Burnley 1-0 Oxford United: Clarets move back into Championship top two

Burnley extended their unbeaten league record to 18 games with a victory over Oxford United at their home ground, Turf Moor, returning to the automatic promotion zone of the Championship. With this win, Burnley surpassed Sheffield United to rise to second place in the standings, leading on goal difference and trailing league leaders Leeds United by just two points, albeit having played one game more.

Burnley's positive start was rewarded after half an hour of play when Oxford United defender Michal Helik inadvertently deflected Josh Cullen's cross into his own net. Greg Leigh missed Oxford United's best chance to equalize before halftime, while Oxford United goalkeeper Jamie Cumming made several saves to prevent the home side from extending their lead in the closing stages of the match.

For Oxford United, this was also the first defeat since Gary Rowett took over as head coach, having previously led the team to a nine-game unbeaten run. This loss leaves Oxford United still in 16th place. The match also continued Burnley's excellent defensive record, marking their ninth consecutive clean sheet and their 22nd in 31 Championship games. The away team failed to register a single shot on target throughout the match.

Burnley manager Scott Parker said in an interview with BBC Radio Lancashire: "I thought the first 45 minutes were excellent. We really controlled the game and showed everything we lacked in the game at the weekend. We created a lot of chances and showed real quality. To say it was only 1-0 at halftime was a little unfair because we could have had more goals. We missed some great opportunities. Overall, I'm very happy with the team, our overall effort, and the performance tonight."

Oxford United manager Gary Rowett said in an interview with BBC Radio Oxford: "We created some threats, and I thought we got into some nice positions, but maybe didn't create as many chances as we'd have liked. Sometimes when you're up against a good team, they pull you around and make it hard to do anything other than try and stay compact, and that then negates your ability to attack for long periods. When you see the trajectory of our team, and where the team has come from in League One, I think we're beyond just competing at this level, actually we look like the next step is to see if we can perform better in these types of games. I think that's a really positive sign, and there were lots of positives to take from the game."