Burnley’s remarkable comeback proved in vain as they fell to a cruel and painful defeat at home to Brentford – in a game marred by two VAR decisions that both went against Scott Parker’s side.
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Scott Parker praises Burnley man following recent return to starting XI](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/scott-parker-praises-burnley-man-following-recent-return-to-starting-xi-5613577 "Scott Parker praises Burnley man following recent return to starting XI")
The Clarets’ season looked dead and buried after a woeful first-half, in which they went 3-0 down before grabbing a goal back with the last action of the half.
But Scott Parker’s side fought back in the second period, with Jaidon Anthony and Zian Flemming both getting on the scoresheet to keep their slim survival hopes alive.
For a brief moment Burnley thought they had gone 4-3 up when Flemming turned home from close range in the 78th minute, only for the ‘goal’ to be chalked off after a lengthy VAR delay.
While the Clarets chased a winner deep into stoppage time, it was Brentford who took home the spoils with Mikkel Damsgaard driving a dagger through Burnley hearts.
But the drama still wasn’t over, with Burnley having a last-gasp equaliser from Ashley Barnes ruled out – by VAR once again – following another lengthy check.
It was an afternoon of contrasting emotions at Turf Moor, with frustrations threatening to boil over at one point with fans venting their anger.
Mikkel Damsgaard won the game right at the death for Brentford (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)placeholder image
Mikkel Damsgaard won the game right at the death for Brentford (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
But when the players gave the fans something to get behind, they did so and more, leading to a memorable comeback on home turf.
But it all counted for nothing, as Burnley endured another game at home without a win, with their last three points coming back in October.
The pre-game team news caused plenty of debate, with Kyle Walker being DROPPED for the first time this season.
The full-back was hauled off at half-time against Chelsea last week after an error-strewn display, although at the time Parker attributed his early withdrawal as a result of a stomach bug.
But while the former Man City man was fit enough to feature in Burnley’s match day squad, Parker opted to leave him out.
The other headline news was that Marcus Edwards missed out with a knock he picked up in training on Friday.
Lesley Ugochukwu also dropped down to the bench to be replaced by James Ward-Prowse, who made his first league start since signing for Burnley in January.
Lucas Pires and Jacob Bruun Larsen were the two to come in for Walker and Edwards as the Clarets made three changes from last time out.
Lyle Foster returned from a sickness bug to feature on the bench, where he was joined by the likes of Quilindschy Hartman, Florentino Luis and Loum Tchaouna.
Jordan Beyer, Axel Tuanzebe, Connor Roberts, Josh Cullen, Mike Tresor, Zeki Amdouni and Armando Broja all remain sidelined.
In the absence of Walker and the injured Josh Cullen, Maxime Esteve was the man to wear the captain’s armband.
As for Brentford, they made five changes from their 2-0 defeat to Brighton last week, as goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher missed out while Jordan Henderson dropped to the bench.
Burnley signalled their intent right from the first whistle, winning the ball right from kick off, resulting in Zian Flemming trying his luck from all of 35 yards, only to fail to make the required contact.
The home fans were encouraged with Burnley’s start, with Parker’s team looking to go after Brentford and pressing high from the front with real intensity. But the Clarets were given a warning sign in just the sixth minute when the Bees played through them far too easily.
All of the life inside Turf Moor was sucked out when Brentford took the lead in the ninth minute and, true to form, it was another avoidable goal.
The Clarets had no answer to a corner routine, which saw Mikkel Damsgaard left completely unmarked eight yards out, giving him an easy header into the bottom corner.
One almost quickly became two, but Martin Dubravka came to Burnley’s aid, saving from dangerman Igor Thiago who had nutmegged Joe Worrall inside the box.
To Burnley’s credit, they were playing with some intent and remained positive, with Jaidon Anthony curling just over from the edge of the box following some good play by Jacob Bruun Larsen.
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Lucas Pires was then denied by the goalkeeper after being slipped through, again by Bruun Larsen, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside. In the next move, Anthony put his laces through a drilled effort, with Hakon Valdimarsson claimed at the second attempt.
While Burnley were playing relatively well, Brentford looked so much more threatening when they did attack.
They squandered a golden chance to double their lead when Kevin Schade somehow managed to skew wide at the back post after opening up the Burnley defence.
But it wasn’t to matter for too long, as they made up for the miss only seconds later when Thiago got a yard on Joe Worrall to run onto Damsgaard’s pass and slip the ball past the onrushing Dubravka.
A delay in play on the half-hour mark resulted in a change in system for Burnley, as Josh Laurent pushed forward into midfield and Bashir Humphreys shifted over to right-back.
It made little to no difference, with Brentford compounding Burnley’s misery only a minute or two after the change with a third.
Once again it was another shambolic goal to concede, as Kevin Schade had the simple task of slamming home high into the roof of the net from a yard or two out after a long throw had been glanced towards goal, only for Lucas Pires to clear off the line.
It prompted an angry reaction from the home fans, some booing and others heading for the exits, while a chant of “we want Parker out” could also be heard loud and clear.
The Bees still found time to almost score a fourth before the half was up, but Esteve made a black to deny Thiago his second of the game.
A fourth goal of the game did arrive in the final seconds of the half, although - perhaps unexpectedly - it came the way of Burnley as Anthony’s back post volley was turned into the back of the net by Michael Kayode.
Nevertheless, after such a nightmare first half, changes were a necessity at the break and changes arrived - two in total - Lesley Ugochukwu and Lyle Foster for Laurent and Bruun Larsen.
Within two minutes of the restart, Burnley reduced the deficit to 3-2 as Anthony forced the ball home at the near post.
Ironically, it was a similar story to Burnley’s first, as a first-time Anthony effort was forced home by Kayode, but on this occasion the winger’s shot was definitely on target, so it doesn’t go down as an own goal.
It resulted in a spell of pressure from the Clarets, with the home side giving it a real go and the crowd in turn responded.
On the hourmark, incredibly, that equalising goal arrived much to the delight of the Turf Moor crowd - and it was a goal of high quality too.
Hannibal, Burnley’s standout player on the day, drifted in a deep, searching cross that Zian Flemming simply had to guide into the bottom corner with his head.
Amazingly, it was Flemming’s first league goal at Turf Moor all season, despite now having seven in total in the Premier League this season.
It could have got even better for the Clarets, but Ugochukwu’s shot on the turn, following a lovely Burnley move, deflected into the side netting.
Flemming looked to put Burnley in front when a Humphreys cross almost fell to him inside Brentford’s six-yard box, but he couldn’t quite force the ball home.
Turf Moor was absolutely delirious when Burnley thought they had scored a fourth, when Flemming turned home after Anthony’s pullback had caused havoc inside the Brentford box. But after a lengthy VAR check, the ‘goal’ was chalked off for offside, with Anthony beyond the last line of the defender by the barest of margins.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the game, with Brentford stealing the victory deep into stoppage time as Damsgaard steered home from close range, inflicting a painful defeat on Parker’s side.
Or so it looked like, but Burnley still found time for more drama, with late sub Ashley Barnes appearing to score an 98th minute equaliser. But again, to sum up the afternoon and perhaps Burnley’s season at charge, it was ruled out for “accidental handball” as Barnes brought the ball down.
It prompted loud boos from the furious home crowd at the final whistle, but for VAR and the officials, not the players, who were applauded off the pitch for their efforts.
TEAMS
Burnley: Dubravka, Laurent (Ugochukwu), Humphreys, Worrall, Esteve, Pires, Ward-Prowse (Florentino), Hannibal (Tchaouna), Bruun Larsen (Foster), Anthony, Flemming (Barnes)
Subs not used: Weiss, Ekdal, Walker, Hartman
Brentford: Valdimarsson, Kayode, Ajer, van den Berg, Henry, Jensen, Yarmoliuk (Henderson), Damsgaard, Schade (Lewis-Potter), Ouattara (Donovan), Thiago
Subs not used: Balcome, Pinnock, Collins, Furo, Bentt, Shield
Referee: Sam Barrott
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