Burnley and Middlesbrough played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Turf Moor on Friday night as two of the Championship’s in-form teams could not be separated.
The visitors opened the scoring after 13 minutes as Dan Barlaser fed Anfernee Dijksteel, who still had a lot of work to do to beat James Trafford with a clever dinked finish as the hosts conceded for the first time in eight hours and 21 minutes.
Connor Roberts struck to equalise for Burnley in the first half against Middlesbrough
That goal came against the run of play and while it was no real surprise when Burnley drew level eight minutes before half-time, the nature of their equaliser did cause some raised eyebrows as Connor Roberts found the net from long range.
Middlesbrough’s Anfernee Dijksteel (right) celebrates scoring against Burnley
There appeared little danger when the Wales international picked up possession some 25 yards from goal, but with the wind howling and no one closing him down, he tried his luck and caught Seny Dieng in no-man’s land as his shot looped over the goalkeeper, back after a three-game injury absence.
Both sides had decent chances to take all three points in the second period, with Michael Carrick’s team going closest, although in the end a point apiece was perhaps the right result as neither changed positions in the table.
The managers
Burnley boss Scott Parker:
“I thought we were well worth three points tonight. The conditions definitely played a large factor in tonight’s game – for both teams, really. You could see that in the flight of the ball and the winds and the rain. They were tough conditions.
“They scored a goal against the run of play and that was probably down to us a little bit. Certainly it’s something we need to look at in that we gifted that a little bit in terms of the way we positioned ourselves.
“As a coach you’re always looking at certain moments and seeing the learning from it. This is the first time the team has conceded in a long time so it’s what sort of reaction we got. I got a reaction from a group of men that was nothing short of superb.”
Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick:
“Maybe it [the weather] caught us by surprise. I think all the defending was in the box or around the box, and we closed the spaces over a period of time, so (the shot) was a bit of a surprise. I suppose we put it down to the weather.”
