THE last time Burnley threw away a two-goal lead Sean Dyche was still a month away from taking over at Turf Moor.

Dyche has brought in an impressive defensive resilience in his 26 and a half months in the job, but with 16 games to go in a Premier League run-in that is threatening to be one of the closest ever, now is not the time for his side to develop a habit of conceding soft goals.

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The 4-2 defeat at Tottenham on Wednesday night might have only cost the Clarets a place in the FA Cup fourth round, but Dyche admitted afterwards his side had made basic mistakes as they saw a 2-0 lead established after seven minutes wiped out.

A similar capitulation at home on Saturday could prove to be far most costly, and once again it was sloppy defending that led to an early 2-0 lead ending in a 3-2 defeat.

After 16 minutes the Clarets had climbed to 12th in the Premier League table and looked on course for a second successive win over a rival at the bottom of the table. But Crystal Palace look a side transformed under Alan Pardew, and took almost total control of the game from the moment they conceded the second.

No side has recovered more points from losing positions this season than Palace, and they have now taken six points from Pardew’s first two league games in charge having been behind in both.

This Burnley side know a thing or two about the character required to come from behind, having done so in stunning fashion at Manchester City and Newcastle over Christmas, but they made it too easy for Palace to make sure it was they who ended the weekend with five teams between them and the relegation zone.

For Burnley it is a case of continuing to look over shoulders, and although results elsewhere at the bottom went for them on Saturday, the upcoming games against Sunderland and West Brom are now a little bit more important than they were, considering the eight Premier League games that follow are against teams currently in the top nine.

Those early weeks of the season when the Clarets were struggling to score but were also doing a good job of keeping them out look a long way away now.

In the last eight outings Dyche’s side have found the back of the net 13 times, only failing to score once, against Liverpool. But more worryingly they have conceded 17, and the two-week break that now follows as a result of the FA Cup exit will surely be used to try and tighten up defensively.

After naming an unchanged side for the eighth league game in a row, Dyche again saw his side start quickly.

They took full advantage of a corner gifted to them by Scott Dann’s wayward header, after the former Blackburn Rovers defender had initially blocked Danny Ings’ shot.

A Kieran Trippier corner was sent to the far post and Ben Mee, escaping the attentions of Joe Ledley, managed to steer the ball back inside the post from no more than a yard out for only his second goal for the club in 116 games.

Four minutes later the advantage was doubled. Joel Ward tried to shepherd Trippier’s long clearance out of play, but Scott Arfield managed to steal the ball away as it bounced on the touchline, and his pass inside released Ings, who once again showed great composure to tuck a left-footed finish beyond Julian Speroni.

It was the third time in 13 games that Burnley had sprinted into a two-goal advantage with little more than 15 minutes on the clock.

But no side has conceded more first half goals than the Clarets this season, and the 20th goal they have shipped before the break proved to be crucial, giving Palace a way back into the game and something to hold on to at half-time.

Pardew’s decision to switch Wilfried Zaha had seen the visitors start to create more opportunities, and on 28 minutes he beat Mee for pace and put in a dangerous cross which was somehow missed by James McArthur, only for Dwight Gayle to spare his blushes and drill home at the back post.

It was the first time this season Palace had been behind at half-time in an away game, but by now they had taken control of the game, with the movement and speed of Zaha, Gayle and Puncheon causing plenty of problems.

The rhythm had gone out of Burnley’s game, and a string of wayward passes had the Turf Moor natives in restless mood.

Within minutes of the restart Dean Marney’s clearance was miscued straight to the opposition, with Phil Dowd’s presence near the ball perhaps distracting the midfielder.

Palace kept possession and when Puncheon collected the ball 35 yards from goal he was allowed to run unopposed and drill a right-footed shot low into the net from the edge of the area.

The comeback could have been completed earlier when Gayle’s fierce free-kick ricocheted off George Boyd’s back and bounced over the crossbar.

Burnley had a chance to snatch back an undeserved lead. Sam Vokes kept Trippier’s deep free-kick alive and from eight yards out Michael Keane controlled the ball on his chest and hit a volley which was hacked off the line by McArthur.

At the other end Murray volleyed against a post from a recycled corner, but just as the game seemed to drifting towards a draw Palace struck in front of their own fans.

Puncheon’s long diagonal floated over Trippier’s head, and Gayle controlled the ball on the left hand side of the area before beating Heaton.

By now the snow, a fleeting presence in the second half, was tumbling down from the skies.

An afternoon that had started so brightly was ending miserably.