Ontarget Wood helps lift Burnley

ALL Whites striker Chris Wood has played a leading hand in helping Burnley climb out of the bottom three of the English Premier League (EPL).

Wood scored Burnley’s opening goal in its 21 win over fellow struggler Huddersfield Town yesterday.

Huddersfield opened the scoring in the 33rd minute of the match, through striker Steve Mounie, before Wood struck back just six minutes later before halftime.

In a match riddled with penalties and cards, the winner came from Burnley’s fellow striker, Ashley Barnes, in the 74th minute.

It was the first time Burnley had won backtoback matches in the EPL since September.

Burnley is now just two points outside the relegation zone, tied on 18 points with Cardiff City and Newcastle United, while Huddersfield is last on 10 points.

Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Midas touch at Manchester United continued against Newcastle, as goals from Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford earned the care taker manager a fourth successive win.

Only the great Matt Busby, who won his first five games in charge of United back in 1946, had previously started a United reign with a fourmatch winning streak.

On a more difficult night for Solskjaer, though, against stubborn Newcastle, it was a secondhalf substitution from the Norwegian that propelled United to its latest success, as Lukaku scored with his first touch in the 64th minute.

As soon as he came on, the Belgian latched on to Rashford’s free kick, which was not cleanly held by Newcastle’s otherwise excellent goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.

Then Rashford himself doubled the lead after a fine counterattack involving Lukaku and the returning Alexis Sanchez, ensuring that sixthplaced United has now scored 14 goals in four games in its perfect start under Solskjaer.

Newcastle, which lost for the eighth time at home in the league this season, had its moments in the first half and Christian Atsu came close to striking on three occasions, but it is just two points above the drop zone.

In other matches yesterday, Southampton and Chelsea played out a goalless draw, Crystal Palace beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 20, West Ham and Brighton drew 22 and Bournemouth and Watford drew 33. — RNZ/ Reuters

PHOTOS: ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS/REUTERS Ups and downs . . . Burnley’s Ben Mee consoles teammate Chris Wood after he missed a chance to score in their match against Huddersfield Town at John Smith’s Stadium yesterday. Right: Wood tussles with Huddersfield’s Mathias Jorgensen. A goal from Wood helped Burnley win 21.