Burnley 1-0 Leicester: Late Sam Vokes winner stuns Foxes

By Michael Hincks

Tuesday 31 January 2017 22:27, UK

Sam Vokes poked home a controversial late winner to hand Burnley a 1-0 win over Leicester at Turf Moor on Tuesday night.

The Wales international appeared to handle the ball before striking beyond Kasper Schmeichel in the 87th minute, but the incident went unnoticed by referee Mike Dean.

Victory appeared to be slipping out of Burnley's reach despite their domination, with the hosts denied a penalty in the first half when Danny Drinkwater nudged Michael Keane.

The win is Burnley's seventh consecutive at home in all competitions, while Leicester drop to 16th having failed to score a league goal so far in 2017.

The rain poured relentlessly at Turf Moor as the game got underway, and the conditions made for a sluggish start with passes continuously skidding away from their intended receiver.

Burnley's attacking duo of Ashley Barnes and Andre Gray were looking lively for the hosts, with the former flashing a half-chance wide after 11 minutes.

It was Gray who then went close to breaking the deadlock, but he could only shoot into the side-netting after bursting onto a loose ball.

After a couple of long-range efforts from Leicester were comfortably saved by Tom Heaton, the first-half's talking point came when Dean waved away Burnley's claims for a penalty.

It came following Jeff Hendrick's cross which Keane seemed destined to meet with his head - but a push in the back from Drinkwater went unpunished.

Boos from the Burnley fans at half-time - directed towards referee Dean - were soon followed by cheers as the signing of Robbie Brady was announced.

It appeared to lift the hosts, who dominated the second half and immediately went close through Joey Barton - but the midfielder volleyed narrowly wide.

Andre Gray continued to test Schmeichel but it was Leicester who went close next, though Vardy went to ground after Heaton spilled a Riyad Mahrez shot and the chance passed him by.

Burnley turned the screw and had a hat-trick of efforts blocked before Schmeichel got down well to deny Gray from a narrow angle.

Barnes was then replaced by Vokes with 10 minutes to go, and the substitute went close to breaking the deadlock within a minute of coming on but failed to keep his effort down.

However, three minutes from time, Vokes popped up to score a contentious winner - inadvertently bring down a Keane flick-on with his hand before stabbing home from close range.

Schmeichel and the Leicester defence made their protests known - as did Claudio Ranieri when the full-time whistle was blown.

Burnley have now earned 28 of their 29 points at home - and they place ninth in the table, while Leicester remain without a league win this season.

Player Ratings

Burnley: Heaton 6, Lowton 6, Keane 8, Mee 7, Ward 6, Boyd 6, Barton 8, Hendrick 7, Defour 6, Barnes 7, Gray 8. Subs: Arfield 6, Vokes 7, Tarkowski N/A.

Leicester: Schmeichel 7, Simpson 6, Huth 7, Morgan 6, Fuchs 7, Albrighton 6, Ndidi 5, Drinkwater 6, Gray 5, Mahrez 5, Vardy 5. Subs: Musa 6, Okazaki 6.

Man of the match: Joey Barton (Burnley)

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