What
do you mean, it’s a 7.30 kick off?
Scunthorpe
2 Burnley 3
Report by Cozzo
OK,
let's get the confessions over with first of all.
We arrived in Scunthorpe at 6pm, and managed
to be ten minutes late for the kick-off. Somehow,
neither myself nor Becko had picked up on the fact
that it was an earlier than usual kick-off, at
the traditional 7.30. Mind you, I still don’t
understand why they have all moved back fifteen
minutes, anyway. It’s not like it’s
so early that people struggle to get there in time,
is it? Yet after extra time and penalties, a 7.45
kick-off can finish too late for fans to get public
transport home. So where’s the sense in that?
After
the delights of the Dog and Gun in East Butterwick
(pleasant, traditional rural pub and excellent
guest beer - Tom Woods) we were a bit shocked
to arrive at the unsignposted ground (don’t
they want anyone to find it?) to see lots of cars
and no
people. There wasn’t a lot of noise coming
from inside the ground, but enough - along with
the big sign declaring the kick-off time - to
let us
know that we had made a schoolboy error.
Apparently
not much had happened in the first ten minutes.
They had a shot, and Chadwick had a good chance
saved. It was odd working out what was going on
at first, as we were in our away kit and Scunny
were in claret and blue. Once I had that straight,
it was easy to see that the only change from Saturday
was Weller in for Grant (who didn’t even
make the bench, so once again only 4 subs. Why
don’t
we auction that extra place and raise a bit more
money?).
Burnley
were looking comfortable and stroking the ball
across the pitch, but mainly across the back line
as Scunthorpe struggled to gain much meaningful
possession and momentum. The goal duly came for
Burnley after some good interplay and then a slip
by an Iron defender allowed the roving Chadwick
in, and he coolly passed the ball into the corner
of the net. It was no more than the (non) Clarets
deserved, and the hope was that they would go on
to stamp their class and authority on the game.
Alas,
it was not to be, as Scunthorpe came back into
the game. Torpey was proving a real handful for
May
and Todd, but the main problem was that Burnley
were not picking up any of the second ball, as
time and again the flick-ons and knockdowns were
picked
up by Scunthorpe players. It would be a little
unfair to call it long ball football, as once the
Iron got the ball down in the last third the passing
was neat, but initially the finishing was wayward.
The best chance came after some good play led
to a shot being deflected just wide of the post
by May as the Beast dived the opposite way.
Then
Torpey backed under May, who leapt for the ball,
and bizarrely the referee gave Scunthorpe the free
kick. This despite Torpey making no effort for
the ball and deliberately colliding with May. (More
of the referee later.) The free kick was central
and about 30 yards out, and chipped straight down
the middle. Torpey won the first header
just outside the six-yard box and knocked it sideways,
where McLean, running towards the goal, looped
a header into the far corner of the net. This led
to the strange sight of a stand-up slagging match
between May and Jensen, as the ball sat in the
back of the net and everybody else lined up for
the
restart. May obviously felt Jensen should have
come for the ball, whilst Jensen felt May should
have done better against Torpey.
Both
teams then had chances, as Camara and particularly
West found acres of space on the wings. Scunthorpe
had the occasional foray, and Jensen made one reasonable
save down to his right - though the atmosphere
between keeper and defence was hardly inspiring
confidence.
Although
Burnley appeared to be having the majority of the
play, and passing the ball quite well, Scunthorpe
still looked dangerous, with Torpey the ever-willing
target and focus of most of the attacks. Then,
just before half time, Blake restored the lead,
as Chadwick
flicked the ball on first time as it was played
into his feet. Blake pounced on it, rounded the
advancing keeper, and slotted the ball in from
a tight angle.
Half
time, and things were OK, as Burnley had bossed
the majority of the game and to a large extent
kept
Scunthorpe at arm's length. Nobody was outstanding,
but there were a lot of very solid performances.
Chadwick, Blake and Farrelly were using the ball
well, and the defending was resolute when necessary.
The more I see of Todd the better I like him. His
positional play is generally very good, and he
is a strong, no-nonsense centre half in the traditional
mould. Weller may not have been having his most
influential game, but he was working hard and standing
up well in a fairly physical battle.
The
start of the second half was a total change, as
Scunthorpe attacked relentlessly and Burnley were
forced to defend for long periods. When they did
get the ball out it seemed to come straight back
again. Torpey was still winning a lot of the ball,
by fair means or foul, and causing a lot of problems.
Jensen was struggling with his judgment as he
came off his line and failed to connect with one
cross, but fortunately the danger was cleared.
Then Torpey clattered into Jensen as he came for
another
cross, and, as the ball dropped, played it
into the unguarded net. Clearly a foul, but with
the
lack of any whistle it was left to West to make
a tremendous goal-line clearance.
A
good move from Burnley in an all too rare attack
led to an excellent chance for Farrelly being well
blocked when he went for placement rather than
power. Then we could breathe a little easier as
Farrelly, Chadwick and Blake combined well, but
as the move appeared to break down, the ball dropped
at Ian Moore’s feet. His turn and shot into
the far corner was a great finish.
Surely
we could now coast to victory? A good break led
to Farrelly opting for power rather than placement,
and blasting the ball off the top of the crossbar.
Burnley were passing the ball better and looking
more comfortable, although the referee was doing
his best to change that. A ridiculous booking for
Farrelly for obstruction, when he couldn’t
possibly get out of the way on the touchline, and
an equally absurd one for Weller (I think) was
symptomatic of his haphazard approach to refereeing.
May soon followed into the book, as did a Scunny
player for a trip on Farrelly that was slightly
mistimed but no more. Blake’s shot was easily
saved, and the evergreen Peter Beagrie came on
as a sub.
Beagrie
had one effort from a free kick, that was fairly
poor, and a few dangerous crosses, before Scunthorpe
were awarded another free kick. A bit of quick
thinking and a quickly taken kick led to a good
finish - but it was disallowed, as the referee
had already blown to call Scunthorpe back. No matter:
Beagrie’s low shot somehow squirmed past
Jensen, who appeared to get both hands to the ball.
Another poor goal, especially as Jensen was meant
to be defending that post.
This
led to a very nervous last five minutes, and three
minutes' injury time (where did that come from?),
and then it was all over. A game we could and should
have won comfortably became anything but; mainly
due to poor goalkeeping, as I would lay the blame
with Jensen for both goals. Harsh - but when
you are a goalkeeper, mistakes often lead to goals.
It’s the nature of the job.
On
the plus side, Chadwick is getting better with
every game, and Farrelly is a quality player. Todd
and
May look a relatively solid unit given what we
have seen before. On the negative side, I am not
convinced by either Jensen or Facey. They are not
rubbish, and I am not calling for immediate changes,
but I don’t think that they are the same
quality as some of the other signings.
Overall,
we are not a bad team and can be very entertaining
to watch if we get our best players on the ball
often enough. If our poorer players are exposed,
we do look vulnerable, but I think we’ll
be OK and we should at least get to see some
good football this season. Now it’s
a case of praying for a decent draw in the next
round.
Wonder what time the kick-off will be?
Team: Jensen,
West, May, Todd, Camara, Ian Moore, Chadwick,
Weller, Farrelly, Blake, Facey.
Subs not used: Branch,
Roche, Chaplow, O'Neill.
Scorers: (Scunthorpe)
McLean 32, Beagrie 85 / (Burnley)
Chadwick 22, Blake 42, Ian Moore 77.
Referee: M
Fletcher (Warley).
Attendance: 2,915.
Cozzo's
man of the match: Gareth Farrelly.
As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in the match reports section are those of the individual contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club.
