BURNLEY were brought back down to earth after their opening day heroics as they were beaten 1-0 by West Brom at Turf Moor.

The Clarets had the better of the play and the chances against the Baggies but were hit by a sucker punch in the second half, conceding a soft goal to Hal Robson-Kanu.

The same man was sent-off in the closing minutes for an elbow on Matt Lowton but unlike at Stamford Bridge Burnley were unable to capitalise on the man advantage.

The game was less than a minute old when Lowton gifted the visitors an early chance. He was caught in possession by James McLean, who burst into the area but saw his angled drive from 10 yards blocked by James Tarkowski.

West Brom were doing nothing in a hurry in the early stages as Burnley looked to force a breakthrough, with Jeff Hendrick sending volleyed efforts over and wide from the edge of the area before his back post shot from a Robbie Brady corner was blocked.

Burnley were enjoying plenty of possession, showing a willingness to keep the ball on the ground, but they could go direct as well, when they did when Tarkowski hit Sam Vokes and from his knock down Johann Berg Gudmundsson curled an effort just wide from the edge of the area.

The Iceland man was close again a minute later. Robbie Brady made his way to the byline down the left and whipped a cross in, which Gudmundsson headed goalwards only for Ben Foster to make a scrambling save.

Burnley were playing some good football as the half wore on and a move involving Ben Mee, Jack Cork, Stephen Ward and Brady should have ended with Vokes heading home, but he failed to make contact with the cross.

At the other end the threat was coming from set-pieces. Craig Dawson’s header from a Jake Livermore free-kick was deflected over, and from Matt Phillips’ corner the ball hit Sam Field, who had turned his back, inside the six-yard box and flew over the bar.

Burnley threatened from a corner themselves in the closing moments of the half with Brady’s pin-point delivery headed wide by Mee.

It was the Clarets who started the second half on the front foot, with Vokes clipping an effort from just inside the area over the bar before Steven Defour’s volley from a half cleared corner was glanced wide by Hendrick.

Hendrick won a free-kick right on the edge of the Baggies area when he was tripped by Craig Dawson, but the visitors put all 10 outfield players in the wall and Brady sent his free-kick straight into it.

The goal that gave West Brom the lead owed plenty to some poor defending from the Clarets. Chris Brunt hooked a ball clear from wide on the left which Matt Phillips won in the air against Mee before Robson-Kanu went past a tame Ward tackle and outmuscled Tarkowski before firing past Tom Heaton at the near post.

Jon Walters and Ashley Barnes made an appearance from the bench as Burnley looked for a way back into the game, with Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson making way.

Barnes came close with less than 10 minutes to go, hooking a volley over the bar from 10 yards after Ward had kept the ball alive from a Vokes flick-on.

The Clarets cause was helped when goalscorer Robson-Kanu was given a straight red card a minute later after catching Lowton with his elbow as he jumped to win a long ball.

Burnley came close to a leveller when Defour and Lowton surged forward down the right and when the latter’s cross was intercepted by Ahmed Hegazi it fell to Hendrick but he blazed over from 18 yards.

Defour then worked a corner short with Cork before curling a cross in which Vokes headed over the bar.

There was still time for one final Clarets chance as Jon Walters headed Hendrick’s volleyed cross over the bar in the last minute of injury time.