Huddersfield 1-2 Burnley: Clarets climb out of relegation zone

Ashley Barnes struck the winner as Burnley came from behind to beat 10-man Huddersfield in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Huddersfield had taken the lead at the John Smith's Stadium through Steve Mounie, but Chris Wood levelled up for Burnley before Christopher Schindler picked up a second yellow card before the break.

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Barnes then punished the Terriers with 16 minutes to go, as they were condemned to an eighth-straight league defeat for the first time in their history.

Burnley saw Robbie Brady sent off in the 90th minute, but held on for a victory that lifted them out of the relegation zone.

It started so well for Huddersfield as, at the 21st time of asking this season, one of their strikers found the back of the net. Isaac Mbenza whipped a superb ball in from the left and Mounie was there to head the ball past Tom Heaton.

Their lead didn't last long. Dwight McNeil scored at the weekend after being recalled by Sean Dyche and the teenager made his mark again here after 40 minutes.

He twisted and turned away from his man before firing a low ball across the six-yard box to find Wood, who snuck ahead of his marker to turn the ball home.

And it went from bad to worse for Huddersfield just a minute later as Schindler, who had gone into the book on the half-hour mark for tripping Wood, received his marching orders for bringing down McNeil on the edge of the area.

Burnley struggled to break down Huddersfield as they pushed for a winner, but finally they found their way through as Wood and Ashley Westwood combined before the latter fed Barnes, and he took a touch before bending the ball past Jonas Lossl.

There was time for some late drama as Brady, who was introduced as a second-half substitute, hacked down Mbenza from behind as Huddersfield attempted to break and was shown a straight red card by referee Mike Dean.

Man of the match - Dwight McNeil

Performances like this make you wonder why it took so long for Sean Dyche to give McNeil an opportunity for Burnley.

The left-winger created the equaliser that turned the game on its head and was a constant threat until he was prematurely replaced in the second half. If he keeps performing like this we will see plenty more of him in the second half of the season.

The managers

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David Wagner: "We gave ourselves a schedule of what we have to do until the end of the season.Obviously today was disappointing because we didn't get any points and we know the statistic that no team has ever stayed up with 10 points from 21 games.

"But we have beaten statistics before with Huddersfield Town and we still have the aim and ambition [to stay up]. We know what we have to do. We have to accept this result, but we will move forward. The table tells you the truth and the truth is that at this stage of the season we have lost eight games in a row."

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Sean Dyche: "We aren't flying at the moment like last season, but the confidence is building. We had one real blip against Everton but the performances recently have been decent. We've still got more to do and I reminded the players of that, but I'm pleased for them.

"It's not easy to win back-to-back games, especially home and away. We've had a few false starts this season but the signs are getting better of the team remodelling itself. The mentality and physicality is getting stronger again.

"You soon forget that after five games we had one point and were bottom of the league. So we have been climbing but we have to continue putting in performances to look after ourselves."

Opta stats

• Burnley have won consecutive Premier League games for the first time since September 2018.
• Huddersfield have suffered eight consecutive league defeats for the first time in their history.
• Before tonight, Burnley had lost all 12 Premier League games this season in which they'd conceded the first goal of the match.
• Since the start of last season, only Leicester City (9) have received more Premier League red cards than Huddersfield Town (6 - level with Watford).
• Chris Wood's leveller for Burnley was his 100th goal in English league football - 14 in the Premier League, 78 in Championship and eight in League One.
• Huddersfield striker Steve Mounie scored his first Premier League goal of the season, with what was his 35th shot in the campaign.
• Burnley's Ashley Barnes has been involved in three goals in his last four Premier League games (two goals, one assist), more than in his previous 18 combined (two goals).

What's next?

Both sides are in FA Cup third-round action on Saturday. Burnley host League One Barnsley at 12.30pm and Huddersfield head to Championship Bristol City at 5.30pm.

The pair are also back in Premier League action on Saturday, January 12. Burnley welcome Fulham to Turf Moor and Huddersfield travel to Cardiff. Both games kick-off at 3pm.

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