Burnley 0 - 0 Ipswich: Honours even as Burnley and Ipswich draw a blank at Turf Moor

Posted Sunday, January 03, 2016 by PA

A well-organised and impressive defensive performance from Ipswich helped them earn a deserved goalless draw at Burnley.

Both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances, but with Tommy Smith and Christophe Berra in front of him, Ipswich keeper Dean Gerken was rarely called into action.

Mick McCarthy made just one change from the 1-0 win at Brighton, with Luke Hyam coming into midfield for Jonathan Douglas.

And for the opening few minutes they looked to take the initiative against the hosts. An early injury to Berra broke their momentum, the Scotland international taking the best part of five minutes to recover from a collision with Sam Vokes.

For the opening 20 minutes it looked like both sides were struggling from a little over-indulgence during the festive period, but slowly and surely, Burnley came more and more into the match.

Sean Dyche made the decision to play the exact same 11 that beat Bristol City 4-0 just five days previously, and perhaps that was to blame for the sluggish start.

It was Ryan Fraser that nearly had the away fans cheering when his stunning left-footed effort from 25 yards whistled past Tom Heaton's left-hand post.

But apart from a couple of speculative long-range efforts from Freddie Sears, the Burnley keeper was rarely tested.

The best chance of the opening half fell to Burnley's top scorer, Andre Gray. Midway through the half, Michael Kightly did very well down the left, his low cross picked out Gray on the penalty spot, but the forward - who scored three last time out - skewed his shot past the far post.

The Burnley fans let referee Peter Bankes know their opinion of his performance at the break, booing as the official left the field. Their upset fuelled by his decision to chalk off Ben Mee's 39th-minute header, ruling that the centre-back had fouled his marker in the build-up.

Chances were few and far between in the second half, with the game following the same pattern as the first.

With space limited in the middle of the park, both teams regularly resorted to playing the long ball, hoping to pick out their tall forwards with a well-placed diagonal pass.

Vokes fared the better of the two, but he could not quite find that vital link up with Gray in the final third. Both Dyche's strikers will be disappointed by their overall performance, a lack of poise near the Ipswich goal stopped the home side pressing home their control of the game.

Ipswich will be happier with the away point in their hunt for a place in the play-offs, Burnley will be disappointed not to extend their lead ahead of their Suffolk rivals.