Burnley 1-0 Newcastle: Jeff Hendrick decides tight contest

By James Walker-Roberts

Tuesday 31 October 2017 06:17, UK

Sean Dyche celebrated five years in charge of Burnley with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Newcastle at Turf Moor on Monday.

Neither side had created a clear opening in a cagey encounter before Jeff Hendrick finished from close range in the 74th minute.

Newcastle threatened a late equaliser but Isaac Hayden's shot was tipped wide and Javier Manquillo flicked a header onto the roof of the net.

Dyche has been linked with the vacant Everton job but his Burnley side are now up to seventh in the Premier League, level on points with Liverpool.

Newcastle, meanwhile, drop to ninth, having struggled to create many opportunities in a tight contest that always looked likely to be settled by one goal.

The hosts made a positive start as Hendrick flashed a shot across goal in the opening minute.

However, that would be the Clarets' only real opening of the first half as Newcastle kept them at bay and enjoyed more of the possession.

Chances were still at a premium for the visitors, with Christian Atsu prodding over from close range and Jonjo Shelvey firing a first-time shot at Nick Pope.

Ashley Barnes headed a cross wide under pressure at the other end, while Perez saw a curling effort pushed away by Pope at the start of a similarly tight second half.

There was no more goalmouth action until the deadlock was broken, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson crossing to the back post for Hendrick to finish after Jack Cork's shot was saved.

Newcastle pushed for a late equaliser and, after Joselu shot wide from the edge of the box, Pope pushed Hayden's shot away and Manquillo headed over in injury-time.

Man of the match - Jack Cork

In a tight game, Cork was a strong presence in midfield for Burnley and played a key role in the winning goal.

After winning the ball from Ayoze Perez, Cork burst forward and got into the box, controlling well and then seeing his shot saved for Gudmundsson to cross the rebound to Hendrick. He also covered the most ground of any player (12.22km).