LONDON (Reuters) – Burnley’s bid to get out of the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday was halted by Crystal Palace as both sides played out a 1-1 draw after Jeffrey Schlupp’s early opener was cancelled out by a Luka Milivojevic own goal.
The result snapped a two-game winning run for Burnley to leave them in 18th place but they have lost only once in seven games as manager Sean Dyche praised his squad’s ‘firm’ mentality.
“It’s a seven-point week so I am pleased overall,” Dyche told Sky Sports. “There was not a lot in it in the first half but they had a bit more edge to their play, maybe we were a bit sluggish.”
Palace took an early lead when Michael Olise drew two defenders out on the right flank, danced his way past both and curled in a cross that was slotted home by Schlupp.
At the other end, Palace were very compact whenever they lost possession, and Burnley failed to register a single shot that tested Jack Butland in goal in the first half.
But that changed a minute into the second half when a long ball was nodded down in the box by Jay Rodriguez and latched onto by Aaron Lennon, whose shot was turned in by Palace midfielder Milivojevic for an own goal.
Burnley’s Wout Weghorst also had a goal chalked off for offside in the buildup while Wilfried Zaha hit the post for Palace in a lively second half as both teams desperately looked for a winner.
“Halftime made a big difference. There was not much in it,” Dyche added. “They just had a bit of an edge but we started bright and asked a question. I think both sides would take it (a draw).”
Palace arrested a three-game losing run at home to move up to 11th but manager Patrick Vieira said he was disappointed with the result.
“We knew how challenging that game was going to be. We conceded a goal when we knew we needed to be compact and that lack of concentration cost us,” he said.
“We tried in the second half but we were missing something. At the end we had the momentum and had a couple of situations but they made it really difficult and all credit to them.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Christian Radnedge)
