Burnley one step closer to safety after comfortable 3-1 win at Bournemouth

Burnley registered consecutive victories for just the fifth time this season as they ran out comfortable winners on the south coast, beating Bournemouth 3-1 at the Vitality Stadium.

Whilst Eddie Howe may put it down to a bad day at the office, Sean Dyche had evidently done his homework on this Bournemouth team with little to play for at the tail end of the season. His side pressured and harried the Cherries all over the pitch, forcing a catalogue of mistakes from the home side’s midfield.

It took just a couple of minutes for the goals to begin flowing. Bournemouth whipped in a free kick which Jefferson Lerma flicked on from the crowd, but it was met by the retreating Ashley Barnes who could do little else but nod the ball past Tom Heaton and into his own net.

Burnley looked to get back into the game immediately as they focused their football down the left flank through the impressive Dwight McNeil. Nathaniel Clyne scythed down Charlie Taylor down the left presenting Burnley with a set piece opportunity. Burnley wasted that opportunity and were close to being caught on the break my Lerma and Ryan Fraser, but Matt Lowton did well to recover.

Bournemouth looked to extend the lead through David Brooks, who was finding all kinds of space out wide. The Welshman drove past Taylor but failed to find a black and red shirt in the box. Soon after Burnley levelled the scores. Ashley Westwood floated a corner to the back post, which Asmir Begovic flapped at leaving an empty net for Chris Wood to nod into and send the Burnley fans into raptures.

The day got even better for those who travelled to the south coast as McNeil got down the left yet again and crossed the ball. A poor attempt at a cross from Chris Mepham saw the ball land on the edge of the box at the feet of Westwood, who curled the ball past the despairing Begovic to give Burnley the lead.

A spate of bookings followed as Bournemouth looked to get back in the game but failed to cope with the physicality of this Burnley side. Clyne hauled down McNeil for his booking, Hendrick tripped Smith to also go into the book. Ashley Barnes saw yellow for a needless, potentially dangerous challenge on Begovic, Bournemouth players called for a red but Martin Atkinson deemed it only a caution.

The final few minutes of the half saw little goal mouth action, soft calls for a penalty on Josh King were nonchalantly waved away by the officials.

Burnley began the second half with a clear game plan to protect what they had. Heaton and Tarkowski doing all they can to slow the game down, with the home fans putting the referee under pressure to reprimand the clear time wasting. But the second half began with Burnley looking the more likely to score. Dyche’s side putting the Bournemouth defenders under pressure at any opportunity, forcing mistakes from Nathan Ake and Dan Gosling.

Burnley made that pressure count as they scored a third and seemingly put the game to bed. Taylor beat Smith down the wing and crossed the ball which Wood did well to beat Begovic to and square to Barnes who sidefooted the ball into the net, avoiding the desperate attempts by Bournemouths defence to clear off the lines.

Eddie Howe rung the changes to get his side back in the game, Dan Gosling making way for Dominic Solanke to try and give his side an extra man in the final third. Despite the change, Bournemouth struggled to find their front three as the midfield struggled to get a hold on the game. Jefferson Lerma then made way for Junior Stanislas as the lack of creativity needed addressing.

The ball broke kindly for Dominic Solanke who used a neat flick to bypass Jack Cork 25 yards from goal, but was swiped to the ground by the swinging leg of Ben Mee who was rewarded with a yellow card. But all Stanislas could do was strike the 6 man Burnley wall.

Bournemouth did finally create an opportunity from open play on 87 minutes, Ryan Fraser with a cross come shot with Heaton threw his body onto. The Burnley fans deemed that enough as they began celebrating an inevitable win in the stands.

Callum Wilson had one final opportunity in the dying seconds, but his effort from inside the are after a delicious Ryan Fraser cross went high over the bar.

The win all but secures safety for Sean Dyche’s side, who sit on 36 points and eight clear of Cardiff City in 18th place. Burnley can start planning for next season, and a plan to ensure Dwight McNeil stays with them over the summer transfer window.