Wood winner ‘great finish’
All Whites captain Chris Wood has been hailed by his manager after scoring on his home debut for English Premier League football club Burnley in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
An awful back pass from South Korean midfielder Lee Chungyong gifted the third-minute opener to Wood, as Burnley’s recent club-record signing from Leeds United confidently fired past Wayne Hennessey yesterday.
It was Wood’s second goal in two games for Burnley since his £15 million (NZ$26.4M) transfer from Championship club Leeds United.
‘‘Chris Wood has made a good start and he scored a hat-trick for his country in midweek as well,’’ Burnley manager Sean Dyche told BBC Sport.
‘‘He has a desire to prove himself in the Premier League. It was a great finish.’’
Wood’s start at Burnley has earned him some rave notices in the English media.
BBC Sport writer Phil Hawkes said Wood was beginning to repay Burnley’s investment.
‘‘He showed predatory instincts to grab his side a point in the closing stages against Tottenham at Wembley before the international break and was equally lethal when gifted a route to goal by Lee on Sunday.
‘‘Prior to today the former West Brom and Leicester striker had never played more than 35 minutes in a Premier League match, managing only 11 substitute appearances, but after scoring 30 times for Leeds last season he now looks at home in the top flight.
‘‘It is fortunate for Burnley that he does, because they only managed one other shot on target over the whole 90 minutes ...’’
The 101greatgoals.com website said Wood had ‘‘been on fire in 2017’’ for both Leeds and Derby with only Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane producing a better strike-rate.
Wood has now scored 20 goals in 2017 - ‘‘the second highest tally in the top four divisions’’ behind Kane on 23.
The loss at Turf Moor was Crystal Palace’s fourth in a row, and increases the pressure on the London club’s Dutch manager Frank De Boer.
Burnley’s England international goalkeeper Tom Heaton had to be substituted in the 36th minute after suffering a shoulder injury, handing reserve keeper Nick Pope a Premier League debut.
Palace dominated the second half but Pope produced a superb save with his feet to foil Christian Benteke in the 80th minute and in the final stages Scott Dann missed a golden chance, heading wide from three metres.
There has been widespread speculation about the future of former Ajax Amsterdam coach De Boer, who arrived at Crystal Palace amid talk of transforming the team’s style but who has yet to gather a point.
De Boer will be encouraged by the effort and commitment of his team, who will leave Lancashire feeling they deserved at least a draw, but ruing their failure to convert their overwhelming possession after the break into a goal.
Wood, who scored on his Burnley debut by grabbing the equaliser at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur, did not have long to wait to show his new fans his finishing ability.
The New Zealander latched on to Lee Chung-yong’s dreadful attempt to return the ball to his keeper and showed no hesitation as he fired home.
Palace, however, responded strongly. A Dann shot from a corner was cleared off the Burnley line by Matt Lowton and then Benteke headed just wide from an Andros Townsend cross.
Burnley could have gone two up when Sam Vokes’s angled header from a Stephen Ward cross flashed just wide of the far post, but after the departure of skipper Heaton, the hosts lost their rhythm and Palace were firmly on top after the break.
Palace’s Jeffrey Schlupp should have done better when he fired over from inside the area, but at the other end Burnley sub Ashley Barnes forced a fine save out of Hennessey with a curling left-foot shot. That was the last effort from the hosts as they battened down the hatches and scrapped to hang on to the three points.