EARLIER this week Sean Dyche spoke of the importance of players taking their chances in front of goal when they come along in the Premier League.

So it must have been frustrating for him to see one of the season’s stand-out performers so far miss a golden opportunity to secure Burnley’s first win of the season from 12 yards.

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If Dyche was disappointed at the failure to turn one point into three he hid it well, and although it was a third game without a goal for the Clarets, it was a second successive clean sheet, and a first away shut-out in the top flight since April 17, 1976.

It is now five and three quarter hours of Premier League football without a goal for Burnley since Scott Arfield set Turf Moor rocking with his early strike against Chelsea.

But the Scottish wide man should have ended that drought when he stepped up to take a penalty with just seven minutes remaining at Selhurst Park.

Arfield had become increasingly influential during the second half, forcing Julian Speroni into a fine save with a fierce 20-yard drive just minutes before Mike Dean awarded the spot kick.

His chance of glory disappeared though as Speroni produced a stunning stop. Arfield’s penalty wasn’t right in the corner, but it was struck well and the Argentinian keeper had to fling a left-hand up after diving to his right to palm the ball away with one hand. Chances don’t come much better than that at the elite level, and having weathered an early storm from the home side the Clarets will rue this as two points that got away having taken control of the match during the second half.

Scoring goals won’t get any easier either after last season’s top scorer Danny Ings limped off three minutes before half-time.

Between them Ings and long-term absentee Sam Vokes scored 47 times last season, but Dyche may well be without both now.

Ings immediately clutched his right hamstring after stretching for a ball near the halfway line, and it would be a surprise if he wasn’t ruled out for at least a couple of weeks.

That capped a miserable afternoon for Ings, who was booked after just three minutes when Dean adjudged he had dived on the edge of the area, a marginal call, but probably the right one.

That was a rare foray towards the Palace goal in the opening stages, with Burnley penned in and the home side roared on by a Selhurst Park crowd who had been whipped into a frenzy by the return of Wilfried Zaha, and to a lesser extent, Neil Warnock.

Former Blackburn Rovers centre back Scott Dann floated a header against the crossbar inside the first 10 minutes, after Damien Delaney had seen a shot from the first corner deflected just inches over.

Having angered the Burnley fans for booking Ings, Dean was back in the good books when he turned down a strong Palace penalty appeal, when Jason Shackell appeared to move his arm into the ball to block a Jason Puncheon cross.

During his season at Old Trafford Zaha didn’t start a single Premier League game, but he was involved from the start here and he looked to have his confidence back.

Midway through the half he picked the ball up on the left and ran at Kieran Trippier, before cutting inside and seeing his shot from 12 yards blocked by Heaton, only for the ball to rebound off Shackell, who had to be alert to clear it off the line.

Perhaps Palace’s best chance of the half came courtesy of a Burnley mistake. Michael Duff’s headed clearance from an aimless 60-yard ball from Dann fell straight to Dwight Gayle, who was unmarked on the edge of the area, but he snatched at the chance and it sailed harmlessly over the bar.

After the fervent opening half-hour Burnley began to find their feet in the game, with George Boyd, given his debut from the start, excellent in the first 45 minutes.

He showed some neat touches on the left and twice saw low shots which looked to be on target blocked by defenders.

If Palace had won the first half on points, then there was no doubt the second belonged to the Clarets. Lukas Jutkiewicz saw a shot hit the side-netting after he was presented with the ball by a stray Mile Jedinak pass 35 yards from goal.

Jutkiewicz closed down his shooting angle by taking the ball too wide for the shot as he ran at the defence, but it was the only blot on his copybook during the afternoon.

Speroni was forced into two saves from shots from distance, with first David Jones and then Arfield testing him with efforts from around 20 yards.

But the best chance arrived as the clock ticked down. Boyd won a free-kick 30 yards from goal from Jedinak, who was finally booked after committing several fouls during the afternoon.

From Jones’ delivery Jutkiewicz was well-placed to get a header away but he was hauled down to the ground by Jedinak.

Dean had no choice but to point to the spot, but incredibly he spared the Palace captain a second booking.

With Ings off the pitch the responsibility fell to Arfield, who missed the chance to secure all three points.