Mee keeps Clarets’ European hopes alive

By Richard Morgan

Football journalist – @Richiereds1976

Report and highlights as Burnley maintain their push for Europe thanks to just their skipper’s seventh goal in nine years

Last Updated: 29/06/20 10:29pm

FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Burnley’s victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League

Ben Mee’s second-half header saw Burnley beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park as Sean Dyche’s side kept alive their hopes of qualifying for Europe next season.

In what was a battle of two mid-table teams in southeast London, it was the visitors who took the spoils when their captain headed home Ashley Westwood’s free-kick just past the hour-mark for his first goal since January 2017.

And that goal was enough to propel Sean Dyche’s side up to eighth in the Premier League, a position which could potentially be enough to progress to the Europa League second qualifying round next season should Manchester City fail to overturn their European ban at the Court of Arbitration of Sport.

A lacklustre Palace, meanwhile, stay 11th in the table after back-to-back league defeats.

How in-form Clarets won battle of midtable teams

An under-strength Burnley arrived in the capital missing a number of first-team regulars and with only seven substitutes totalling a combined four minutes of top-flight football under their belts, not that it showed after a composed display.

The visitors controlled the game right from the start, albeit without creating too many clear-cut openings, especially in a disjointed first period.

However, after Jordan Ayew was fortunate to escape a red card after his flying elbow caught Josh Brownhill in the face – the Video Assistant Referee Graham Scott not deeming the incident as violent conduct – Burnley opened the scoring after 62 minutes.

The impressive Westwood clipped a free-kick into the Palace box where Mee – on his 300th Burnley appearance – stooped to head home off the inside of the post, despite Vicente Guaita getting a good hand to the ball as the Spaniard conceded for the first time in more than seven hours of football.

Palace had key forward Wilfried Zaha available after the Ivorian was forced off early on with a calf injury at Anfield last Wednesday night. And there was more good news with ‘keeper Vicente Guaita also starting having recovered from a muscle problem, with the hosts making three changes from that loss at Liverpool with both captain Luka Milivojevic and defender Scott Dann returning in place of James McCarthy and Mamadou Sakho.

Meanwhile, Burnley made two changes with forward Jay Rodriguez, who was forced off late on in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Watford after injuring his ankle having scored the winner at Turf Moor, missing out. And Sean Dyche brought in Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley, with Matthew Lowton joining Rodriguez in not travelling to the capital.

Roy Hodgson’s side huffed and puffed thereafter, but rarely looked like scoring, while the Clarets are now 12 points better off than this stage last season after a recent run of just one defeat in their last 10.