Pro Sports

Mee's header gives Burnley 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace

Posted June 29, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Burnley's Ben Mee, second left, is congratulated by teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Monday, June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Catherine Ivill,Pool) The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - Ben Mee marked his 300th league appearance for Burnley by clinching a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Monday and keeping his team in an unexpected push for European qualification.

A three-year wait for a goal ended for Mee with a header from Ashley Westwood's free kick in the 62nd minute, moving Burnley up to eighth in the English Premier League - seven points from the Champions League places with six games to go.

Burnley was without Jay Rodriguez - the match-winner against Watford on Thursday - and due to a lack of options Sean Dyche could replace him with only defender Erik Pieters.

'œComing into the night with a depleted squad, with only one senior boy on the bench, and playing like we did tonight, it shows the character, it shows we're together," Mee told Amazon Prime. 'œTo get a goal is nice. I've had chances cleared off the line or good saves so it's nice to finally get one in.

"It wasn't a great ball from Westy (Westwood), it wasn't what we worked on but you've got to make the best of it!'ť

Speculation over Dyche's position continues as the manager said 'œthe dynamic of the club has changed somewhat'ť during the 100 days of lockdown.

'œIt's been interesting to compute and to make sense of,'ť Dyche said. 'œBut you saw a group tonight fully motivated, as am I.'ť

Palace remained 11th after losing at an empty Selhurst Park due to the coronavirus pandemic.

'œWe didn't play anywhere near as well as we wanted,'ť Palace manager Roy Hodgson said. 'œWe were better in the second half but unfortunately we conceded a goal from a set play, a goal we were disappointed to concede, and then we're fighting an uphill battle against a well-organized side.

'œWe need goals but at the moment we don't have an awful lot of front players to choose from and if they get injured it becomes more difficult.'ť

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Burnley's Erik Pieters, left, and Crystal Palace's Joel Ward collide during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Monday, June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Daniel Leal-Olivas,Pool) The Associated Press

Crystal Palace's manager Roy Hodgson, left, congratulates Burnley's manager Sean Dyche following the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Monday, June 29, 2020. Burnley defeated Crystal Palace 1-0. (AP Photo/Daniel Leal-Olivas,Pool) The Associated Press

A Black Lives Matter sign covers the seats during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Monday, June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Daniel Leal-Olivas,Pool) The Associated Press

Burnley s Ashley Westwood, second left, takes a free kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Monday, June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Hannah McKay,Pool) The Associated Press

Players in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park, in London, England, Monday, June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Hannah McKay,Pool) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.