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Scott Parker has spent much of the season bemoaning the “fine margins” of the Premier League and after witnessing Burnley lose to Brighton and having two of their own disallowed for paper-thin offsides, he might be looking forward to the prospect of the Championship.

The assistants called the offsides after Jaidon Anthony and Bashir Humphreys netted but lengthy video assistant referee delays offered hope and the technology had to work hard to spot the illegalities. Ultimately, it was Mats Wieffer’s two strikes that settled the match, tripling his tally for the club, to boost Brighton’s European hopes and leave Burnley 12 points from safety with six to play.

Without a home win in six months, it was understandable that there were plenty of gaps in the stands at Turf Moor. The downpours and increased cost of travel meant it was sensible to stay away but they missed a positive start from Burnley, with Anthony finding the back of the net on the turn, only to be the first victim of a fluorescent flag blowing in the wind. The winger almost legitimately scored soon after from a well-worked corner but his clever flick at the front post was blocked.

Brighton were the more comfortable of the two teams, left unperturbed after surviving two dangerous situations and without the suspended Fabian Hürzeler on the touchline. Their early forward offering came from attacks down the left as they aimed to take advantage of Humphreys being moved to right back but Danny Welbeck and Yakuba Minteh fluffed finishes when in the perfect position to score, while pinball in the box ended with a Burnley goal-kick.

Inevitably, Brighton’s opener came down the left. They were the sharper of the two sides and it was not difficult to cut open the team with the worst defensive record in the league. Pascal Gross ran into space on the wing and had time to pick out the unmarked Wieffer in the middle, who swept into the corner for his first of the season. The away end was euphoric, while the Clarets supporters immediately sought refuge on the concourses.

The game became scrappy, broken up by a number of fouls as the referee, Thomas Bramhall, struggled to cope. At the very least, whenever the officials did make a decision it did end the apathy in the stands, allowing the Burnley brethren to turn their ire on those in black.

An early promise from Burnley had completely dissipated by the break and they were lucky not to be two down at the break. Another cross from the left caused problems in the box but neither Welbeck nor Jack Hinshelwood could prod home from close range. When the half-time whistle did come, it was greeted with plenty of boos, aimed at Parker.

Humphreys thought he had put his defensive difficulties to one side when he thrashed the ball into the roof of the net after Bart Verbruggen had palmed a James Ward-Prowse free-kick straight to him. Assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis spotted the right-back’s knee cap was offside and VAR backed him up, much to the frustration of the majority. When Burnley are in the Championship next season, they will not miss the use of technology.

The opening quarter hour of the second half was dominated by Burnley but they rarely gave the impression of scoring legally. Zian Flemming forced Verbruggen into two smart saves but the goalkeeper was left relatively untroubled as Burnley fired a blank for the 12th time this season, offering a strong indication to why they are going down.

Brighton were not clinical when they had chances to kill off the match and had to rely on their full-back to their back again. Wieffer was again in the right position to finish, popping up on the edge of the box in the 89th minute and finding the corner to end the contest and instigating a mass exodus as only a quarter of attenders stayed for the final whistle.