Wolves’ retched record at Turf Moor continued as Matej Vydra struck the only goal to condemn Bruno Lage’s side to successive defeats in the Premier League. The Czech striker turned home just after the hour-mark and Wolves failed to recover, with Nick Pope going the rest of the game relatively untested.
The old gold arguably shaded the first-half and both Raul Jimenez and Jonny called Pope into action, while Jose Sa also had to be at his best to deny Dwight McNeil, but there was nothing he could do about Vydra’s strike, which confirmed another single-goal reverse for Wolves.
Despite the goalless nature of the opening period, it was an intriguing encounter, with the stakes high for both clubs. Burnley, in amidst a relegation battle, were asked questions of Wolves in their quest for a top seven spot, but neither could find the decisive breakthrough.
The return of Jimenez was a welcome one for Wolves, and he could have been celebrating just eight minutes in when Hee Chan Hwang forced an error out of Nathan Collins and the Mexican went first time with his left-footed effort, which was collected by Pope, but on the replays, he’ll learn the time and space he had to produce a more careful finish.
The best chance of half fell to Jonny however, as both wing-backs linked up, but as Nelson Semedo found the Spaniard, he chopped on to his right and stung the palms of Pope. Joao Moutinho also shot wide after Wolves gained possession in a dangerous area but couldn’t find the desired finish.
For the Clarets, McNeil was their bright spark on the wing. Regularly cutting on his left, he bent an effort just off target and then watched his fierce drive turned over the bar by Jose Sa. The Portuguese also saved Vydra’s low strike during a half where he dominated his box and claimed everything asked of him.
Half-time | Burnley 0-0 Wolves
After the interval, Wolves actually started the better side and came close to taking the lead when Hwang led the charge down the middle and fed Semedo, but his fierce strike towards the near top corner was pushed away by Pope.
However, that was as good as it got for Wolves, unfortunately. It was down the other end where the game was decided as Jack Cork broke down the right and stuck a low cross on a plate for Vydra to turn home beyond Sa, who was left exposed.
From there, Wolves huffed and puffed, but never truly unsettled the Clarets. In fact, substitute Ashley Barnes had the ball in the Wolves net again but took the ball out of the hands of Sa. For Wolves, Hwang did fire a volley straight at Pope on a frustrating afternoon for Wolves, as the winless run at Turf Moor, which dates back to 2010, continued.
Full-time | Burnley 1-0 Wolves
Burnley | Pope, Roberts, Collins, Tarkowski, Taylor, Cork, Brownhill, McNeil (Long 85), Rodriguez (Barnes 64), Vydra (Lennon 71), Weghorst.
Unused subs | Hennessey, Lowton, Stephens, Bardsley, Thomas, Costelloe.
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Saiss (Trincao 79), Jonny, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Hwang, Silva (Neto 67), Jimenez.
Unused subs | Ruddy, Hoever, Ait-Nouri, Marcal, Toti, Cundle, Chiquinho.
