Soccer
Burnley kept a ninth consecutive clean sheet to move within two points of Championship leaders Leeds United after beating Oxford United 1-0 at Turf Moor on Tuesday.
Scott Parker’s side are now unbeaten in their last 18 league matches, while their most recent shutout was the 22nd they had managed from their 31 matches so far this season.
And the deciding moment came in the 33rd minute when the unfortunate Michal Helik diverted Josh Cullen’s cross from the left-hand side into his own net.
Oxford, who were on a nine-game unbeaten run of their own, saw their best opportunity fall to Greg Leigh before the break, but he was unable to test James Trafford.
At the other end, Jamie Cumming was on hand to deny Burnley a second, saving strikes from Lyle Foster, CJ Egan-Riley and Bashir Humphreys in the closing stages.
Gary Rowett’s side failed to register a shot on target against Europe’s meanest defence, and stay 16th in the table, with relegation-threatened Derby County up next.
Meanwhile, in the other Championship fixture on Tuesday at Loftus Road, Jack Colback struck late to earn Queens Park Rangers a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
In a chaotic second tier affair, Marti Cifuentes’ side came out on top to move within three points of the play-off places after enduring back-to-back league defeats.
Michael Frey headed the hosts into the lead with just five minutes on the clock, brilliantly glancing Ilias Chair’s inviting free-kick beyond the grasp of Aynsley Pears.
Tyrhys Dolan restored parity from the penalty spot after Callum Brittain was felled inside the box by QPR midfielder Koki Saito eight minutes after the restart.
But just five minutes after his introduction, substitute Colback restored the hosts’ lead with 14 minutes remaining with a left-footed strike from the edge of the area.
The result leaves Rovers in fifth place and a point ahead of fellow play-off hopefuls West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough, who both have a game in hand.
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