Ashley Barnes scored from the penalty spot to help Burnley produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Championship. The Hatters had made a good start and had the first serious chance. Elijah Adebayo combined nicely with Carlton Morris before attempting a goal, but goalkeeper Aro Muric saved brilliantly to his left, resulting in a corner. The visiting goalkeeper had little trouble with Tom Lockyer’s header before Burnley had their first big chance on the half-hour, a 30-yard free-kick from Johann Gudmundsson that pushed keeper Ethan Horvath into a superb save away to his right. Still, Luton appeared to be upsetting the form table, with Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu juggling with the ball and then having a crack that Muric gathered to his left.
At 38 minutes, Amari’i Bell discovered the run of Mpanzu in the area and he picked out Adebayo, but the forward could only side-foot wastefully over the crossbar from barely eight yards. Mpanzu had an excellent chance to open the game when sent through by Jordan Clark’s header, but the ball got lodged under his feet and the chance went begging.
Burnley attempted to gain some momentum in the second half. Ian Maatsen surged into the home area, but Reece Burke was there to make a fantastic block. Town substituted top scorer Morris for Cauley Woodrow, but Burnley was getting the better of things. Substitute Vitinho almost broke the deadlock when unmarked from a cross, but Lockyer stepped in to clear the danger. The replacement had another chance moments later, but his angles were off, causing him to drag wide of the target.
Burnley gained a penalty after 78 minutes when Gabriel Osho handled inside the area – the third penalty conceded by Luton in three games – and Lockyer was punished for his protests. Barnes made no mistake from the start, and referee Jeremy Simpson gave Lockyer a second yellow card for continuing to argue his case. During the six minutes of stoppage time, Luton attempted to re-enter the game, but the closest they came was a pot-shot from outside the area that soared high over the crossbar.
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