Burnley’s quest for their first league triumph since February was thwarted at Turf Moor when Derby County’s Mohammed Fuseini struck a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time, ensuring the match ended 1-1 in the Championship. The Ghanaian winger, who arrived on loan from Belgian side Union Saint‑Gilloise on deadline day, unleashed an angled shot from the edge of the box that curled in off the far post, marking his inaugural goal for Derby.
The early breakthrough appeared to belong to the visitors. In the 34th minute, Swiss forward Zeki Amdouni rose to meet a Lucas Pires corner, directing a powerful header past Burnley keeper Josh Vickers and into the net.
The goal seemed to give Burnley a much‑needed lift and could have eased the mounting pressure on newly appointed manager Nicky Hayen, whose tenure began only in July and has already been scrutinised. However, Fuseini’s late strike meant Burnley stay at the foot of the table, still without a win, after failing to secure the three points that Hayen had labelled a "must‑win" encounter before kickoff.
In an attempt to rejuvenate a side that had suffered defeat at Swansea the previous weekend, Hayen made six changes to his starting eleven. He dropped goalkeeper Max Weiss and former Manchester City defender Kyle Walker, while re‑introducing winger Marcus Edwards, who had been omitted from the club’s 25‑man EFL squad earlier in the month.
Derby, also languishing in the relegation zone and hampered by an extensive injury list, generated the first two chances just after the fifteen‑minute mark. Midfielder David Ozoh unleashed a long‑range effort that glanced wide, and a subsequent corner delivered by Joe Ward saw defender Dion Sanderson meet the ball at the far post, only to head it back across the goalmouth. Amdouni then capitalised on a second corner, heading Burnley ahead with the game’s opening goal. Derby threatened to level before the break when former Blackburn striker Sammie Szmodics burst onto a long ball from Ward, only to be denied after colliding with defender Gregoire Coudert.
With the goalkeeper momentarily out of position, Ryan Hedges’ follow‑up was blocked by Igor Julio, and Carlton Morris’s loose ball was cleared to Szmodics, whose angled effort was cleared from inside the six‑yard box by Anel Ahmedhodzic. The second half began with Ozoh launching a ferocious shot from the left, which Coudert saved at his near post. Hedges then sent a dangerous drive wide from twelve yards, while Burnley struggled to cope with a long throw that almost produced a second goal. Substitutes began to make an impact: Largie Ramazani saw his chance thwarted by a well‑timed block from Sanderson after Jacob Bruun Larsen combined with Pires to set him up.
In the final quarter of the hour, Burnley’s Bobby Clark unleashed a 20‑yard strike that was comfortably saved by Coudert, who dived low to his left. Yet Derby’s equaliser soon followed when Rhian Brewster found Fuseini, who calmly slotted the ball home to restore parity.
After the match, Burnley manager Nicky Hayen was asked about his prospects of remaining in charge when the team returns from the three‑week international break for their next league fixture away at Watford on October 10. Hayen replied, "I don't know.
I really hope so because I work hard for this club and I want to give back to the fans for their patience. I understand how disappointed they are and that they even blame me. I don't have a problem with it." Hayen reiterated that he had described the Derby clash as a "must‑win" but admitted he could not predict the fallout from the dropped points.
"I don't know," he said. "You have to ask this question to other people, but I speak a lot with those people also. We always do a recap of the game, have feedback and always have an honest conversation. So I don't know what's going to happen.
I know the fans are disappointed. We have had a really bad start and this is also not what I expected.
But I'm always resilient. I'm always a fighter. Tomorrow I come back with a new positive energy.
That's always how I've worked. And that's the energy that I want to bring towards the players and towards this club." Derby County boss John Eustace praised his side’s defensive effort, noting, "We defended properly for the majority of the game, apart from the goal, which is another soft goal on our part, and limited Burnley to no opportunities, really. David Ozoh switched off for their goal.
Part of his development is learning. Games are won and lost on set pieces, which everyone knows. And if we'd have lost today from that, it would have been a real kick in the teeth. It was a great finish from Mo for the equaliser.
I'd obviously seen in his highlights reel that he likes to do a cartwheel when he scores and I said… He won't be doing it again. But when he scored, I asked him if he did his cartwheel, and he said yeah.
So I hope there'll be a few more cartwheels to come." The draw leaves both clubs still fighting to climb out of the Championship’s relegation zone, with Burnley’s winless run persisting and Derby hoping to build momentum from the point gained. The upcoming fixtures will be crucial for both managers as they seek to reverse their fortunes and restore confidence among their supporters.