Burnley 1

Wolves 0

MATEJ VYDRA’S STRIKE took battling Burnley out of the Premier League relegation zone as caretaker boss Mike Jackson celebrated a crucial victory against European hopefuls Wolves.

Having drawn at West Ham and then beaten Southampton on Thursday, Sean Dyche’s temporary successor oversaw another huge result in the Clarets’ bid to beat the drop.

Burnley may not have been at their best for chunks of Sunday’s encounter but Vydra’s second-half strike proved enough to secure a key 1-0 win against Wolves at a rocking Turf Moor.

The victory takes the Lancashire outfit out of the bottom three, albeit potentially only for a few hours should Everton secure a shock win at title-chasing rivals Liverpool.

It was another impressive result for under-23s boss Jackson, whose side struggled to get going in a first half edged by Bruno Lage’s visitors.

But Burnley kept compact defensively and took their chance in the 62nd minute when lively Dwight McNeil played through Wout Weghorst, whose cross was turned in by Vydra.

The Clarets dug deep to secure a third straight home league win that heaps the pressure on embattled Everton.

Wolves made four changes for their first match in 16 days and started brightly in Lancashire, where Raul Jimenez should have done better with an early shot after Connor Roberts was dispossessed.

McNeil blazed over after a mazy run and Vydra – in for the injured Maxwel Cornet – saw a 20-yard strike comfortably saved when Burnley looked for the opener.

But Lage’s men were finding space and unsettling the nervous hosts, who would have been punished in the 20th minute had Nick Pope not pushed behind a curling right-footed effort by impressive wing-back Jonny.

Wolves continued to create openings but lacked a cutting edge, with Fabio Silva proving a nuisance but moments for them to break the deadlock were wasted.

As for the hosts, Jay Rodriguez teed himself up and volleyed wide before McNeil again cut inside to hit a driven effort from the edge of the box that Jose Sa made a meal of tipping over.

The Turf Moor crowd were celebrating three minutes into the second half as the ball rippled the back of the net.

Vydra was put behind by a quickly-taken free-kick and Sa’s save hit Conor Coady and ricocheted off the Wolves captain into his own goal, only for the offside flag to rightly rule it out.

That chance was swiftly followed by a great save by Pope, who reacted brilliantly to stop Nelson Semedo rifling home from an acute angle.

Play became edgy as the sides looked to unlock one another without throwing everything at it, with Burnley managing to do just that in the 62nd minute.

McNeil’s smart reverse pass put Weghorst behind the napping Wolves backline and the January acquisition crossed for Vydra to slot past Sa and send Turf Moor wild.

Burnley looked invigorated by the goal and were up for the fight, with Hwang Hee-Chan halted by a fine tackle by Roberts and Nathan Collins receiving a standing ovation having thwarted Jimenez.

Substitute Aaron Lennon was proving a handful and Weghorst attempted to add his name to the scoresheet as Wolves toiled.

Substitute Ashley Barnes saw a goal ruled out after kicking the ball out of Sa’s grasp and Pope denied a stoppage-time volley by Hwang as the hosts ran down the clock.

Brighton 2

Southampton 2

James Ward-Prowse scores Southampton's first goal. PA PA

James Ward-Prowse produced a pair of stunning strikes as Southampton battled back from two goals down to claim a thrilling 2-2 Premier League draw at mid-table rivals Brighton.

Saints skipper Ward-Prowse expertly curled home the 14th top-flight free-kick goal of his career just before the break before lashing his team level early in the second period.

Danny Welbeck’s early close-range finish and an own goal from Mohammed Salisu looked to have set Albion on course for an overdue first home win since Boxing Day – but they could not hold on.

Substitute Pascal Gross thought he had restored the Seagulls’ lead late on before his low strike from range was disallowed for him being marginally offside in the build up.

A memorable comeback for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s visitors was slightly overshadowed by Tino Livramento – who hit the woodwork at 1-0 – being carried off on a stretcher in the 37th minute after twisting awkwardly.

Both sides retain hopes of top-half finishes and, while this result does little to significantly boost either in that regard, Saints will undoubtedly be the happier.

They sit a point and two positions below their 11th-placed hosts following the crucial contribution of influential England midfielder Ward-Prowse.

Brighton had drawn three and lost four at the Amex Stadium since beating Brentford in late December, failing to score in their last five outings in front of their own fans.

Defender Adam Webster made his first start in more than two months and forwards Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay were recalled in a bid to snap that poor run, while Saints’ six changes included a rare outing for Shane Long.

Albion made a blistering start and swiftly ended a home goal drought dating back to the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 18, inside 76 seconds.

Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster failed to gather Marc Cucurella’s low cross from the left as Enock Mwepu challenged for the ball, leaving Welbeck with the simple task of stabbing into the empty net.

Southampton’s woeful start was a continuation of Thursday’s dismal 2-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Burnley.

But they were almost level with 13 minutes on the clock.

Livramento’s deflected strike from just outside the 18-yard box rebounded off the left post and then struck Seagulls goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, with Che Adams narrowly unable to turn home the loose ball.

The open, end-to-end action continued and Maupay had a header disallowed for offside in the 18th minute.

Saints then lost defender Livramento to a nasty-looking injury.

The England Under-21 international went down in clear discomfort as he attempted to challenge Mwepu and was treated on the pitch for around four minutes before being carried off to be replaced by Romain Perraud.

Forster superbly denied Welbeck his second from close range before the Seagulls doubled their advantage in the 44th minute thanks to a gift from Salisu.

Trossard attempted to thread a pass through to Welbeck and Saints’ Ghanaian defender clumsily diverted the ball into his own goal via the left post.

Daylight did not last long for the hosts as Ward-Prowse halved the deficit in the fourth of five minutes added on following Livramento’s premature departure.

The Saints skipper whipped a trademark set-piece through the Brighton wall and beyond the dive of Sanchez, with the ball going in off the left upright.

That timely goal changed the complexion of the contest going into the interval and the visitors were level nine minutes after the restart.

Ward-Prowse again did the damage, emphatically drilling the ball into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the D to claim his ninth league goal this term after being teed up by Oriol Romeu.

Southampton had the better of the second period but could not find a third.

They also survived a scare when Brighton midfielder Gross was denied a winner by an offside flag 11 minutes from time.