Burnley 1, Albion 0

Last season, Albion had two away wins by November.

They did not achieve another, taking only four points from 39 on the rest of their travels, one of them at Burnley.

They stayed up with relative comfort due to their form at the Amex.

This season, they have two away victories in the bag again. They have scored in five of their nine away games.

Two of those in which they failed to hit the target were against the two teams who will fight out the title.

The opportunity to kick on away from home, become a little less dependent on the Amex, is there. This one was missed.

Burnley, if not there for the taking, were vulnerable. Only Fulham below them on goal difference at the beginning of the afternoon, winless in eight games and short of confidence, a shadow of the side that finished seventh last season to qualify for the Europa League.

If, further down the line, Albion are to eventually progress into a club capable of challenging for those places outside the top six, they will need more away wins.

The players should have enjoyed their Christmas party with another point secured towards safety.

They did not because, defending well otherwise, they conceded the kind of scrappy goal you are always liable to against Burnley, the most direct side in the Premier League with Cardiff.

Then, when the chance beckoned for Jurgen Locadia to make his most meaningful impact to date, he could not take it.

The Argus: The unmarked Dutch striker headed over Glenn Murray's inviting cross after they had been brought on together to salvage the narrow deficit (above).

If it had been the other way around, Locadia delivering from the left to Murray in the box, the outcome would have been different.

It is hard to know where Locadia, unhappy about his lack of game time, goes from here.

A January exit of some description for the £14 million purchase, third in the pecking order now that Florin Andone is fit and impressing, seems unlikely.

A replacement would be required, even though the prolific Aaron Connolly is pushing hard from the under-23s. It could be different in the summer.

Albion pressed hard for parity in the final quarter of the contest once Locadia and Murray had been introduced.

Solly March, currently the most consistent of Chris Hughton's four wing options, went close with a snapshot but they did not do enough to test Joe Hart on the 400th league appearance of his career.

Particularly as they had a 62 per cent share of the possession, abnormally high for them away in the Premier League era, although Burnley's style contributes.

They operate with two big men up front, in this instance ex-Albion pair Ashley Barnes (below left) and Chris Wood (right), and thrive on a clustered penalty area from set pieces.

The Argus: The goal arose from a free-kick and cross in the same passage of play. As Mathew Ryan tried to punch clear it was Lewis Dunk's header which fell to Jack Cork.

His shot was inadvertently chested in by James Tarkowski, standing in front of Ryan. An ugly goal for an ugly game.

Replays showed Wood, central to the melee, was marginally offside. The introduction of VAR next season should resolve the type of tight decisions which have gone both for and against Albion in recent games.

Tarkowski is one of Dunk's England rivals. Although he was the matchwinner, Dunk was outstanding again with Leon Balogun, deputising alongside him for the suspended Shane Duffy, not far behind.

Yves Bissouma continues to blossom as well in midfield. The Mali youngster is still prone to a mistake, like a miscued clearance back towards his own goal.

He followed it with an overhead clearance inside his own box, catching Phil Bardsley's stooping head in the process.

Sean Dyche's subsequent protestation that Burnley are not awarded penalties like the rest, amongst them Albion, was unconvincing.

The Argus: It It was an important result for his team, following a home defeat by Liverpool and ahead of trips to Tottenham and Arsenal.

Albion face Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool at the Amex in their next six matches, all severe tests to that formidable home record.

They approach them with a handy cushion of nine points over Burnley, just outside the relegation zone, and 11 points over the bottom three.

Five wins and four draws from 22 matches will take them to last season's tally of 40 points, which will be more than enough to survive again.