Burnley vs Leicester match report: Matt Taylor misses vital penalty to put Clarets up before Jamie Vardy scores winner a minute later

Burnley 0 Leicester City 1

(Getty Images)

They were two men; one staring down at the pitch, the other up at the sky. They were separated by the length of the pitch and by 60 seconds. Matt Taylor had missed a penalty and, a minute later, Michael Duff had deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper, although it was Leicester’s No9, Jamie Vardy, who bundled it over the line. All of football’s essential cruelty was laid bare.

Even when the fixtures were released in June, beating Leicester City at home would have seemed essential if Burnley were to survive. In the cold light of late April, it seems hard to imagine how they will stay in the Premier League. Leicester, who had spent 140 days at the foot of the table, are now out of the relegation zone for the first time since November.

In the context of a nine-month season, it was a critical minute.

Thankfully, Taylor is something of a veteran. He had taken penalties before and two, at the fag-end of the 2005-06 season, had kept Portsmouth in the Premier League. As his manager, Sean Dyche, remarked: “He’s been around the block, Matty doesn’t need anyone to rally round him”.

Matt Taylor saw his penalty hit the post and go wide (Getty Images)

When Taylor was brought down by an ill-timed tackle from Paul Konchesky, after Danny Ings’s shot had been parried by Kasper Schmeichel, he asked Ings if he could take the penalty. Taylor felt himself slip just as he took the kick but a few inches to the left and it would have been perfect. Schmeichel went the wrong way. But it clattered against the foot of the post and, a moment later, Leicester were on their way to a fourth straight victory.

The cross from Marc Albrighton that produced their winner was nothing special but Duff launched himself to intercept it and, although Tom Heaton managed to claw the ball back before it went over the line, Vardy had the goal at his mercy.

Less than a minute later Jamie Vardy put Leicester into the lead (Getty Images)

The half-time prize draw was made by two members of the Burnley side who had beaten Leyton Orient on the day in 1987 that the club had preserved it league status. It was a reminder that Burnley have endured harsher times than this.

But it will not seem like it this morning. They have one more game left at Turf Moor, where they have managed one goal since early February. It already seems too late.

For Leicester, there is Chelsea on Wednesday night and then they face the team formerly known as Newcastle United, which has taken to handing out three points to any club that cares to turn up. Leicester may now be safe before the final day.

Vardy celebrates after his third goal in his last five (Getty Images)

Their manager, Nigel Pearson, had been relegated on the last day of the season as a player with Middlesbrough and survived on the final day as manager of Carlisle and assistant at West Bromwich Albion. He would have backed his nerves to stand up to whatever the season threw at him.

Pearson was, however, prepared to concede that Leicester were second best at Turf Moor. Schmeichel made three exceptional saves. One in the second half showed fabulous agility as Ben Mee’s shot struck Robert Huth and changed direction entirely. His father, even in his pomp at Manchester United, could not have done better.

Sean Dyche's Burnley are now five points from safety (Getty Images)

The second was a save from Taylor at point-blank range as he hooked the ball hard towards goal. The last time Taylor had started a game had been against Manchester United in August. Burnley had not managed a goal then either but they had held Louis van Gaal’s side to a draw. Then the season was young and optimistic. Now it older, nastier and immeasurably crueller.

Nigel Pearson after the win at Burnley (Getty Images)

Line-ups:

Burnley: (4-4-2) Heaton; Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee; Boyd (Wallace 71), Arfield, Jones, Taylor (Kightly 86); Jutkiewicz (Sordell 71), Ings.

Leicester City: (3-5-2) Schmeichel; Wasilewski, Huth, Morgan; Albrighton (De Laet 72), King, Drinkwater (James 77), Cambiasso, Konchesky; Vardy, Ulloa (Kramaric 65).

Referee: Anthony Taylor.

Match rating: 7/10

Man of the match: Schmeichel (Leicester)