Murray pays the penalty for Seagulls
Brighton and Hove Albion shared the spoils with Burnley despite chances for both sides to find a winner, including a penalty that Glenn Murray failed to convert.… Show More
Brighton and Hove Albion shared the spoils with Burnley despite chances for both sides to find a winner, including a penalty that Glenn Murray failed to convert.
Glenn Murray's first-half penalty miss cost Brighton and Hove Albion a much-needed victory as Burnley held on for a 0-0 draw at Amex Stadium in the Premier League.
Gifted the chance to score just his side's second goal in six league matches, Murray wastefully fired into the stands as the home side had to settle for a point and the end of a three-match losing run.
Brighton, without a win in six league outings, defied its concerning run of form in an entertaining opening 45 minutes that somehow failed to produce a goal.
Murray should have calmed the nerves from the spot when he tangled with James Tarkowski in the 36th minute, only to hit his attempt over the crossbar wildly.
Burnley improved after the interval and might have snatched three points but for the intervention of Mat Ryan, who produced a double save from Scott Arfield and later denied Chris Wood in a one-on-one situation.
While the inability to take those chances means Sean Dyche's side loses ground in the fight for an unlikely top-four spot, its lofty top-half position will still be looked upon with envy by Chris Hughton's men as they battle to arrest their slide.
Brighton commanded possession over the opening exchanges and began to probe with purpose by the 15th minute.
Lewis Dunk's promising volley was inadvertently blocked by team-mate Shane Duffy, before Murray headed straight at Nick Pope from Bruno's teasing cross.
The Seagulls soon went even closer to the opener. After Ryan dealt with Johann Gudmundsson's effort, the hosts raced up the other end and saw Anthony Knockaert turn Pascal Gross's cut-back against the near-post.
The Clarets appeared to be hanging on when Phil Bardsley was required to nod Dunk's header on goal off the line.
The sustained pressure should have resulted in a lead shortly after the half-hour. Tarkowski clumsily bundled Murray over inside the area, but the striker poorly blasted over the bar from the resulting spot-kick.
Burnley set about asserting more authority after the restart with Chris Wood, holding his place ahead of midweek match-winner Ashley Barnes, side-footing a tame finish at Ryan on the counter-attack.
The goalkeeper had more work to do on the hour, producing a smart double save at close-range to keep out Arfield's hurried pair of left-footed efforts.
The Australian shot-stopper came to his team's rescue once more with a little more than 15 minutes remaining, racing off his line and remaining big to smother a golden one-on-one opportunity for Wood after substitute Ashley Barnes's through-ball.
