Burnley 2 West Brom 2: Clarets one point closer to safety after entertaining second half

While the usual processional anthem of David Bowie’s Heroes is well worn and emblematic of Burnley’s season, perhaps, just perhaps they may now have occasion to embrace Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a-Changin in the medley approaching kick-off.

In an encounter that exploded into life after the interval, this point edged Burnley ever closer to the apparent formality of assuring their Premier League status on the same weekend that bitter rivals, Blackburn Rovers, were staring at demotion into the third tier. Times have indeed moved on.

While Burnley found much of the 1990s to be back-breaking work in the second and third tiers of the English game, Rovers were upsetting the natural order, flouting the hold of the big-city clubs to become Premier League champions.

Those roles could now be reversed for the first time in 42 years – the last time the Clarets were two divisions above their local adversaries.

“For total piece of mind, you want it done with the points but there’s a massive goal difference and swing [needed] with two games [to go],” said the Burnley manager Sean Dyche.

Burnley have already delivered a best ever Premier League season. The magic mark of 40 points has been accrued with two games remaining. With the club eight points above the relegation zone, in 14th, a top-10 finish is not yet out of the question for Dyche’s men, who produced another redoubtable effort in front of their home support.

The execution of a well-worked attack down the right channel brought their first goal. Ashley Barnes was the catalyst, racing into the penalty area and, though Jake Livermore’s grappling sent the forward sprawling and could have drawn a penalty, the referee Mike Jones should be commended for resisting the temptation to immediately whistle for a penalty.

Instead the official observed Barnes recover his footing and lay on the opening goal for Sam Vokes to tap in. The outpouring of joy and the significance of it was apparent, though that was soon put on hold.

Tasked with scoring a goal for the first time in nearly two months, Albion, remarkably, responded with two in the 12 minutes, after almost nine barren hours of football.

Salomón Rondón, who has endured his own personal anguish in that regard, restored parity. The Venezuelan had not scored since a hat-trick against Swansea on December 14 but he expertly steered the ball beyond Tom Heaton after James McClean’s elusive running had created an opening.

“I think everyone at the club is so pleased for Salomón,” said the Albion manager Tony Pulis. “He’s kept going. We have two strikers. Hal [Robson Kanu] is injured.

“Salomón has had to take responsibility and carry the team when he could have done with a break. Everyone respects him. He never stops, he just needed a goal. Hopefully that perks him up.”

Prolific from set-pieces, the Baggies bulldozed a 15th goal from that route, when Craig Dawson headed in from a corner.

Burnley’s refusal to retreat in the face of a challenge has been present all season, particularly at Turf Moor where they have now garnered 33 of their points. With time running out, Robbie Brady’s floated free-kick caught Ben Foster in no man’s land and Vokes’s looping header nestled into the net to assure a point.

“Our reaction was fantastic, Dyche said. “I’ve never ever question the mentality. I remember Ian Holloway described us as having a strong jaw. It was on display again. If we presume that’s done, it means there’s growth in the players, the mind-set has changed.

“West Brom ran us out of town down at their place. You can clearly see there is a big shift in performance from then.

“The players are growing and getting more used to what it means to be a Premier League player. Forty points for a team that was given absolutely zero chance of being in the Premier League is a fair marker,” he added.