IT’S MEE TIME
Captain stoops to conquer as Clarets climb to eighth
BOTH these teams have dreams of Europe – but it is a fair bet that Europe is not dreaming about them.
This was a game that deserved to be played behind closed doors, with the doors slammed shut.
That was at least until Ben Mee put Burnley in front with a diving header that should have been stopped just after the hour mark at Selhurst Park.
It was the central defender’s first goal since January 2017 and earned his side a win that puts them above Arsenal and Sheffield United into eighth place.
But you would barely believe they are on the verge of qualifying for another European campaign in the light of recent events around Turf Moor.
Manager Sean Dyche is at loggerheads with his board, complaining that contracts had not been sorted quickly enough by chairman Mike Garlick. That meant he had lost three players from an already small squad.
Once again Dyche, linked with Newcastle this week, named only seven substitutes and the two goalkeepers on the bench had never played a first-team game for Burnley.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson had also been tetchy, fretting that injuries could wreck his bid for Europa League football and before kick-off chasing an Amazon film crew off the pitch because they were earwigging his conversation with Dyche.
This will not have improved his mood.
The shouts echoed around an empty Selhurst Park as the light faded across South London.
Luka Milivojevic curled a free-kick over the bar for Palace but it was Dyche’s side who had the better chances and the lively Dwight Mcneil’s runs constantly teased their defence.
Hodgson’s side had an escape when Mee headed down, Patrick Van Aanholt blocked on the line and Mcneil could only drive over.
Then, the 20-year-old raced through but drove straight at Vicente Guaita when he should have done better.
Wilfried Zaha, who had recovered from a calf strain to play, showed his frustration when he yelled, “Sit down and shut up” at Clarets assistant manager Ian Woan after an argument over a throw-in.
But Burnley could have been ahead when Guaita spilled Ashley Westwood’s drive but Erik Pieters shot straight at the Palace goalkeeper.
Jordan Ayew escaped a red card when his arm caught the face of Josh Brownhill but it was judged not worthy of a sending-off after a VAR review. And Gary Cahill should have put Palace 1-0 up when Ayew found him in space but he shot tamely at Nick Pope. But then Burnley struck. Westwood fired a free-kick into the near post and Mee, on his 300th appearance for the club, stooped to glance in his header. The hapless Guaita got a hand to it but pushed it against the post and in.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-1-4-1): Guaita 5; Ward 6, Dann 6, Cahill 6, Van Aanholt 6; Milivojevic 6; Zaha 6, Mcarthur 7, Kouyate 6 (Mccarthy 46, 6), Townsend 7 (Meyer 77); Ayew 6. Subs: Hennessey, Sakho, Woods, Tavares, Mitchell, Keutcha, Riedewald.
BURNLEY (4-4-1-1): Pope 7; Bardsley 6, Tarkowski 6, Mee 6, Taylor 6; Brownhill 7, Westwood 6, Cork 6 (Long 69, 6), Pieters 7; MCNEIL 8; Vydra 6. Subs: Peacockfarrell, Jensen, Thompson, Dunne, Thomas, Goodridge. REFEREE: Simon Hooper 7.