Burnley 1 Wolves 0 - Report

Having not won at Turf Moor since 2010 the omens were not promising, but Wolves made a good start and largely dominated the first half.

They regularly found space in between the lines and out wide and had a handful of opportunities, bur failed to capitalise as a lack of a clinical edge again let them down.

The second half was fairly dull in the opening 20 minutes with neither side putting their foot down, until a moment of quality from Burnley handed them the lead.

Wolves’ defence was carved open and Matej Vydra was found from five yards with a simple tap in.

The visitors saw the majority of the ball as they searched for a way back into the game but their killer instinct was missing. A lack of intensity, until Burnley took the lead, also played its part.

The result means Wolves have now lost six of their last nine games as they once again threw away a golden opportunity to put pressure on the top seven.

Bruno Lage made four changes to the side that lost to Newcastle two weeks ago, but he stuck with the 3-4-3 formation.

Romain Saiss, Nelson Semedo, Leander Dendoncker and Raul Jimenez all came in – with the latter three returning from injury, illness and suspension respectively. Max Kilman missed out on the squad with injury while Fernando Marcal, Luke Cundle and Francsico Trincao dropped to the bench.

Semedo’s return also meant Jonny Castro Otto switched to left-wing-back, while Jimenez and Fabio Silva started together for Wolves for the first time.

Ruben Neves and Daniel Podence were absent with injuries, while Ki-Jana Hoever returned among the substitutes following his hamstring strain. Yerson Mosquera and Chem Campbell did not make the squad after taking their place on the bench against Newcastle.

Caretaker Burnley boss Mike Jackson made one enforced change but stuck with his 4-4-2 formation.

Maxwel Cornet missed out with a knock and was replaced in the starting XI by Vydra. That meant former Albion forward Jay Rodriguez moved to the left wing.

Young defender Bobby Thomas took the remaining place on the bench.

A frantic start to the game saw Wout Weghost almost get a free shot on goal after a poor clearance from Willy Boly. Then, at the other end, a wonderful cross-field pass from Jimenez put Silva in but his shot was blocked.

After seven minutes, Jimenez had a huge chance to put Wolves ahead. A slip from Nathan Collins handed Hwang Hee-chan the ball before his through ball for Silva was intercepted by Connor Roberts. However, Roberts then delayed on the ball and Jonny stole it and set up Jimenez from 10 yards, but his left-footed shot was far too weak and straight at Nick Pope.

Some Burnley momentum then saw Dwight McNeil weave his way into the box, as Wolves defenders stood off him, but he curled his shot over the bar.

Wolves were finding plenty of space in between the lines and out wide through Jonny and Semedo, but were just searching for that killer pass in the final third, with 15 minutes on the clock.

A slip from Semedo then handed Burnley a chance. The ball was worked to Vydra on the edge of the box and with space in front of him he rifled an effort that was well held by Jose Sa.

However, moments later Semedo and Jonny combined again and the latter was played in on the left. He charged into the box, cut onto his right foot and forced Pope into a strong save.

Time and again Wolves were winning the ball back from Burnley, who were too slow in possession, but failed to make it count. Hwang did well to steal the ball in midfield but then failed to play in Silva who had made a good run behind the defence.

The link-up between Jonny and Hwang was proving effective, too. The former did well to turn and feed Hwang, who then slipped the ball through for Silva. His cross was eventually dealt with, but it was another example of Wolves carving open the defence.

In defence, Sa was also commanding his box very well as Burnley whipped in a handful of dangerous crosses. The goalkeeper then made a superb save as he tipped over a McNeil effort that was swerving and dipping.

As they entered half-time drawing 0-0, the story of the first half for Wolves was a lack of killer instinct. They created several good chances and found lots of space in attacking areas, but could not make it count in front of goal.

In the early stages of the second half Vydra had the ball in the net, after a very fortunate deflection that would have gone down as a Conor Coady own goal, but the striker had wandered five yards offside and the goal was rightly chalked off.

Hwang burst into life moments later and raced through the middle of the pitch before setting up Semedo on the right. The wing-back hit his powerful shot first time and Pope did well to tip it over the bar.

After the hour mark, the game hit a lull. Neither side was able to mount a serious attack as Wolves struggled to get out of first gear.

However, just minutes later the hosts took the lead. A smart reverse pass from McNeil put Weghost in and he put the ball on a plate for Vydra to tap home from close range.

In an effort to get back into the game, Pedro Neto was introduced after 67 minutes and replaced Silva. It meant Hwang moved to the right flank and Jimenez moved centrally. Although the decision allows Jimenez to move to his natural position, it was also met with some puzzled faces as Silva was having more of an influence on the game than Hwang.

Wolves were flattering to deceive. A good Joao Moutinho ball released Neto down the left and after doing superbly well to reach the ball and turn inside, he then hit his cross straight at the first defender as Wolves were left frustrated.

Franciso Trincao was then introduced for defender Saiss, as Wolves threw the kitchen sink at the game.

However, it was almost Burnley that scored again. Substitute Aaron Lennon seemed to have a free shot from 20 yards but Boly – who had defended valiantly all afternoon – made a last gasp tackle to deny him.

Wolves had plenty of the ball but created next to nothing with it. After 85 minutes winger McNeil came off for defender Kevin Long as the hosts looked to settle on their lead.

At the start of four minutes of added time Hwang had an opportunity when the ball fell kindly to him on the edge of the box. His first time volley was straight at Pope.

Wolves were unable to find a way back into the game and effectively handed Burnley the three points with a whimper. Their European hopes once again rely on results elsewhere and the unlikely chance that they take points off the top three teams in the Premier League.

Wolves: Sa, Boly, Coady, Saiss (Trincao, 79), Semedo, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Jonny, Hwang, Silva (Neto, 67), Jimenez.

Subs not used: Ruddy, Gomes, Marcal, Hoever, Ait-Nouri, Cundle, Chiquinho.

Burnley: Pope, Roberts, Collins, Tarkowski, Taylor, McNeil (Long, 85), Brownhill, Cork, Rodriguez (Barnes, 63), Vydra (Lennon, 70), Weghost.

Subs: Hennessey, Bardsley, Lowton, Thomas, Stephens, Costelloe.