Not the most attractive game of the season, wedged in between the Norwich, Portsmouth and Nottingham away games, and played amidst the alternative attractions of the Blues Festival and the Sparrow Hawk beer extravaganza. Needs must, and one must have a fix whilst the Brownie point situation is still in the black.
It’s one of those games that has negative connotations for me, as I can still see Bob Taylor smashing in his fourth goal a few years ago, before I could leave under the three-goal rule. If memory serves me well, this was during the ‘This is not my team’ period,
and preceded the Manchester City disaster. I quite like going to Priestfield,
mainly due to the quality of the ale thereabouts, but playing them at home
is dull. Will the Clarets turn up, or did they leave their form at Fratton
Park, where they played quite well with Weller and Davis regaining some sharpness?
Hmm.
Sat in the Jimmy Mac stand for the first time ever, with the incomparable Cozzo, at a cost of precisely zilch. Now that one does not aspire to a season ticket, for various socio/geopolitical/strategic/familial and economic reasons, I am now one of the pay on the gate crew - only I didn’t.
Both sides were shorn of some of their best players due to injury, or maybe due to mid-tableitis. The Gills had no forwards to speak of on the field, and were missing Hessenthaler (who presumably will be taking up his rights to a pension at the end of the season). The Clarets had O’Neill on from the start, and Chaplow, Waine, Leeson and Rasmussen on the bench, which was earth-shattering Ternent style. Gordon Armstrong still brought up the average age of the bench to 47, though.
The game was played on a bumpy pitch in a swirling wind, at a pace somewhere between adagio and stop, to the sound of eerie silence. I would like to say that there was an away following of sorts, but that would be stretching credibility a little. After sort of 15 minutes, the Gills had a shot at goal which the Greek saved. Most notably this came from young Spiller (2 league appearances to date) who was probably the liveliest player on the pitch, which wasn’t saying much. The Clarets then stepped up a gear with Moore I. prevalent, and the inevitable Taylor who went close with a header.
The most potent weapon on either side however was the long throw of the youngster
O’Neill, which eventually led to the Clarets taking the lead on the half hour.
Not bad for a twelve-year-old. From a typical long throw into the box, Bartram
made a complete cod of a supposed punch, which was returned by Moore I. with
interest for Taylor to sweep home with one of his only-for-standing feet. Weller
left the field before half time before he fell asleep (hamstring twinge), to
be replaced by young Chaplow.
The second half was a bit of a challenge, really. Cozzo kept me awake with a few well-timed, but ultimately unsuccessful, exhortations to the chaps populating the greensward below. O’Neill kept flinging the ball into the box with gay abandon, and eventually Brillo connected, with a well-placed header into the corner on 50 minutes to kill off the game. Somehow he managed to summon the energy to race off to the bench to celebrate, which was marginally well received. Spiller and Chaplow continued to run around a bit, but all was marshalled by the commanding presence of di Branchio at the back. An oxymoron if I’ve ever used one, but true in this context. The game petered out as one considered a swift gill to sort of celebrate three points.
The only other bit of amusement was the stunning concept of a crowd attendance figure of 14,031, of which only 76% attended. What on Ternent's earth is all that about? The fact that I smiled at this shows how hearty the fare was.
Well, that’s it for the season for me, as I can’t imagine contributing anything
to the Franchise. Have a jolly nice short cricket season one and all, with
Upton Park and the Stadium of S***e on the horizon. A handful of new spectacularly
good Clarets in the pipeline may not come amiss.
Team (4-4-2): The Greek, McGregor, Branch, Diallo, Gnohere, O’Neill
(Rasmussen, 89), Weller (Chaplow, 44), Steve Davis, Ian Moore, Blake (Waine,
87), Taylor.
Subs not used: Armstrong, Leeson.
Scorers: (Burnley) Taylor 28, Diallo 50.
Attendance: 14,031, of which 76% attended!
Referee: S J Baines (Chesterfield).
Hego's man of the match: Di Branchio.
Mid Table Borzzzzzzzzzzzzz