the season to bring the first win at the eighth attempt.

Not for the first, or last time, Wood had underlined his value to the cause, as did goalkeeper Nick Pope with a superb last-gasp save to deny Palace striker Christian Benteke an equaliser.

Pope’s 46-game starting run in the Premier League was to end for the visit to Manchester City where Bailey Peacock-Farrell was unlucky enough to make his top-flight debut for the Clarets in another 5-0 loss to the would-be champions.

But the reaction to that beating was just what was required as Burnley bounced back with a four-game unbeaten run to head into Christmas.

Robbie Brady’s first goal in an injury-hit 12 months earned the Clarets a 1-1 draw against Everton in Dyche’s 200th Premier League game as boss.

And one of the highlights of the season was to follow as Dyche’s men made history at Arsenal.

Despite a number of close – and often controversial – calls, the Clarets had never beaten the Gunners in the Premier League.

They had also not won away to Arsenal since 1974 but both bogeys were laid to rest when captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang glanced a header into his own net in front of a couple of thousand fans permitted entry as a test event at the Emirates Stadium.

Burnley stood firm to secure a famous 1-0 win and a first away success of the season which lifted them back out of the bottom three.

Another point on the road was collected thanks to another clean sheet at Aston Villa before Dyche’s men completed the first leg of a vital double over Wolves as a 2-1 win at Turf Moor delivered the perfect Christmas gift.

Ashley Barnes was back and celebrated with his first goal in over a year as he and Chris Wood hit the target to set up a 2-1 win which lifted the Clarets up to 16th place in the table – their highest to date.

But the unbeaten run was controversially ended at Leeds the day after Boxing Day as the Yorkshiremen won the first top-flight clash between the clubs since 1976 thanks to a hotly disputed penalty.

Pope looked as though he had beaten Patrick Bamford to a through-ball but there was no over-rule from VAR as Bamford was allowed to convert the penalty that ultimately decided the points.

And the Clarets felt equally aggrieved at the other end of the pitch when a potential Barnes’ equaliser was ruled out after Mee – rather than flapping Leeds keeper Illan Meslier – had been deemed the miscreant in a collision in the penalty area.

Thankfully, Burnley didn’t lick their wounds for long and hit back in another Roses battle against Sheffield United.

Injuries were still biting deep, but captain Mee led by example as he headed home his first Turf Moor goal for six years to secure a vital 1-0 win over the bottom club to end the year on a high.