- Burnley still winless on road
- Boro takes step toward relegation
- Clarets should’ve gone down a man
“Middlesbrough couldn’t finish its chances” could be the title of the Northeast club’s season anthology, as Boro played Burnley to a scoreless draw at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
The draw leaves Burnley 12th, eight points clear of the drop zone. Boro is six points back of 17th place Hull City with a match in hand.
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The opening moments didn’t have a ton of danger, though Robbie Brady banged a Burnley free kick off the proverbial woodwork.
Daniel Ayala had a chance for Boro off a set piece later in the half, but didn’t get the purchase required to find an opener.
Adama Traore opened up Burnley’s defense with some fancy dribbling later in the half, but his pass to Adam Clayton merely resulted in a shot directly into the hands of Tom Heaton.
Burnley was very fortunate to not be down a man when Patrick Bamford was chopped down en route to goal, but Martin Atkinson didn’t see it that way. It was a yellow card and a free kick, one that was cleared off the line.
Soon after, it looked like Ayala had scored but Atkinson ruled that an injured and face down Joey Barton’s presence in the middle of the box didn’t warrant the goal.
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1 - Burnley are one of just two sides in the top four English tiers this season yet to win an away league game (also Rotherham). Barren.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 8, 2017
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