Burnley’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur leaves them 10 points adrift of Premier League safety but things could have been different if a decision had gone their way.
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Burnley were unfortunate not to take all three points after fighting back to take the lead at home to Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor this weekend.
The visitors took the lead through Mickey van de Ven’s strike before Axel Tuanzebe restored parity in the final moments of the first period after being left unmarked in the box as three Spurs defenders watched on. Then the Clarets performed much better in the second half and took a well-deserved lead in the 76th minute, which would have seen Scott Parker’s side win a crucial three points, especially as relegation rivals West Ham had already won convincingly earlier in the day.
However, Spurs fought back and they prevailed in their quest for an equaliser that would spare their under-fire manager’s blushes as Cristian Romero produced a fine header to level the game. It was a match where both sides needed all three points as they looked to push up the table. A point didn’t satisfy either team, with Burnley disappointed after coming so close to a massive win in front of their home crowd and Tottenham wanting to continue momentum after beating Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League earlier in the week.
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Though things could have looked a lot different if luck had been on Burnley’s side when forward Marcus Edwards went down under the challenge of Spurs defender Romero. The player who eventually scored the game's late equaliser brought down Edwards, but because the flag had gone up, there was no reason for the Video Assistant Referee to have a look at the incident and bring the game back to award a penalty.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, gave his verdict on the controversial incident. “Because the offside comes first, what comes next is immaterial,” Gallagher said. “In this situation, it has to be offside. "It probably would have been a penalty, but Romero got lucky."
That luck was against Burnley and later with Romero again, as he managed to salvage a point for his side as he powered a wonderful header beyond Clarets goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to share the spoils.
Scott Parker’s reaction to the game
The Burnley boss spoke about his disappointment at not securing what would have been a massive win in their fight to stay in the Premier League. "I think we did [enough to win the game],” Parker said. "You score the second and take the lead, you understand that at that moment, they're going to commit a lot more men forward, and the centre-half they commit ends up scoring the goal.
"A little bit disappointing, no doubt, because you're that close and in the last dying seconds you concede. But overall, really pleased with my team. "I thought we showed an incredible spirit today and showed our quality at time. After going a goal down, our response from superb. Just disappointed we didn't hold on."