Burnley 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 2
Mats Wieffer bagged a brace to keep Brighton and Hove Albion firmly in the hunt for European football next season and edged sorry Burnley closer to the drop.
Wieffer produced two clinical finishes close to the end of each half to give Fabian Hürzeler’s side a 2-0 win, moving them to within two points of sixth-placed Chelsea and just one behind Brentford in seventh.
Despite being off their best, the visitors still had too much for Scott Parker’s team and the hosts, after losing for the 20th time in the league this term, were booed off at the final whistle.
Burnley demonstrated a steeliness that they have lacked throughout most of the season during a competitive first half – and Jaidon Anthony had a goal ruled out for offside.
The Clarets caused problems whenever they surged forward but were unable to make the most of the opportunities that came their way.
Brighton were guilty once again of over-elaborating or failing to gamble when the effective Yankuba Minteh whipped a series of tantalising centres across Martin Dubravka’s box.
The hosts’ wastefulness was punished two minutes before the interval when Wieffer ended his 16-month goal drought by stroking the ball past Dubravka.
The keeper had already denied Minteh and been let off the hook when Danny Welbeck uncharacteristically fluffed his lines inside the six-yard box.
Minteh, whose industry had created the opening for the former England forward, was predictably involved in the flowing move that ended with Wieffer directing a low first-time shot into the bottom corner.
The 21-year-old Gambia international had sent Pascal Gross scampering down the touchline with a slide-rule pass before the German cut the ball back for his Dutch team-mate.
As groans echoed around the stadium following Burnley’s latest body blow, Lesley Ugochukwu found himself presented with a fine opportunity to level when Brighton’s defence went to sleep.
But the Burnley midfielder sliced his attempt wide of a post, much to the relief of keeper Bart Verbruggen.
To their credit, the hosts’ disappointment had vanished by the time they came out for the second period.
Bashir Humphreys thought he had levelled, only to be adjudged offside after sliding home from close range when Verbruggen parried a James Ward-Prowse free-kick straight into his path.
Soon after Zian Flemming drew a smart save from Verbruggen, who blocked the former Millwall attacker’s attempt with his legs.
Brighton, though, always carried a threat when they charged forward and it required an equally impressive intervention from Dubravka to palm away a curling attempt from Jack Hinshelwood which looked destined for the net.
But Wieffer pounced in superb fashion on the stroke of full-time after combining with Yasin Ayari when Burnley’s defence failed to clear.
Afterwards, Hürzeler said that the Seagulls could qualify for Europe if they stayed humble, having recorded a third straight win for the first time this season.
He said: “What I want to say, regarding our run, is that we are now better at managing the key moments.
“The results will always come if daily we have the right work ethic and the right behaviour. Now we try to go all in and play every game like it is a final.
“I’m not a big fan of talking about Europe but we are known as a well-structured and well-run club. On the other side, we are also ambitious and we want to keep improving.
“Most importantly, we need to earn the right to compete with the top teams and if we show that right then we can always be confident.”
Hürzeler added: “It was not our best game and we were a little lucky with two tight (offside) decisions.
“The Premier League is so competitive and there’s no such thing as an easy game so we had to work hard and show the right effort which we did.”
Next up, Albion travel to north London to play another relegation-threatened side, Tottenham Hotspur, as new head coach Roberto De Zerbi takes charge for his first home match.
The match is due to kick off at 5.30pm next Saturday (18 April).
