Crystal Palace 0-3 Burnley
by Gene Sylvester
at Selhurst Park

THE Premier League’s two most senior teams, in terms of average age, squared up for what turned out to be a real six pointer down at Selhurst Park with Sean Dyche’s men picking up all three points with an impressive 3-0 win, equalling the club’s best away win in Premier League history.

“We get a few questions about how much we score, but it’s not like we haven’t been trying. I thought the front two were excellent today,” beamed the Burnley boss after the match.

The Clarets dominated the game from the first minute with the visitors being superior to their hosts in every department, resulting in Burnley taking an unsurprising lead after just five minutes.

A mischievous deep cross from Burnley left-back Erik Pieters found Scott Dann and Patrick Van Aanholt almost getting in each other’s way on the edge of their own six yard box with both fluffing their attempts to clear the danger.

The calamitous defending resulted in the ball dropping invitingly at the feet of Johann Gudmondsen eight yards out, with the Icelandic international calmly opening up an angle before side footing his shot home into the far corner of the Palace net beyond Vicente Guaita’s dive.

That lead was doubled four minutes later when again, unconvincing defending from Roy Hodgson’s men allowed a Dwight McNeil corner to be headed home by Jay Rodriguez from a plum centre position four yards out.

This was not the way Palace boss Roy Hodgson would have envisaged celebrating his 350th game in charge of a Premier League team.

Wilfried Zaha’s absence from Crystal Palace’s frontline was again painfully noticeable as the south Londoners recorded their second game without a goal, coinciding with the Ivorian’s layoff due to an injury picked up at St James’s park a couple of weeks ago.

“If the players seriously believe that the only way they can win a football match is with Wilffried (Zaha) in the team then they are in big trouble, as he cannot play until he is 40,” suggested Palace boss Roy Hodgson, refuting claims that the players would be affected by Palace’s ominously contrasting record when Zaha does not play.

The Belgian pair of on-loan striker Michy Batshuayi and Christian Benteke were paired up front from the start for the first time in a Premier League match for the Eagles and the lack of chemistry between the two was all too clear to see.

The home side were 3-0 down by the time the Belgian pair had been replaced, courtesy of a 47th minute Matt Lowton cracker.

The Burnley fullback picked up the ball just inside the Palace half, evaded a weak challenge from Eze Eberechi and slalomed past Palace captain Luka Milivojevic before running straight through a Van Aanholt challenge, with the Palace defender ending up on his backside.

A cute one-two with the impressive Rodriguez saw the Burnley striker’s return chip pass caught by Lowton with the sweetest of volleys from 12 yards out on the angle, which flew past Guaita’s helpless dive.

Burnley Captain Ben Mee was stretchered off late in the game with what looked like a serious head/neck injury following an innocuous coming together with Jordan Ayew.

“Ben’s OK, the medical team have to do their checks to make sure they’re well, but it was pleasing too see him walk back to the dressing room after being stretchered off and he is fine in the dressing room now,” confirmed Dyche after the match.