When Burnley last escaped the Championship for the promised land of the Premier League, they blew a hole in the wall under Vincent Kompany. Scott Parker decided it was more sensible to chisel their way out, inch by inch, completing their route to freedom with a tense victory against Sheffield United.
Amid the change of owners, managers and styles the captain, Josh Brownhill, has been a mainstay and it was fitting his two goals completed the painstaking job. Parker’s promotion push has been the polar opposite to Kompany’s approach. The Belgian’s all-conquering side played fast, aggressive, attacking football, whereas the current style is based on discipline and defensive organisation. Burnley have conceded 15 goals in 44 games, a record anyone would be proud of and the foundation of their success.
It was always going to be a nervous 90 minutes against Sheffield United, who started the match five points behind and maintained a chance of catching Burnley. The opening exchanges lacked quality but not aggression as the two teams wanted to show their desire for promotion. Late challenges were the norm until Gustavo Hamer was cautioned for a needless kick on Brownhill to gift the hosts a free-kick.
From the set piece came the opener. The ball was worked out from the right to Marcus Edwards, whose cross belatedly landed at Josh Cullen’s feet. He aimed towards the corner, only for Michael Cooper to palm away. The waiting Brownhill smashed into the roof of the net, taking Turf Moor’s off in the same moment.
Considering Burnley had not conceded twice in a league match all season, a turnaround was already a difficult task for Sheffield United, even with more than an hour to play. This was not a message received by Tom Cannon, whose smart run allowed him to latch on to Hamer’s pass and beat James Trafford with a ferocious strike. It was his first goal for the club since joining in January.
Chris Wilder has looked frustrated in recent weeks as his side have slipped behind Burnley and Leeds. They were serious rivals for an automatic promotion spot, even favourites, before losing three matches in a row, a fatal error when the situation was so tight, hindered by lapses in concentration.
The leveller increased the tension inside the stadium, although that was soon relieved when Anel Ahmedhodzic decided to kick Hannibal Mejbri up in the air inside the penalty area, leaving Wilder perplexed. Brownhill took responsibility, sending Cooper the wrong way to return the home support to a state of delirium. Brownhill punched the air with delight and encouraged more noise.
Seeing things through is a core part of Parker’s strategy, exemplified by him taking off their most dangerous player in Edwards just after the hour mark and replacing him with the stoic central midfielder Josh Laurent. While Burnley were putting more behind the ball, Wilder sent on Tyrese Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi in search of an equaliser against a team offering up few chances.
Trafford has rebuilt his reputation as one of the country’s best young goalkeepers after struggling in Burnley’s error-ridden season in the top flight under Kompany, when they conceded an average of more than two a game. It has been very different this year with Connor Roberts, CJ Egan-Riley, Maxime Estève and Bashir Humphreys or Lucas Pires in front of him, but Trafford has still regularly produced vital saves, most notably in the goalless draw against Sunderland in January when he repelled two late penalties.
There were no such big moments in this match as Trafford easily coped with everything thrown at him in the second half to leave Wilder with the tricky task of the playoffs. “We’ve finished third and we’ve taken it deep,” Wilder said. “We have to use this as fuel and motivation, reset and go again in the playoffs.”
Parker will have a point to prove as a manager back in the top flight. His previous two experiences resulted in him being relegated with Fulham and sacked after four games when in charge of Bournemouth. His complaint with the latter was that they did not have enough quality in the squad and Burnley will need to invest intelligently in the summer, and avoid losing any of his key men, if they are to compete, but they could be better equipped than Kompany’s version thanks to their defensive solidity.
Last season’s promoted teams are all set to come back down with few points on the table, showing the ever growing gap between the divisions. Not that anyone celebrating the promotion was contemplating anything more than the immediate party.
As the full-time whistle blew, the Burnley substitutes sprinted onto the pitch, soon joined by thousands of fans, leaping over the hoardings to join their heroes and antagonise the Blades. “It was quite scary,” Wilder said. “I don’t think we were protected by the football club or the stewards.”
Parker made a quick escape to the stands to embrace his wife and speak with the club’s owners who believed in his vision. The smoke bombs from the pitch invaders left claret and blue clouds in the Lancashire sky. They immediately dissipated but the positivity did not.
