Burnley's Josh Cullen celebrates scoring the opening goal early in the second half at Turf Moor.Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters
The last time Burnley were in the Premier League, they won twice at home on the way to a desperate relegation. Goals from the newly-installed captain Josh Cullen and Jaidon Anthony against Sunderland mean they are already halfway to that tally.
Cullen’s predecessor, Josh Brownhill, was instrumental in bringing Burnley up, and the replacement set the tone with a fine opener and assist for the second. Turf Moor was clearly nervous from the off, with memories of earning 10 points here two seasons ago fresh in the mind. The victory was hard-earned through discipline, graft and one of the few moments of quality in the 90 minutes to offer hope that this time might be different for Burnley after becoming a yo-yo club.
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Survival will be built on what happens in the games at Turf Moor. On their way to promotion under Scott Parker last season they did not lose once, although nine draws indicate they did not always dominate. The Clarets defence had a summer shake-up and looked fragile in last week’s loss at Tottenham and they should have been behind within five minutes here. Granit Xhaka’s free-kick found Dan Ballard, who knocked the ball down to Eliazer Mayenda to shoot from close range, only to see Martin Dubravka produce a fine save from a miscue. This would prove to be the only shot on target in a turgid first half.
Burnley will need luck if they are to survive and they thought they had sourced some. A direct ball was won by Anthony and then Lyle Foster got the better of the substitute Jenson Seelt, before beating Robin Roefs. The goal music blared, Foster ran to the corner to celebrate and did not hear Michael Salisbury’s whistle, having deemed the South African had fouled the defender in the buildup.
If the first half was devoid of quality, that changed within two minutes of the second. Quilindschy Hartman, who goes by Q in these parts, collected a loose pass on the left, drilled it into Anthony, whose perfect flick found Cullen and the Burnley captain curled the ball into the bottom corner from 15 yards. VAR tried to ruin the fun with a strangely lengthy check for an offside that never was. Burnley were up and running.
That alleviated the tension inside Turf Moor, amid concerns of a doomed season from the off. There was, however, cause for concern soon after when the floodlights kept flashing and the game had to be stopped for a few minutes as it was causing a distraction on the pitch because it is not traditional to have a mid-match lights show.
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Burnley’s players were always there to pressurise opponents and put bodies on the line. Chasing lost causes and pressing those in black was a key trait to the end aided by the experience of Kyle Walker, relentless energy provided by Hannibal Mejbri and the performance was summed up by Maxime Esteve going down with cramp after making a critical interception. It meant Sunderland were not afforded a chance to equalise.
It was the foundations that were eventually tested more than the electricity supply with two minutes remaining. With Sunderland chasing the match, there was space to be enjoyed for once and Cullen flashed a sublime pass through the defence for Anthony to latch onto, before rounding the goalkeeper and finishing. Sometimes it’s better to be good than lucky.