Josh Brownhill’s first-half brace saw Burnley beat Sheffield United 2-1 at Turf Moor to secure the Clarets’ and Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League.
Brownhill fired Burnley to promotion with a calmly-dispatched 45th-minute penalty after Anel Ahmedhodzic fouled Hannibal Mejbri.
Brownhill initially fired Burnley ahead through a 27th-minute rebound strike but Tom Cannon pulled Sheffield Utd level with a 37th-minute effort from Gustavo Hamer’s pass.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Brownhill admitted that he was “speechless” to have secured promotion as he hit out at critics over Burnley’s style of play.
“We’ve been written off so many times, people calling us boring. We’ve bored our way to the Premier League.
“It takes a whole team; it’s not just a back four, a goal keeper, it takes everybody.”
Leeds and Burnley’s automatic promotions to next season’s Premier League consequently were confirmed as the pair now pulled an eight-point gap on Chris Wilder’s Blades with two matches left of the regular season.
Leeds however remain top from Burnley on goal difference as both teams sit on 94 points apiece.
After Leeds thrashed Stoke 6-0 at Elland Road in the mid-afternoon kick-offs, Burnley knew that victory would wrap up the automatic promotion race.
Scott Parker’s Clarets however were handed a massive scare just 30 seconds into the game as a quick attack from Sheffield Utd fell for Kieffer Moore, but the Wales international saw his shot from Cannon’s cutback pass saved by James Trafford.
Harrison Burrows was the next to go closest for the Blades as he fired wide on the rebound from an eighth-minute corner clearance, before Moore then fired wide two minutes later.
Burnley soon afterwards grew into the game and calmly found the breakthrough goal from a 27th-minute cross by Edwards, which Moore cleared to Josh Cullen whose shot was blocked by Michael Cooper but Brownhill was alert to lash in to put the hosts in front.
Sheffield Utd however were only kept out for ten minutes as neat play up the left saw Hamer free to tee up Cannon to smash in from close-range, which put Burnley and Leeds’ planned promotion celebrations back on ice.
Burnley almost had a chance to retake the lead before half-time after Zian Flemming was fouled by Ahmedhodzic in the 40th minute, but referee – David Webb snubbed the Clarets’ penalty appeals.
He however was left with no option other than to award a penalty to Burnley two minutes later after Ahmedhodzic clattered into Hannibal following a scrappy clearance.
Brownhill stepped up after a spat over a scruffed-up penalty spot and put the Clarets back in front at half-time with a calmly-taken strike into the bottom-right corner, as Cooper dived incorrectly to his right side.
Sheffield Utd consequently needed an equaliser to keep their promotion hopes alive but almost conceded seven minutes into the second-half as Hannibal fired wide on a Burnley counter-attack.
Wilder’s Blades launched their own counter-attack barely a minute later but Ben Brereton Diaz fired his shot over the top-right corner.
Both teams proceeded to exchange chances with little clear-cut chances as Burnley mounted a resilient defensive effort to protect their lead until full-time, which sparked wild celebratory scenes as their and Leeds’ promotions to the top-flight were officially confirmed.
What’s Next?
Burnley head to QPR in their penultimate game of the campaign on Saturday 26 April at 12:30pm BST, before hosting Millwall at Turf Moor on the final day on 3 May (12:30pm).
Sheffield Utd begin their play-off preparations with a trip to Stoke on Friday 25 April at 8pm, which is followed by a final-day clash at home to Blackburn.
Teams
Burnley: James Trafford, Connor Roberts, CJ Egan-Riley, Maxime Esteve, Lucas Pires, Josh Brownhill (Worrall 88′), Josh Cullen, Marcus Edwards (Laurent 62′), Hannibal Mejbri (Sarmiento 79′), Jaidon Anthony, Zian Flemming (Barnes 88′)
Substitutes: Jaydon Banel, Ashley Barnes, Vaclav Hladky, Josh Laurent, Luca Koleosho, Nathan Redmond, Jeremy Sarmiento, Oliver Sonne, Joe Worrall
Sheffield United: Michael Cooper, Hamza Choudhury, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Jack Robinson, Harrison Burrows (McCallum 75′), Ben Brereton Diaz (Rak-Sakyi 60′), Sydie Peck (Brewster 81′), Vinicius Souza (Seriki 74′), Gustavo Hamer, Tom Cannon (Campbell 60′), Kieffer Moore
Substitutes: Rhian Brewster, Tyrese Campbell, Adam Davies, Alfie Gilchrist, Rob Holding, Sam McCallum, Callum O’Hare, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Femi Seriki
Referee – David Webb
