Raul Jimenez earns lively Wolves deserved win as Burnley’s wait goes on
Wolves 1-0 Burnley: Long spells of pressure eventually brought the hosts' reward when the Portuguese striker beat Joe Hart with a low finish off the post
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Your support makes all the difference.The best efforts of Joe Hart could not prevent back-to-back Wolves victories or a continuation of Burnley’s winless start to the Premier League season.
The England goalkeeper was in top form and his string of fine saves looked destined to give the Clarets a backs-to-the-wall point and hand Gareth Southgate a reminder of the gloveman’s talents.
Yet while Southgate could not fail to take note, Hart could not quite keep Wolves at bay with Raul Jimenez finally securing Nuno Espirito Santo’s men the victory they richly deserved.
The Mexican’s second goal for the club ensured there was no post-match scratching of heads for Nuno and his staff, who saw they side dominate and carve out a string of fine chances, only for poor finishing, stout defending and the brilliance of Hart to ensure victory was narrower than it might have been.
It meant Sean Dyche’s Burnley have just one point to show for their five games to date while Wolves backed up victory at West Ham with another success.
In the fourth minute Diogo Jota found space on the edge of the Burnley penalty area but his scuffed shot was simple for Joe Hart to deal with.
There was panic for the visitors moments later when a cross by Helder Costa was missed by everyone in a crowded penalty area and a sprawling Hart did well to palm it away.
For their part, Burnley were restricted to poor, long-range efforts from Ashley Barnes and Phil Bardsley in an opening 22 minutes that was tepid at best.
But just before the half-hour Wolves had four chances in less than a minute to break the deadlock.
First a cross from Jota found Jimenez, who was denied first by Hart and then by a vital block from James Tarkowski.
Wolves kept the move alive with Tarkowski blocking again, this time from Jonny Castro Otto, before the rebound fell to Matt Doherty, whose effort at the far post was blocked by Hart.
Them, in the final moments of the first half, Wolves increased their pressure with Otto’s shot deflected wide, Ruben Neves’s scrambled off the line and Willy Boly’s dipping just over.
Within a minute of the second half beginning, Wolves should have been ahead when Jota seized on a poor touch from Bardsley and advanced towards goal.
He drew Hart from his goal and squared for Jimenez but the Mexican fired over the crossbar.
Jota claimed a penalty when he weaved into the Burnley area and had his progress checked by a combination of Tarkowski and Aaron Lennon but referee Andre Marriner was unmoved.
Then Hart made a low, scrambling save from a shot by Neves before Jota sent a shot on the turn narrowly side after a neat Wolves counter-attack.
But the stalemate finally ended on 61 minutes when Wolves mounted a devastating, one-touch counter-attack to claim the lead.
Clever first-time passes by Neves and Helder Costa freed Matt Doherty, whose first-time cross was turned in off the back post by Jimenez.
The visitors could have been level within minutes when a free-kick from Johann Berg-Gudmundsson was fired back across goal by substitute Matej Vydra, with his shot skimming the knee of Jack Cork at the far post on its way for a goal-kick.
Wolves ought to have doubled their lead 15 minutes from the final whistle when Jimenez drifted out wide and crossed for Doherty who, on finding himself in unfamiliar territory in a central position inside the Burnley box, poked a shot wide.
With nine minutes remaining the game should have been sealed when Wolves substitute Leo Bonatini had the chance to turn and shoot but his effort was headed off the line by Ben Mee, and in stoppage time Bonatini scooped an even better chance wide from a cross by Adama Traore.
Wolves (3-4-3): Patricio; Bennett, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Castro Otto; Costa (Traore 65), Jimenez (Bonatini 76), Jota (Gibbs-White 88). Subs: Ruddy, Saiss, Vinagre, Hause. Booked: Jota, Neves.
Burnley (4-4-2): Hart; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Lennon, Hendrick (Westwood 79), Cork, Gudmundsson; Barnes (Vydra 57), Vokes (Wood 70). Subs: Heaton, Lowton, Ward, Long. Booked: Bardsley, Cork Gudmundsson, Taylor.
Referee: Andre Marriner.
Attendance: 30,406.
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