Burnley's defensive prowess shone once again as they secured their 11th consecutive clean sheet in the Sky Bet Championship. The encounter with Preston North End concluded in a goalless draw, marking Burnley's 11th scoreless draw this season. The match took place at Deepdale, where Preston continued their impressive run of form under Paul Heckingbottom, having lost only once since his arrival in August.
The match saw an early opportunity for Burnley, with Jaidon Anthony finding space to shoot just seven minutes into the game. However, his effort was off target, dragging wide of the goal. Despite this early chance, Burnley struggled to break through a resilient Preston defense. Anthony later delivered a well-placed free-kick that found Flemming, who unfortunately misjudged the ball from close range.
Preston, known for their resilience at home, quickly responded. Just three minutes after Burnley's early miss, Milutin Osmajic was expertly played in behind the defense by Mads Frokjaer-Jensen. It was only due to a brave block by CJ Egan-Riley that Burnley managed to prevent an early setback. Egan-Riley's defensive partner, Maxime Esteve, also played a crucial role by blocking a shot from Kaine Kesler-Hayden at the far post.
Scott Parker, Burnley's manager, introduced Marcus Edwards, a loanee from Sporting Lisbon, in the 71st minute. Edwards nearly made an immediate impact, cutting inside Ryan Porteous and unleashing a shot that narrowly missed the target. Parker expressed his views on a controversial moment involving Edwards, stating:
"It's a penalty for me and I don't think I'm being biased in my understanding of it. Marcus Edwards has touched the ball first and then he's touched it onto the player who's slid on the ground onto that player."
Origin: Scott Parker
Preston continued to threaten Burnley's clean sheet record with Brad Potts coming close to scoring. Potts almost curled Andrew Hughes' pass into the top corner from a difficult angle, but his attempt went wide. Osmajic also clipped the outside of the post early in the second half following some impressive dribbling skills.
The match was not without its controversies. A heated verbal exchange occurred between Burnley's Anthony and Preston's Hannibal Mejbri. Scott Parker later confirmed that it was Osmajic who reported the incident. Addressing this issue, Paul Heckingbottom commented:
"It looks like there's some allegation that [Osmajic] has said something. At the moment, it's 'he said, she said'. It looked like the referee handled it well in terms of the procedures and what's meant to happen. I don't know what the cause of it was but I think the referee handled it well."
Origin: Paul Heckingbottom
Despite the lack of goals, both teams displayed a competitive spirit throughout the match. Parker reflected on Burnley's performance against high-ranking teams:
"That's two games we've had against them. The margins are so fine and as we've shown against all the teams at the top, if that's our level then we'd be up there with them."
Origin: Scott Parker
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