Later that year, Friel was signed by nearby Burnley and he made his debut for the club in the friendly match against Witton on 10 November 1883.
However, the game was abandoned at half-time after the visitors refused to play in the heavy rain despite being a goal ahead.
[3] Friel scored the only hat-trick of his Burnley career on 29 November 1885 as Derby Midland were beaten 8–0 at Turf Moor.
[4] Dannie Friel made his League debut on 8 September 1888, playing as a centre-half, at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End.
Playing as a centre-half in 21 appearances, he contributed to a Burnley defense that secured four clean sheets and limited the opposition to conceding only one goal in a match on two separate occasions.