Anyone who’s bothered to look at the
winter timetable from Euston to Preston will have noticed, not without surprise, that
Virgin’s journey time has gone from a reasonable three and a bit hours to a quite
ridiculous four hours. Once all the Hatfield-related track repairs had been completed,
I’d fondly and, obviously naively, hoped that we could get back to the bygone era
when we arrived at Manchester Road at around midday. I’d figured without Branson. The
‘likeable entrepreneur’ wants the track modified to allow for the new
‘high-speed’ trains and so, in the meantime, the weekend traveller gets a
diversion round Birmingham. Maybe he should learn to walk before trying to run.
With the departure time also being moved forward by twenty minutes, there
was little choice but to look for alternatives. The Manchester route is similarly affected
and so that left the Leeds route – operated by GNER – as the only viable choice.
What a refreshing change it was too. A significantly lower fare, a two and a half hour
journey time and a timely arrival in Leeds meant that we had to do some heel-kicking
before the pubs opened. An unusual experience, to say the least. There was time for a
quick pint before the connection to Burnley, so we dived into the nearest pub (with real
ale of course). Now, I’m not usually superstitious, but I had to think twice before
deciding on a pint of a particular favourite of mine, Barnsley Bitter. Bad luck? Bad omen?
It’s all nonsense anyway, isn’t it? Well, isn’t it?
The Sparrow Hawk in Burnley was the next port of call and, as usual, there
was an excellent range of beers on tap – one of which was another beer from the
Barnsley brewery, namely IPA. Hmm. A simple coincidence or a subliminal message? Well the
best way of dealing with these feelings is to confront them head on, and so two pints of
IPA (plus a couple of others) later we headed to the Turf.
Looking at Barnsley’s away stats in the programme before kick-off
made for good reading. Five straight defeats and only one goal scored had home banker
written all over it, but I’d seen Burnley come a cropper too many times to be that
confident.
Burnley lined up as follows (4-4-2):
Michopoulos (NTG)
West Davis Cox Briscoe
Weller Ball Grant Cook
I Moore Taylor
Subs: Cennamo, Armstrong, Payton, Maylett,
Papadopoulos
Barnsley team (4-5-1): Marriott, Crooks, Morgan, Parkin, Barker,
Lumsdon, Oster, Gallen, Ward, Sand, Donovan.
Subs: Dyer, Barnard, Ghent, Gorre, Regan.
After an impressive debut as a sub at Forest last week, it was good to see
Grant making his first start but a little disappointing to see no sign of wing wizard
Super Glen. There had been talk earlier in the week that he might be fit for this match,
but never mind, we only want him back when he’s fully recovered. It was also a little
surprising to see that Gnohere hadn’t even made the bench. Maybe he hadn’t got
over the knock he received last week.
Andy Marriott got his usual reception from those Clarets fans who remember
his contribution to the 1992 Division Four championship season. Nice to see he’s
actually getting first team football.
After a quiet opening few minutes, Taylor earned the Clarets a free kick
about thirty yards from goal and, after some back chat from Gallen who was booked, the
ball was moved forward to the edge of the area. Unfortunately, Davis could only hit the
wall and the chance was wasted. I know I’ve said this before but I believe it bears
repetition. Isn’t it about time we had more imagination with free kicks? It seems a
long time since we scored direct from one or even forced the keeper to make a good save.
On 9 minutes, Moore wriggled free from his marker and used his pace to
stretch the Barnsley defence. Once in the area, he looked up and could see Weller unmarked
on the right, but his driven cross was easily blocked.
Barnsley’s first effort on goal came with a free kick 25 yards from
goal. Lumsdon’s well-struck shot forced NTG into a smart save, tipping the ball over.
The Clarets were beginning to get into their stride and dominate the
match. A dipping cross from the right by West deceived the Barnsley defence, and the ball
fell to Taylor about six yards out. He was either unsighted or a Barnsley defender got a
touch as the ball just hit him and went out for a goal kick.
After 23 minutes the Clarets took the lead. A low inswinging cross from
the right by Weller forced Morgan into an attempted clearance, which flew past the
helpless Marriott into the corner of the net.
The game opened up and chances were created at both ends. Weller just
failed to reach a flick-on from Taylor, a superb last-ditch tackle by Morgan foiled Ball
when he was through on goal, and Moore saw his weak header cleared off the line. Barnsley
could have scored when Davis and West got in each other’s way in the area and the
ball fell to a Barnsley player about ten yards out, but his well-struck effort was saved
by NTG down to his right.
Burnley then made it 2-0 from a counter-attack. Cook received the ball and
fed Weller on the right, who played the ball back to the edge of the area in a central
position into the path of the on-rushing Briscoe. His first-time shot took a deflection,
which lifted the ball into the roof of the net giving Marriott no chance.
Sensing defeat, Spackman changed his tactics and brought on Bruce Dyer
allowing him to play a more attacking 4-4-2 formation, and within minutes Barnsley had
pulled a goal back. Gallen received a chest-high pass towards the edge of the area and,
when there appeared to be no danger, Ball lunged in and caught him in the ribs with a high
challenge. An obvious penalty and a booking to boot. Lumsdon duly despatched the spot kick
and Barnsley had been given a foothold. Just before the half-time whistle, Weller received
the ball on the left and cut inside before shooting and bringing a good save from
Marriott.
Half-time: Burnley 2 Barnsley 1
Much of the confidence and self-belief of the first half seemed to have
bled away with Barnsley’s goal, and the second half began with Burnley looking
jittery. Dyer was giving Cox a hard time and looking dangerous, and Burnley’s passing
had lost its crispness.
On 53 minutes, Barnsley won a corner, and some naive defending allowed
Morgan plenty of time and space to plant a header past NTG. 2-2, and Barnsley were
definitely looking the stronger of the two sides.
Cook was then substituted for Maylett. A sign that Ternent obviously felt
the game was there to be won, but his first contribution was to pinch the ball from
Dyer’s toes after he had got free from Cox’s attention and sprinted goalwards.
Ternent then replaced West with Payton, but Barnsley were still looking the more likely
winners, and a counter-attack saw a Gallen shot go inches wide of NTG’s right-hand
upright. Two minutes later, Maylett (who was finding it difficult to get into the game)
came to NTG’s rescue when he headed a Crooks goal-bound header off the line.
On 85 minutes, referee Laws awarded Burnley a dubious penalty when Davis
was fouled going up for a header with Crooks after Marriott had made a save and was not in
position. Payton drilled home the penalty in his usual fashion and almost immediately,
Moore was substituted for Armstrong in an attempt to shut up shop and see out the
remaining minutes. It was not to be. Again Laws made a dubious decision, awarding a free
kick against Armstrong when he’d clearly won the ball. The free kick was about twenty
yards out and in a fairly central position, so Armstrong, in his wisdom, decided to stand
on the goal line. This attracted Barnsley players to stand in front of NTG, and when the
free kick was taken he appeared confused and distracted, making a poor attempt to keep it
out. The ball ended up in the back of the net, and for the second successive home game
we’d scored three goals but only ended up with a point.
Although it was two points dropped, a draw was probably the fair result.
Barnsley certainly belied their lowly status with a spirited performance, helped in no
small measure by Ball’s rash challenge and some poor defending. A rather worrying
trend of conceding goals from set pieces is beginning to develop (remember Crewe and West
Brom) and some work on the practice field wouldn’t go amiss. A distinct improvement
is required on Tuesday against Crystal Palace, a team with seven straight wins under their
belt.
As individuals go, Moore played well and worked very hard, Grant put in
another impressive performance, but Weller is still not looking like the player of last
season. In Little’s enforced absence he has been playing wide right, but looks very
reluctant to take on his man when it’s clear he has the ability to do so.
Congratulations (or should that be ‘Hats Off’) to Andy Payton
who scored his 200th league goal. An impressive milestone by any standard.
The appeal of GNER option is growing all the time. The timings of the
trains on the return journey meant that we had plenty of time for beers in both Burnley
and Leeds, although next time, I’ll be a little more selective in the beer I drink.
Bitter
Experience