Connor Roberts scored the only goal of the game to help Burnley produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the FA Cup. After Ciarán Hayes was sent off in first-half stoppage time, Vincent Kompany’s side had to play with an extra man for more than 45 minutes, but they were in danger of being taken to extra time by a Fleetwood side that showed why they had come into this match on the back of four straight clean sheets. When the goal came, it was cruel on visiting goalkeeper Jay Lynch, who made rapid stops from Halil Dervisoglu and Charlie Taylor only to be beaten from close range as Roberts’ touch redirected Vitinho’s shot through a packed area into the net.
Eight minutes in, an under-pressure Aristote Nsiala went to throw the ball back but failed to check where Lynch was, forcing the goalkeeper to scramble to hook it off the line. Burnley came so close to scoring before the interval, but Scott Brown’s players made them fight for it. When Lyle Foster robbed Harrison Holgate of the ball on the halfway line and sprinted free toward the goal, he should have done better. But the South African, still hunting for his first goal for Burnley, got his finish awry as he chipped into the thankful hands of Lynch.
Burnley’s pressure was increasing as a number of attempts were charged down before the energetic Vitinho blazed over, while Taylor had a shot from distance but blasted it high and wide before challenging Lynch with a better effort that the goalkeeper needed two chances to gather. The ball was subsequently passed to Anass Zaroury, who immediately took possession and fired a shot, forcing Lynch into a save to his right at the expense of a corner. Seconds later, Lynch got a hand to Taylor’s header, deflecting it just enough for Holgate to hook it off the line. Lynch then saved attempts from Dervisoglu and Taylor, but when the ball returned to the box, Roberts scored with a flick.
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