Scott Parker insisted Burnley were full value for three points even though they needed a stoppage-time penalty from Jay Rodriguez to end a six-hour goal drought and deliver a 1-0 win over Swansea.
It looked like being another frustrating afternoon for a Burnley side who were without a win in four games until the ball struck the outraised arm of Matt Grimes in time added on and the veteran Rodriguez sent former Clarets stopper Lawrence Vigouroux the wrong way for his first goal in 11 months.
Burnley had 20 shots at goal, although only seven were on target and too many of them had been from outside the box, much to the frustration of the Turf Moor crowd – many of whom were heading for the exits before referee David Webb pointed to the spot.
Even so, Parker was full of praise for his side as they moved within four points of the top two after a testing run.
“Definitely there’s a sense probably of relief if I’m being totally honest,” Parker said. “I thought we were very good today, generally the all-round game.
“In the first half they caused us some problems in the ebbs and flows of the game, maybe we lacked some intensity which is perhaps down to a three-game week and a quick turnaround from Thursday.
“But the second half was totally different. You see the way we want to play, we reduce them to going a bit long, and in terms of the general numbers, 20 shots, seven on target, the xG where it is, we were moving in the right direction today and the numbers were very pleasing for us…
“Of course there are elements in the final third where we probably lack a bit in terms of real details, a tiny bit of composure, but it’s the polar opposite to where we were three or four weeks ago. Then we were not creating the volume of chances we created today.
“We were well worth the three points. Of course it’s coming in the dying seconds, but anyone watching that today looking at the general numbers, we were well worthy of it.”
The penalty was soft in the sense that it was entirely avoidable. With the ball having looped up, Grimes had an arm raised as he battled Rodriguez and Hannibal for space.
But there were no complaints from Swansea boss Luke Williams, who likewise swerved questions on whether Josh Cullen should have seen red after catching Zan Vipotnik late in the first half, having already been booked.
Instead, the Swans boss expressed disappointment that a point got away from his side at the death.
“I’m very disappointed for my squad of players,” he said. “I’m very disappointed for them because I think they made a really good performance at a very, very tough place for us to play, and I think they deserved to come away with a point.”
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