Matt takes the gloss off Hodgson’s landmark day with his stunning strike

WHAT began as a landmark day for Roy Hodgson ended as one to remember for Burnley — and Matt Lowton in particular.

If you do not score often, it is worth making it a good one when you do, which is exactly what Lowton did once again to seal this impressive win at Crystal Palace.

A rare and stunning goal from Lowton capped an impressive all-round Burnley performance to make Hodgson’s 350th game as a Premier League boss — becoming just the 10th man to achieve that feat — an occasion he will not look back on especially fondly.

For Burnley and Lowton, it will be the opposite. They were already

2-0 up after a fast start at Selhurst Park, scoring twice in the first 10 minutes.

And then Lowton applied the gloss with his first goal in over five years, a spectacular first-time volley that his team-mates on the pitch and in the stands could barely believe.

His strike sealed Burnley’s most emphatic win of the campaign as they scored three in the league for just the second time this season. Clarets boss Sean Dyche said: ‘Matt’s goal was absolute class, not only the finish but the build-up to it, which made for a very pleasing day for the players, myself and the club. ‘It’s not just the finish from Matt, though. He steps in, controls the ball fantastically, plays a one-two and the finish is sublime.’

Burnley’s start set the tone, racing into a 2-0 lead.

Their first goal came after five minutes, Johan Gudmundsson providing the finish after a spell of Burnley keep-ball and an Erik Pieters cross that caused chaos in the Palace box as Scott Dann and Patrick van Aanholt collided as they tried to prevent the ball reaching Ashley Barnes.

Five minutes later, Jay Rodriguez wriggled free of Nathaniel Clyne to head in Dwight McNeil’s corner for 2-0.

Two minutes into the second half came Lowton’s showstopper. He collected a loose ball on the halfway line, charged past Luka Milivojevic, barged over Van Aanholt, played the ball inside to Rodriguez and kept his run going before blasting the striker’s return ball past Vicente Guaita on the volley.

With that, the destination of the three points was confirmed and a late head injury to captain Ben Mee, initially at least, proved a bigger concern than Palace’s pressure in the closing stages which Dyche’s side repelled.