Burnley 2 Brentford 1: Chelsea loanee Fofana makes amends for ‘miss of century’ with vital winner against ten-man Bees

THE Turf Moor house of horrors lived up to its reputation even if this time it was Thomas Frank and his ten men who were left feeling haunted.

For while opposite number Vincent Kompany celebrated only a second victory at home all season Frank now knows his side are in deep, deep trouble.

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Jacob Bruun Larsen put Burnley in front from the penalty spot[/caption]

The Clarets win, boosted by the VAR dismissal of Sergio Reguilon after nine minutes and the Jacom Bruun Larsen penalty strike that followed, almost certainly won’t stop their descent back into the Championship.

But if the Bees aren’t careful they will be following them down.

They have now taken only one point from their last six games and have won just three in 18, scarily lying three places above safety but going down fast.

In what was a madcap clash of howlers and scorned opportunities Frank wasn’t helped by that early dismissal.

Not that the VAR should have even come into the decision – making of referee Darren Bond.

He completely missed Reguilon’s shove in the back of Vitinho after the Burnley midfielder got goal – side of him.

Play continued before Paul Tierney, back at Stockley Park alerted him to the fact that he had got things badly wrong.

Even so it took almost four minutes for Bond in front of the TV monitor to realise his mistake.

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He pointed to the spot, then sent off Reguilon for he had offended as the last man, and Bruun Larsen tucked away the tenth minute spot kick.

The Dane’s fourth of the season, should have settled Kompany’s side.

But the Turf Moor boss oversees the second worst defence and Dara O’Shea almost gifted the Bees a 25th-minute equaliser.

The centre half rolled the ball back towards where he would have been entitled to believe Arijanet Muric would have been standing – somewhere in his six yard box.

Instead for reasons only known to the Kosovo international he was elsewhere, yards away to the left of his goal.

Only his desperate sprint and a hooked clearance with the ball already half – way over the line prevented yet another Clarets calamity.

Ivan Toney responded and fired low, Muric this time fumbling the strike wide of his left hand upright.

Muric, 25, was making his Prem debut as the replacement for No1 James Trafford.

One of last season’s European Championship England under-21 heroes, the young goalkeeper was no doubt considered shell – shocked by Kompany after bending his back to pick the ball out of his net 62 times during his own horror first campaign in the top flight.

But having produced a roar of approval when Muric’s name was announced, the home fans will have been wondering if he should have been playing at all.

By the second minute of first half stoppage time they were, however, convinced that Kompany’s decision to bench Trafford for the first time since his £15m arrival from Manchester City last year was the right one.

Toney flicked the ball through for Yoanne Wissa but Muric this time stayed ice-cool, brilliantly fisting away from the attacker who was through on his own.

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David Datro Fofana made up for his earlier miss by grabbing a second[/caption]

Burnley should have been two ahead before he proved he was up to the job.

Except that in an increasingly madcap encounter David Datro Fofana somehow missed an open goal.

Eight yards out and completely unmarked as Lorenz Assignon fired over a low cross his attempt was as pathetic as it was embarrassing.

He could have scored again in the fifth minute of first half time added on thanks to the latest of a succession of schoolboy howlers.

Mark Flekken dropped the ball in front of him to kick clear – not realising the Fofana was lurking behind.

The striker on loan from Chelsea darted around the panicked goalkeeper but blew that opportunity too, with Flekken just managing to prod to safety.

Fofana hung his head over that one, just as he had done earlier.

But it wasn’t that long before he was smiling all over his face as he celebrated his fourth goal since moving north after spending the first half of the season on loan at Union Berlin.

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Fofana scored his fourth goal since joining on loan from Chelsea[/caption]

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Vincent Kompany’s side boosted their survival hopes with victory at Turf Moor[/caption]

And finally a moment to savour, not laugh at, in this crazy clash, too.

Vitinho robbed Keane Lewis-Potter on the edge of his own box before starting a move laden, maybe surprisingly, with sophistication.

Five crisp passes later Wilson Odobert slipped the ball into Fofana’s path and this time there was no mistake, the front man leaving Flekken for dead.

Brentford weren’t quite dead and buried, however, Kristoffer Ajer’s diving header sparking a late surge.

Skipper Toney, hoping to celebrate his 28th birthday, even claimed an equaliser seven minutes in yet more time added on.

But referee Bond got this one right for the striker called back into the England squad last week clearly humped into Muric.