Burnley 4-0 Charlton: Match Report

19 December 2015 17:32

Scott Arfield at the double as Burnley crush Charlton

Scott Arfield's double inspired Burnley to a 4-0 win at Turf Moor over struggling Charlton Athletic.

Arfield's strike gave the Clarets a half-time lead, before adding another after the break,with Andre Gray's 10th Burnley goal and Sam Vokes sealing victory.

Sean Dyche replaced Tendayi Darikwa and David Jones with Matthew Lowton and Vokes, while Morgan Fox, Patrick Bauer and Simon Makienok were among three changes to the Addicks line-up.

Gray turned neatly in the box to tee up strike partner Vokes within the first minute, but the Welshman failed to properly connect with the cross.

Charlton's Ricardo Vaz Te drifted in from the left and let an eighth-minute shot fly well wide of Tom Heaton's goal.

The visitors could have gone ahead after Alou Diarra fed in Makienok who cut back for Reza Ghoochannejhad in the centre of the box but Joey Barton made a crucial 16th-minute challenge to deny the Addicks forward.

The lively Vaz Te floated past Michael Keane three minutes later and fired into the side netting as Charlton enjoyed the better chances.

Barton whipped in a free-kick into a crowded area which Bauer was forced to head behind.

Ghoochannejhad floated a 32nd-minute corner for Bauer whose headed effort sailed over, before the former slipped while attempting to slot home Karlan Ahearne-Grant's low cross moments later.

Charlton skipper Johnnie Jackson forced Heaton to tip his cannon from outside the area over the bar.

But the Clarets broke the deadlock just before half-time after Lowton's low 44th-minute ball from a counter-attack eventually found Arfield who buried his second of the season.

After the break, Vokes spurned a glorious opportunity to double Burnley's lead when he sidefooted Lowton's low cross wide from close range.

But the Clarets doubled their lead after Arfield's 54th-minute effort from a short corner took a deflection on its way past Stephen Henderson.

Burnley hot shot Gray added a third a minute later after George Boyd threaded the frontman in and the Clarets record signing coolly slotted home.

Moments later at the other end, Heaton denied Ghoochannejhad's header with a sublime low diving save to maintain his clean sheet.

Arfield looked for his hat-trick and fired a 76th-minute effort which deflected into Gray's path but just out of the striker's reach, while Vokes nodded Barton's resulting corner over.

But Vokes finally got his goal two minutes later when he met Lowton's low cross and the ball trickled past a diving Henderson.

Ghoochannejhad attempted to grab one back for the Londoners with an 81st-minute shot from distance but Heaton was untroubled, while Burnley substitute Rouwen Hennings was denied late on by Henderson.


Source: PA