Not great, not terrible.
The Result:
Burnley 1, Fulham 1
How It Happened:
Burnley had some chances in the first half but failed to convert, then saw their guests take a one-nil lead early in the second, with a corner finding its way in as Robbie Brady made a failed attempt at a goal line clearance. The Clarets answered quickly, though, with a nifty move from Jay Rodriguez setting up an Ashley Barnes breakaway chance which the striker converted.
What It Means:
Burnley’s back up to 15th, no longer in possession of a game in hand. They’re one up on Brighton, two up on Newcastle, and still eight up on Fulham, who holds the topmost relegation spot. Big opportunity Saturday to put more distance between themselves and the danger zone, with West Brom coming to town.
Other News:
Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson hurt his hamstring, which led to Brady being out there. Once out there, in addition to failing at the goal line clearance (I don’t know enough to know if this was a bad play or just the absence of a good play), Brady picked up one yellow card, nearly picked up another, and missed the goal with a header. He was benched, and some are wondering if we’ve seen the last of him as a Claret. Stinks for him, obviously—I have no reason to think he’s a bad guy, though I haven’t looked into him at all—but even I’ve noticed that the guy hasn’t done a lot of good.
General Thoughts:
Getting hungry.
Burnley Thoughts:
Could’ve been a really bad day. Wasn’t. Could’ve been a great day. Wasn’t that either. Seems like a success overall. Held serve, held the line, held whatever figure of speech you want to use. Burnley’s not in the relegation zone, and they’re three games clear of it with 16 to play. That’s not a bad spot to be in right now. Hope they can stretch it further and/or pass a few neighbors this weekend.
