We belong
Burnley 2 Stockport 1, Saturday 14 October 2000
Report by Becko
Burnley's good start to the season got better,
as for 45 minutes we played as though we have been at this level for years. Goals by
Payton and Branch - who could have had another, had not his twenty yard shot hit the
upright - put us firmly in control.
The game had been built up as a battle between
Moore and Payton. Moore, the subject of a £1.2 million offer, was never given a chance by
Cox. It's a testimony to our tight defence that a player who we were prepared to break our
record transfer fee for, and who has got seven goals this season, looked ordinary. As
Barry Kilby confirmed on the Radio Lancashire phone-in post-match, any deal is now off.
That's okay by me.
Stan played 4-4-2 again, with Thomas at right
back and Payton and Branch up front. Both our forwards scored, Payton nicking the ball off
a Stockport defender and heading for goal, turning another defender before firing home
with his left foot.
Branch, on the other hand, scored with his right
foot, taking the ball down the left, cutting inside and curling it past ex Clitheroe
keeper Carlo Nash.
2-0 at half time was all the more impressive
because Glen Little had gone off after 18 minutes with a hamstring injury. He'd turned a
defender on the bye-line, unfortunately knocked the ball too far, and then pulled up and
clutched the back of his thigh. How long he'll be out for we don't know, but expect longer
rather than shorter.
Still, this is not the Burnley of old. On
stepped Paul Weller. He had a quiet game, but Weller is an excellent replacement, and
don't forget John Mullin. He'd played well at Tranmere only to be left out here.
New loan signing Paul Robinson came on for
Payton at half time. Payton has also felt a twinge in his hamstring and Stan felt it right
not to risk him. What can we say about Robinson? It would be unfair to liken him to his
namesake Liam, but for 25 minutes he played no better than the old one did, and got booked
for petulantly knocking the ball away when a decision went against him. In his defence, he
was trying - perhaps too hard - and it does take time to settle into a new team. In the
last 20 minutes he showed one or two nice touches, and did take the ball into the corner
flag to waste precious seconds.
By then we weren't exactly hanging on but there
were a few anxious moments. Stockport pulled a typical goal back, with the ball bouncing
around the area early in the second half, Tod firing home from close range. Five years ago
that would have sent panic through the team, but the Clarets of 2000 are made of sterner
stuff than that. Stockport had a lot of possession but didn’t add to their tally, and
Burnley gradually took back the initiative. Weller had a great chance to seal victory in
style with a similar chance to the goal against Portsmouth, but unfortunately he shot
wide.
No complaints here. Three points were required
and gained. With the exception of Fulham, who beat everybody, I haven't seen any team
better than us tactically or in team spirit. Seventh in the league is better than we dared
hope for - but more importantly, the points total is rapidly heading towards the 50 mark.
Team:
Michopoulos, Thomas, Davis, Cox, Briscoe, Mellon, Ball, Cook (Jepson 63), Little (Weller
18), Branch, Payton (Robinson 46). Subs not used: Crichton and Mullin.
Scorers: Payton
(20), Branch (25) / Tod (56).
Crowd: 16,107.
Referee: Mike
Riley of Leeds.
London Clarets Man
of the Match: Ian Cox.
The away game
