Roberts scores but Middlesbrough deny top spot in Burnley Championship | championship

A fine strike from Connor Roberts wasn’t enough to take Burnley to the top of the Championship as they drew with Middlesbrough.

The Welshman saved a 25-yard shot in the 37th minute but Burnley needed him to cancel out Anfernee Dijksteel’s 13th-minute opener on an evening when Turf Moor was battered by wind and rain.

Ultimately, the two teams led by former England team-mates Scott Parker and Michael Carrick could not be separated as Burnley were a point behind Sheffield United, who travel to West Brom on Sunday, while Boro remained in fifth place.

Burnley came into the game with five clean sheets, but considering Boro’s tally of 13 goals in their last three away games, it was perhaps no surprise that the run didn’t last. What was surprising was how easy it seemed to break through Burnley’s defense for the first time in 501 minutes.

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Selles leaves Reading for a job in Hull

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Ruben Selles (pictured) has left Reading to take over as Hull head coach on a two-and-a-half year contract. The Championship club sacked Tim Walter on November 27 and quickly set their sights on former Southampton manager Selles.

The 41-year-old Spaniard has caused a stir over the last 18 months with his work at financially struggling Reading FC. It managed a successful battle for survival in League One last season, followed by an impressive climb up the table this season.

Hull chief executive Acun Ilicali said: “We are delighted to have secured the services of our No.1 target. Ruben’s ambitions match ours. His passion and enthusiasm came through in our meetings and we have similar ideas about how football should be played.”

Valencia-born Selles said: “I know the team, the club, the history and I’m looking forward to starting my journey with the team. I saw a lot of similarities with where we stand as a technical workforce and what we want to do for the present and the future, and that’s why I decided to come.”

Reading moved quickly to find a replacement for Selles, with Royals under-21 manager Noel Hunt appointed as his successor on a contract until 2027. Hunt will lead the trip to Wycombe on Saturday.

Photo: Ben Whitley/PA Archives

Dijksteel burst down the right to start the move and was there to finish it when Bashir Humphreys ignored him as he accepted Dan Barlaser’s pass, entered the penalty area and passed the ball over James Trafford his first championship goal.

Burnley responded well and it took a good reaction from Boro goalkeeper Seny Dieng to fire Josh Cullen’s shot over the bar after a nasty deflection from Dael Fry.

With swirling winds, the forerunner of Storm Darragh, blowing spare balls onto the pitch, Burnley kept the pressure on as Jeremy Sarmiento attempted to fire a shot which Dieng palmed into the side netting.

The home team deservedly equalized eight minutes before half-time, perhaps thanks to the good conditions.

Roberts played three one-twos, the last with Josh Brownhill, before firing a shot from 25 yards that wrong-footed Dieng as it flew over him and into the net, Roberts’ first Burnley goal since April 2023 after scoring had scored his second goal in the second half of last season with Leeds.

The start of the second half was all about Boro. George Edmundson headed just wide from Barlaser’s free-kick before Delano Burgzorg shot straight at Trafford from the center of the box.

The introductions of substitutes Zian Flemming and Hannibal Mejbri gave Burnley new impetus, but Hannibal wasted a good chance in the 68th minute by insisting on playing alone when Jaidon Anthony was in space shouting for the ball to his right.

Boro substitute Emmanuel Latte Lath then broke the offside trap and raced on to Finn Azaz’s pass, and Trafford had to be precise to knock the ball away from the Ivorian on the edge of the penalty area.

Then it was Anthony’s turn to direct a shot from the edge of the penalty area past the goal before the otherwise excellent Roberts loosened his lines after a corner from five meters out and the ball ended up completely on the right.