'The spirit was incredible': Parker proud after Burnley's dramatic loss to Brentford

[p]Relegation-threatened [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/burnley/z3dmTMMO/"]Burnley[/a] ‌have held Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea ‌since January in a prolonged battle to avoid an immediate drop ‌after earning promotion to the Premier League last season.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/brentford-xYe7DwID/burnley-z3dmTMMO/?mid=42vKszYi"]But Saturday's ‌loss[/a], their third in the last five league games, left Burnley eight points below the safety zone, as seventh-placed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brentford/xYe7DwID/"]Brentford[/a] moved within ‌five points of the top four.[/p][p][b]"The fight and ⁠the spirit was incredible... ‌I’m proud of this team, and I’m probably more sad than frustrated ​that the players weren't rewarded for their efforts in the end,"[/b] Parker said.[/p][p]Brentford seemed to be cruising ​to victory after taking an early lead through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/damsgaard-mikkel/WIxH5hxa/"]Damsgaard[/a], before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodriguez-thiago/MmJb4MzQ/"]Igor Thiago[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schade-kevin/GOPUXXvG/"]Kevin Schade[/a] scored to put them 3-0 ⁠ahead in just 34 ​minutes.[/p][p]But an own goal by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kayode-michael/CrxJQ1Q8/"]Michael Kayode[/a] just before half-time opened a window for Burnley, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mejbri-hannibal/8ECeKtyS/"]Hannibal Mejbri[/a] set up two second-half strikes by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/anthony-jaidon/EHAUhN9R/"]Jaidon Anthony[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/flemming-zian/KCdpVxYS/"]Zian Flemming[/a] to make ‌it 3-3.[/p][image alt="Burnley mounted an incredible comeback" id="6ad99777-4c59-447c-b190-df4186afeef2" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="6b510430-182a-4e37-bfc5-d6728228db3b" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p]Flemming found the net again, only for the goal to be overturned by VAR for an offside. Damsgaard's winner sealed the visitors' first win in three league matches, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barnes-ashley/zk96WOb5/"]Ashley Barnes[/a]' late equaliser was also overturned due to handball.[/p][p][b]"We changed things tactically, and it worked, but were cruelly denied on a couple of occasions, and we didn’t get what we deserved from the game,"[/b] said former England midfielder Parker, ‌who led Burnley to the English top-flight in his first ​season in charge.[/p][p][b]"It takes a certain type of player ‌to come out and show the spirit and stand up to the challenge and the atmosphere that we had in front of us at half-time."[/b][/p][embed guid="9ea783cd-398d-437a-a656-33694fb8035b" url="https://x.com/BurnleyOfficial/status/2027825539877409194" social-type="twitter" /][p]Burnley, who earned a promotion to the Premier League in 2022/23 only ⁠to be relegated to the ⁠Championship the following season, ‌visit Everton on Tuesday.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/england/premier-league/"]Catch up on the Premier League scores here.[/a][/b][/p]