Burnley 1-0 Crystal Palace: Chris Wood scores the only goal to heap further pressure on Frank de Boer as Clarets make the most of Lee Chung-yong error to ensure Eagles remain goalless and pointless

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There was a moment, just before the end, which encapsulated the utter powerlessness that can befall a manager at times and which left you nodding your head when Frank de Boer's opposite number said on Sunday that he felt his pain.

De Boer, in his saturated overcoat, was oblivious to the rain sheeting in off the Pennines as Scott Dann waited, unmarked, to receive a Yohan Cabaye cross from which it was easier to score than to miss. The defender missed — virtually the last act of a match which saw Crystal Palace create 23 chances and Burnley four.

'Everybody in this room can't believe we didn't score,' De Boer said and Sean Dyche agreed. But misfortune will not erase the Dutchman's name from the history books. He is the first Premier League manager to lose his first four games without registering a single goal. The third-minute strike which condemned his side to defeat was equally far beyond his own control. 

Chris Wood slid on his knees to celebrate after giving Burnley the early lead at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon

Wood's Burnley team-mates mob the big striker after he profited from a mistake by Lee Chung-yong to open the scoring

It was a superb finish from Wood, as he beat Hennessey from outside the box as the goalkeeper rushed out to meet him

It was another poor afternoon for Frank de Boer's side who have no points and no goals in four Premier League matches

Christian Benteke sums up the Crystal Palace frustrations as he kicks the post after a chance doesn't go his way in the box

MATCH FACTS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE

BURNLEY: (4-4-2): Heaton 5.5 (Pope 34min, 6); Lowton 5.5, Tarkowski 6, Mee 5, Ward 5.5; Gudmundsson 6, Cork 5.5, Defour 5.5 (Westwood 80), Brady 6; Wood 7, Vokes 6 (Barnes 65, 7) 

Subs not used: Walters, Bardsley, Long, Arfield

Scorer: Wood 3

Booked: Brady

Manager: Sean Dyche 6.

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Hennessey 6; Ward 5, Fosu-Mensah 4.5, Dann 5, Schlupp 5.5; McArthur 6 (Riedewald 80), Cabaye 6.5, Puncheon 6.5; TOWNSEND 8, Benteke 6.5, Lee 4 (Lumeka 65, 6)

Subs not used: Speroni, Van Aanholt, Milivojevic, KaiKai, Kelly. Booked: Benteke.

Manager: Frank de Boer 7.

Referee: Michael Oliver 7.

Attendance: 18,862.

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Chris Wood finished superbly from outside the box following a mistake from Lee Chung-yong. See more stats, facts and maps with our brilliant match zone 

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A back pass Lee Chung-yong sent towards Wayne Hennessey was 20 feet or so short but Chris Wood required a fraction of that space as he clipped it, first time, over Hennessey. The goalkeeper seemed to try to head it. Yes: one of those days, for sure.

Dyche felt that the goal helped put some life into the visitors and what materialised in the aftermath certainly seemed the first sign this season of Palace's potential.

Andros Townsend was the game's outstanding player, making opportunities all over the pitch. Cabaye and Jason Puncheon issued instructions like leaders. Christian Benteke was intermittently dangerous, particularly when he manoeuvred through the Burnley defence around the 80-minute mark and shot side-footed. He drew an instinctive save from substitute goalkeeper Nick Pope, who arrived when Tom Heaton dislocated his shoulder in a fall on the half-hour.

Embattled Palace boss De Boer shakes hands with Burnley manager Sean Dyche on the Turf Moor touchline before the game

But within four minutes of kick-off the Dutch manager had his head in his hands following a mistake by Lee Chung-yong (left)

Wood finished superbly after Lee's attempted pass back to Hennessey only landed at the feet of the New Zealander

Wood was soon called into defensive duties as he successfully cleared the ball from a Crystal Palace corner minutes later

Johann Berg Gudmundsson of Burnley and Jeffrey Schlupp of Crystal Palace battle for possession in the first half of the game

Injured deadline day signing Mamadou Sakho was sat in the stands with team-mate, Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek

The chances — two of which required Burnley goal-line clearances — only told half the story of the resurgent Palace. They showed attacking variety and assuredness, as Dyche articulated best. 'They looked a more familiar side on paper and I was worried about that,' he said. 'They mixed their play well. They put lots in the box, cleverly, I thought. They looked like they knew each other.'

So why on earth have the club not seen this all along? In their infinite wisdom, they managed to convince themselves that De Boer, an individual who lasted 85 days at Milan, could take over a team of Sam Allardyce's making and convert it into the Ajax of south London.

Dyche likes to quote Howard Wilkinson's old adage about success: 'Win, survive, succeed.' By which he meant, 'Get a few points, preserve your job — and then think about re-invention.'

It was to De Boer's credit that he put pragmatism above philosophy on this occasion, dispensing with the three-man defence and demanding a less intricate exchange of the ball from his players. Of course, an extra man back there does not make a whole lot of difference when the defensive structure is as vulnerable to the ball delivered from wide, with pace, as Palace's initially was. Mamadou Sakho, judged unfit for this occasion, cannot return soon enough. 

James McArthur attacks the ball in the air from a corner as Crystal Palace bid to get back into the contest

Jack Cork of Burnley gets hold of Scott Dann's shirt... the Crystal Palace man just about managed to keep it on

Burnley suffered a major blow before the break as Tom Heaton suffered a nasty-looking shoulder injury catching a cross

Heaton was helped off the field after suffering the injury and was replaced by debutant, former Bury Town man Nick Pope

Former Sunderland and Ipswich manager Roy Keane was spotted in the stands for the Sunday lunchtime clash

Dyche had decided Palace's defensive frailty was best exploited by deploying two strikers and two wide men. Though that worked for a time — Steven Ward racing past Joel Ward to cross for Sam Vokes, who headed a foot wide — there was little panache about Burnley. They defend in a way which has gone out of fashion, and James Tarkowski marshalled Benteke superbly.

De Boer must now wait to see if his willingness to adapt will buy him time. The problem, say many who know him best, is that he is less able to adjust to new cultures than compatriots like Ronald Koeman or Guus Hiddink. 'He is very Dutch. More Dutch than them,' says one commentator.

The fixture list is unforgiving — the two Manchester teams away and Chelsea at home, after next weekend's visit of Southampton, a game in which three points are desperately needed.

The former Palace manager Alan Pardew suggested on Sunday that De Boer might aim to think about the simple things. 'Keep calm,' he said. 'And look like you're in control of things even though you're pulling your hair out when you get home.' 

The Premier League contest at Turf Moor was played under the September sunshine to begin with, before the rain arrived

But things were not sunny for De Boer as his side continued to struggle away in search of an equalising goal

Young Crystal Palace winger Levi Lumeka sees his attempted clearance charged down by Burnley defender Matt Lowton

Scott Dann had a golden chance for Palace at the end of the game but only managed to head wide at the far post