U21S MATCH REPORT: BURNLEY 0-2 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Second-half goals condemn young Clarets to defeat

2025-03-04T16:04:06.941Z

U21S MATCH REPORT: BURNLEY 0-2 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

Second-half goals condemn young Clarets to defeat

2025-03-04T16:04:06.941Z

Second-half goals condemn young Clarets to defeat

Two goals in the space of six second-half minutes saw Burnley U21s lose 2-0 to their Sheffield Wednesday counterparts on Tuesday afternoon.

There were three changes to the side that started last week’s Central League Cup match against Morecambe, all of which came in defensive positions.

Lewis Forshaw returned to keep goal, while Murray Campbell and Logan Pye took the places of Jesse Williams and Alex Healy-Byrne at centre-back and left-back respectively.

Both teams enjoyed periods of possession in the opening stages and the first Clarets attack of note saw Julien Vetro progress down the right, but he couldn’t quite find a final ball.

Wednesday thought they’d broken the deadlock just after the half hour, but the officials deemed Ernie Weaver’s header not to have crossed the line.

The match kicked into life as the first half progressed and after a strong save from Forshaw down to his left, Hamzat Balogun came closest to scoring for the young Clarets.

After good work from Basilio Socoliche the right-back was found at the back post, but saw his header cleared off the line.

U21S MATCH REPORT: BURNLEY 0-2 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY - Image 1

Manager Andy Farrell made his first change at the break with Healy-Byrne replacing Pye and it was a feisty restart to proceedings, with Weaver going into the book early for a rash tackle.

Farrell’s side started to build some momentum, and a quick Joe Bauress throw launched a counter attack that eventually saw Kamarni Ryan’s shot get blocked behind.

Unfortunately, Wednesday then scored twice in six minutes around the hour to take control. The first came when Bruno Fernandes closed Forshaw and finished from close range.

That forced Farrell into a triple change with Ryan, Socoliche and Veevers making way for Benji Wetshi, Joao Mendes and Brandon Ly.

However, Wednesday struck again when captain Jarvis Thornton confidently swept the ball into the bottom left corner first time from the edge of the area.

The Clarets rallied and attacked with urgency in the final 10 minutes or so and a fine team move saw Mendes slide through Tom Tweedy, but ‘keeper Jack Phillips rushed out to thwart him at his feet.

Despite their best efforts Burnley were unable to avoid a third straight defeat but they stay 3rd in the table with 38 points from 21 matches.

Next up is a round of 16 Premier League Cup tie against Sunderland on Monday 10th March. Kick-off at the home of Chorley FC is 7pm.

Burnley: Forshaw, Balogun, Pye (Healy-Byrne 46), Ashton, Campbell, Bauress, Vetro, Veevers (Ly 64), Ryan (Wetshi 64), Tweedy, Socoliche (Mendes 64)

Unused Substitutes: Vilar Robinson

Sheffield Wednesday: Phillips, Emery, Johnson, Flannery, Weaver (Maltby 58), Thornton, Phuthi (Sopala 90), Buchan, Brown (Kamwa 58), Fernandes (Alao 90), Moses

Unused Substitutes: Kakay

Goals: Fernandes 60’, Thornton 66’