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Robbie Brady inspires Burnley to down Bournemouth and oust Tottenham from the top six

Bournemouth 1 Burnley 2: Brady had a hand in Chris Wood's opener before scoring a fine strike himself and Burnley held on despite Josh King's late reply

Ed Eliot
Vitality Stadium
Wednesday 29 November 2017 21:51 GMT
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Chris Wood puts Burnley ahead at Bournemouth with a tap-in
Chris Wood puts Burnley ahead at Bournemouth with a tap-in (Getty)

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe endured a miserable 40th birthday as his former club Burnley continued their fine away form with a 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium.

Howe would have been hoping to mark the milestone by seeing his resurgent side extend their unbeaten run to four games, but the occasion was ruined by goals either side of half-time from the Clarets duo Chris Wood and Robbie Brady.

Josh King halved the deficit to set up a tense final 11 minutes, but it was a deserved victory for Sean Dyche's visitors and they have now recorded 14 points on the road this season, equalling their record tally in a Premier League season.


 Robbie Brady celebrates his strike 
 (Getty)

Howe, who left the Cherries for Burnley in January 2011 before returning to Dorset in October of the following year, chose to make one change from the team which earned a goalless draw at Swansea on Saturday, recalling captain Simon Francis after suspension, in place of Adam Smith.

Dyche, meanwhile, brought full-back Phil Bardsley in for the injured Matt Lowton and opted to drop Ashley Barnes to the bench in favour of record-signing Wood.

The former Leeds striker Wood almost made an immediate impact, sending a looping header on to the top of Asmir Begovic's crossbar after Clarets skipper Ben Mee nodded Brady's left-wing corner back across goal.

Wood was proving to be a handful and threatened again in the 16th minute when he headed down into the ground from Bardsley's centre, forcing Begovic to tip the ball behind. The Cherries were pegged back for much of the opening half an hour and, on the odd occasions they did push forward, they were unable to muster a chance of note.


 Dyche relays instructions from the touchline 
 (Getty)

Burnley then took a deserved lead eight minutes before the break. The Republic of Ireland winger Brady caused problems down the left wing before his cross-shot deflected off Cherries defender Steve Cook to leave Wood with a simple tap-in for his fifth goal since his big-money summer move to Turf Moor.

It was the first goal the hosts had conceded since Chelsea visited the south coast at the end of last month and they struggled to respond. The midfielder Harry Arter saw a shot blocked moments before the interval and, after he was replaced by Lewis Cook on the hour mark, defender Francis nodded wide of the right post.

After failing to manage an attempt on target in the opening 64 minutes, the hosts brought on Jermain Defoe but the England striker had barely had time to touch the ball when the away side doubled their advantage.

Brady, who was instrumental in the opener, claimed it, working space on the edge of the box before curling a superb strike beyond the reach of Begovic and into the top right corner with 25 minutes remaining.


 Chris Wood slides in celebration 
 (Getty)

The Clarets were doing a decent job of winding down the clock but Norway forward King ensured a lively end to the game when he poked into the top left corner from close range after visiting goalkeeper Nick Pope repelled Defoe's initial attempt.

Referee Roger East gave the Cherries five minutes of injury-time in which to snatch a point but they failed to carve out any further chances as the visitors moved above Tottenham and into sixth place.

PA

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