Burnley 1 Wolverhampton W 2: Laws attempts to rally his troops after tough defeat

Blunders and bad luck cost Brian Laws' Burnley the chance to clamber out of the Premier League relegation zone and now the Clarets manager knows his side must improve their dismal away form to survive.

A short Tyrone Mears back-header and a wicked deflection off Clarke Carlisle contrived to serve up a 2-1 win for Wolves at Turf Moor which lifted Mick McCarthy's visitors clear of the bottom three.

Having picked up a solitary point from successive home games against Wolves, Stoke and Portsmouth, Laws now knows his side must get points on their travels despite picking up just one from 15 games so far.

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Laws takes his side to Wigan next week and admitted: "We've got to battle away and improve our away performances.

"There are some disappointed players but it's our job to pick them up and get them ready.

"We'll keep fighting away until it's mathematically impossible. There is now a bit of a gap but it only takes one win to get back in it. Nobody at this club will be disillusioned. We will keep fighting away.

"There's still a lot of points to be played for and whilst that is a body-blow for us we can't let it affect us and destroy our last eight games."

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Laws refused to single out Mears for blame over the first goal and while McCarthy was left to thank his luck, the Clarets boss came to the conclusion it was "one of those days".

Laws added: "It was a poor mistake which gave them the first goal but nobody goes out there and deliberately makes a mistake - sometimes a judgement call can cost you.

"I can't for one minute criticise the players. We've got to have a spirit against adversity and against the issues we put against ourselves. We have got to be positive."

Burnley had started well with early efforts from Chris Eagles and Graham Alexander but the first real chance fell to David Jones whose header was well caught by Jensen.

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Brian Jensen was booked in the 12th minute for racing out of his box and upending Kevin Doyle who was chasing a through ball, with referee Steve Bennett deeming it was not a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Eagles continued to prove a handful on the left for the Clarets and he raced past Ronald Zubar in the 17th minute before firing a cross which was cleared under pressure by Karl Henry.

But Wolves snatched the lead in farcical fashion in the 26th minute when Mears' dismal back-header allowed Matt Jarvis to nip in and round Jensen before dribbling the ball into the empty net.

Burnley came close in the 44th minute when Mears knocked the ball down in the box for David Nugent, who swung a shot from eight yards which bounced down then up against the bar.

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But the home side's hopes of piling on the pressure were dashed within two minutes of the restart when Adiene Guedioura's poor shot from the right deflected into the net off Carlisle.

Home frustrations mounted when referee Steve Bennett denied strong handball appeals against Christophe Berra, then when the popular Eagles was replaced by Steven Thompson.

It almost got worse for the home side as Wolves came close to scoring a third in the 59th minute, Doyle trickling a shot across goal from a tight angle.

Wolves were intent on sitting on their lead with McCarthy introducing Michael Mancienne to sit in front of the back four but their tactics threatened to cost them.

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Substitute Robbie Blake breathed new life into the home side and he came close in the 65th minute when he found space on the left but struck the post from a tight angle.

Burnley's lifeline arrived in the 73rd minute when Graham Alexander ended a spell of pressure by lofting the ball into the Wolves box for substitute Thompson to head home.

Blake fired low into Hahnemann's arms as Wolves suffered a severe attack of nerves which got worse when the same player hit his last desperate shot in injury time.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy believes his side's run of bad luck could have changed after a victory which gives his side a "fighting chance" of top-flight survival. McCarthy has bemoaned his side's ill fortune for a number of weeks but saw them claim the points at Turf Moor.

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The win moves Wolves clear of the bottom three and McCarthy said: "It's tightened it up again with West Ham and Wigan losing and it gives us more of a fighting chance, a bit of confidence.

"We've been playing well and I said if we keep playing that way our luck will change. I knew we would get a slice of good fortune by playing that way."

McCarthy praised the form of Jarvis.

"He has had an outstanding season and I like to think he is learning in a really difficult environment," he said. "He had a tough first season with us but he's getting better all the time.

"The whole team showed some very good character and determination. We got ourselves a bit of a cushion then we had to defend stoutly and manfully, and we did that."