Toby Wilding

Sat 1 March 2025 14:21, UK

Burnley saw their FA Cup campaign come to an end as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Preston North End in the fifth round at Deepdale.

This was the third meeting between the two sides this season on 1 March, after the pair had played out two goalless draws in the Championship.

The second of those had been overshadowed by allegations of racism by Preston striker Milutin Osmajic towards Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri.

After a tight opening to the game, it was the hosts who broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark when Robbie Brady curled in an excellent free-kick against his former club.

Preston then doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when Osmajic fired into the bottom corner after a through ball from Brad Potts.

The tie then looked to be all but over with 17 minutes of normal time remaining, when Will Keane turned in a pull-back from Andrew Hughes to make it 3-0 following a brilliant team move.

Here is how Football Insider rated the performances of the Burnley squad in that FA Cup clash with Preston.

That was enough to secure a place in the quarter finals for the hosts, while leaving the Clarets to focus on their pursuit of promotion from the Championship back to the Premier League.

Vaclav Hladky 5

Not a lot the stand-in goalkeeper could have done about any of the goals and didn’t have many other saves to make.

Burnley defensive standards drop as changes made

Oliver Sonne 5

Sonne joined Burnley earlier this season and has so far primarily been used in the FA Cup. Unlikely to force his way into the picture in the Championship after a quiet showing here.

Joe Worrall 4

A rare start for the centre-back who looked shaky, gave away a number of fouls and was perhaps fortunate to get away from some loose touches.

Maxime Esteve 5

Was steadier than his central defensive partner but will not be happy to have been on the end of this scoreline after his side’s recent form.

Lucas Pires 5

A far from eye-catching performance from the Burnley left-back, whose most notable contribution was conceding the free-kick from which Preston opened the scoring.

Jonjo Shelvey (off for Laurent, ’58) 5

A rare outing and just his second start since joining in January, Shelvey failed to exert much control in the centre of the park.

Josh Brownhill 5

Brownhill has been touted for a move to Celtic with his Burnley contract expiring, but this was an underwhelming performance that will not have enhanced his reputation.

Paul Heckingbottom and PNE sweep Scott Parker’s Burnley aside

Manuel Benson (off for Barnes, ’58) 5

Saw a couple of openings in the first half but failed to make anything of them in a way that might have troubled Freddie Woodman in the Preston goal.

Jeremy Sarmiento (off for Banel, ’68) 7 – Man of the Match

Became more lively as the game went on to help create some openings for his teammates that weren’t taken. Best of a bad bunch on the day.

Luca Koleosho (off for Flemming, ’58) 6

Was well involved while he was on the pitch, but squandered some good chances to get his side on the scoresheet.

Lyle Foster (off for Edwards, ’68) 6

Tried hard to offer an outlet to his credit while leading the line, but very little seemed to fall the way of the South African.

Substitutes unable to make the difference

Josh Laurent (on for Shelvey, ’58) 5

Didn’t really do much to offer any more control in the centre of the park for Burnley after being introduced.

Ashley Barnes (on for Benson, ’58) 6

Tried to offer an outlet up front for hs side but couldn’t get all that involved.

Zian Flemming (on for Koleosho, ’58) 6

Produced one good save from Woodman before Keane’s third ended any hopes of a comeback.

Jaydon Banel (on for Sarmiento, ’68) 5

The winter transfer window deadline day signing was quiet after coming off the bench for his debut.

Marcus Edwards (on for Foster, ’68) 5

Has been bright for Burnley since joining, but couldn’t do anything to chance things here.