Milutin Osmajic taunted Burnley fans after his goal helped Preston into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1966 with a 3-0 win at Deepdale. The home side took control of the tie in the first half thanks to goals from Robbie Brady – a sublime long-range free-kick as Burnley conceded for the first time since their 3-1 FA Cup third-round win at Reading, a run of 12 straight clean sheets comprising 850 minutes – before Osmajics neat finish doubled their lead just before half-time.
When these two sides met at Deepdale in the Championship two weeks ago, the match ended with Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri accusing Osmajic of racially abusing him, allegations which Osmajic denies and remain the subject of an FA investigation.
How the teams lined up | Match stats | FA Cup fixtures & resultsGet Sky Sports on WhatsApp | Download the Sky Sports appBurnley boss Scott Parker left Hannibal out of his matchday squad in order to protect the 22-year-old, one of nine changes to the side that thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 last week, but his opposite number, Paul Heckingbottom, kept Osmajic in.
The issue dominated the build-up to this game, setting the tone for a tetchy encounter as Burnleys players refused to shake the Montenegrins hand before kick-off. And 17 minutes from time, Will Keane sealed the game with a close-range finish after a lovely passing move as Preston got the better of Burnley for the first time in 16 years to take their place in the hat for Sundays last-eight draw, while Parkers side, who came into the match on the back of a 23-game unbeaten run, can now concentrate on their attempts to earn promotion back to the Premier League.
Brady rolls back years as Great Wall of Burnley is finally breached Analysis by Sky Sports Richard Morgan: Burnley arrived at Deepdale on an incredible run of 12 straight Championship clean sheets, having not conceded since their 3-1 FA Cup third-round win at Reading – so it was always going to take something special to breach their defence and that is exactly what Brady did just past the half-hour mark with his first club goal in more than a year.
The hosts were awarded a free-kick some 25 yards out and up stepped the Republic of Ireland international to curl a delightful effort over the wall and into the top corner against his former team as the visitors conceded for the first time in 854 minutes.
And this after both league meetings this season had ended in goalless draws, but that breakthrough gave Heckingbottoms men the confidence to score twice more to put an emphatic end to Burnleys 23-game unbeaten run and earn the hosts a place in the last eight for the first time since 1966, where they are likely to be the only non-Premier League team.
What the managers said…Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom: If he [Osmajic] wouldnt have been up for it, yeah. But he was fine, he wanted to be involved. We discussed possible things that were going to be said, but he wanted to play.
It was, could he be professional enough to give us a performance? That was it, thats what the conversation was about. That issue is getting dealt with but what I cant do is let that impact the rest of the players and their chances of progressing in the FA Cup.
If I felt or he felt he couldnt be professional enough, he wouldnt have been involved. I didnt realise that record until this week [first cup quarter-final since 1966] and it is a big deal for the club.
I found it hard to believe for a club with this history and the teams Preston have had over the years. Burnley boss Scott Parker: I thought we fell short in the basics and the foundation of the game. We were second best to a lot of things really.
I thought before their goal it was nip and tuck. The goal comes from nowhere, a great strike, and after that we just didnt get going and we couldnt build any sort of momentum. Definitely it feels like a missed opportunity because we came into the tie wanting to win the game and go through, but we didnt deserve to get anything.
We have one focus now. Were not in any of these competitions anymore. Theres one focus, 12 games left. Lets go and put our foot straight down to the floor, try and grind out as many points as we can to get us over the line.
Whats coming up?Preston fixturesBurnley fixturesFA Cup fixtures & results
