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Parker rues keeper error as Burnley edge towards drop zone SCOTT PARKER felt Burnley were architects of their own downfall as they were shoved closer to relegation with a 3-1 defeat at his former club Fulham. “I thought our general performance, up to probably 60 minutes, was very good,” said Parker. who managed Fulham to promotion in 2020 and relegation a year later and now looks odds on to repeat the trick with the Clarets. They are nine points adrift of safety with only seven games to play.

“There’s one thing that we’ve not fallen short on – everything I ask of these boys when they step over the line, that full commitment in what has been a tough, tough year for us.” It was a first Premier League goal for 19-year old striker King, who was desperate to break his duck after having a goal wrongly ruled out by VAR against Chelsea way back in August. Both he and Dubravka missed Sander Berge’s cross towards the far post, but as he spun around King found himself with simple tap-in. “It’s something really special for him,” said Cottagers boss Marco Silva. “He’s been working very hard. He’s a big talent and a top young player. “It was a great second half from him. He scored and I hope – and I know – that will be the first of many.” Six minutes later Wilson – comfortably the game’s best player – cut inside and drilled a low shot with his left foot inside the near post. In stoppage time Laurent brought down Jimenez and was shown a red card before the Mexican tucked away the penalty to keep Fulham in the European hunt. “It was a very important win for us,” added Silva. “It’s a massive three points for many reasons. A must-win for us.” – The Independent

“Probably the defining moment is obviously a slight mistake on our behalf and obviously they score. A rare mistake that is unlike Martin – he’s pulled off some saves today as well and he’s pulled off saves throughout this year. “So, not to be critical of that, but it was a bit of a blow. We didn’t manage to weather that and they scored again quickly.” Defeat was a kick in the stomach for Parker,

The Clarets led through Zian Flemming’s ninth goal of the season, but a mistake from goalkeeper Martin Dubravka allowed Josh King to equalise. Harry Wilson fired Fulham into the lead with his 10th goal of the season and Raul Jimenez added a third from the penalty spot in stoppage time after Josh Laurent was sent off.

“Clearly it’s a tough challenge for us,” he added. “A tough, tough challenge. But here’s still games to play. I just said it in there, we don’t have a choice in what we do. “Sometimes in life when you don’t have choices, they’re the best solution. At times this year we’ve fallen a little bit short, clearly.

Lampard’s Coventry take step closer

Leeds’s Calvert-Lewin (right) in action with Brentford’s Pinnock at Elland Road yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

to Premier status MATT GRIMES scored against his old club as Coventry City took another step towards the Premier League thanks to a 3-0 victory at Swansea City. Grimes’ 20-yard volley was one of the three Coventry goals inside 11 minutes late in the first half as Frank Lampard’s team seized control of what had been an even contest. The Sky Blues held on with comfort to secure a seventh victory in their past eight matches which means they are nine points clear of Middlesbrough at the top of the table – and 11 ahead of third placed Ipswich – with seven games remaining this season. Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Ephron Mason-Clark turned sharply before being caught by Ben Cabango. Swansea then paid the price for winger Eom Jisung’s failure to clear, as Frank Onyeka’s cross ricocheted to Grimes and his crisp effort bounced in off the post. Another Onyeka cross led to the third goal, with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s far-post shot beating Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux with the aid of a deflection off Ethan Galbraith. Some clumsy defending aside, Swansea could consider themselves unfortunate to be 3-0 down at the break. Josh Tymon rattled the bar early on and Melker Widell drilled against the post straight after Grimes’ goal, while Goncalo Franco headed inches wide from point blank range. But there was no sign of a Swansea comeback in the second half, with Ellis Simms and Thomas-Asante going close to extending Coventry’s advantage as Vitor Matos’ team saw their run of 10 home league games without defeat come to an end. “Swansea have been in fine form at home for quite long period of time. I watched a lot of them this week and the more you watch them, the more you don’t want to play them,” Coventry head coach Frank Lampard told BBC Sport . “They’re high pressing, they’re one of the highest in the league, they make it dif ficult to play, they can move and rotate and play well. They had their couple of moments, so did we. It was a typical trad ing game of a team that has played really well at home and us coming away and we’re you know we’re a good team. “But then we took the reins – obvi ously goals affect the game hugely. We’re very clinical in a 12-minute spell and then the second half is just how to see out a game with a counter-attack threat, so I am very happy with the players.” – Agencies

Leeds on survival mode Farke happy to be ‘one point closer’ to Premier League safety

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and fighting for Europe,” Farke added. “You could see that they are rock-solid at the back, a really good defensive firewall.” Brentford boss Keith Andrews described it as a “hard fought” point for his side and was clearly delighted by his players’ resilience. “Hard, hard fought,” Andrews said. “Very proud of what the players produced, really proud of the mentality coming to a very tough place against a really good side that do things really well. “I have a lot of admiration for Daniel and what he’s done in his career full stop, and cer tainly the way he’s got the team going. Yeah, a good point.” Brentford have climbed to within two points of sixth-placed Chelsea, having lost only one of their last eight League games. The Bees did not allow Leeds to build any momentum, subsequently keeping Elland Road relatively subdued throughout the match and Andrews said that had been a key part of his gameplan. He added: “It’s not a secret, when this place gets going it’s so lively, the fans, the way they get behind the team and how that can affect performances is something you need to deal with. “The players attacked it really well with the mentality to deal with it. Defending against some really impressive players. We take immense pride that we dug deep to keep a clean sheet.” – The Independent

D ANIEL FARKE insisted Leeds were “one point closer” to retaining their Premier League status after being held to a frustrating 0-0 home draw by Brentford. Farke’s side missed the chance to climb six points clear of the bottom three, with relega tion rivals Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and West Ham all in action overnight. Neither goalkeeper was seriously test in a forgettable match at Elland Road, which was low on quality and creativity in the final third. “We are one point closer,” said Farke, who predicted “six to eight” points would be enough to stay in the top flight in his pre-match press conference. “Now we have to win five to seven points. This will do. It means we need to win two games, or we need (to win) one game and a few draws, or whatever. “If we draw from now on each every game, I will take it, because with 40 points, you defi nitely stay in this League.” Leeds, whose best chances came from long-range efforts from Lukas Nmecha and captain Ethan Ampadu, failed to score for the fourth successive league game as their winless top-flight run extended to six matches. “I think you could today see why Brentford is not just an established Premier League side, but also a side who is sitting in position seven

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