Face Off
Burnley 3 Walsall 1
Report by Becko
It seems strange to be talking about must-win games in the first week in October, but this is what this was. With May suspended for the next two games, which are Ipswich away and West Ham away, and Todd returning from whence he came, three points was imperative. Survival this season is the aim; and whilst I think we will stay up, equally I don't think there will be too many teams below us.
Facey grabbed a neat hat-trick - a just reward for all his hard, fruitless work in his previous seven games - and although we had a few scares after Walsall equalised, it would have been hard if we hadn't taken all three points (but it would have been all our own fault).
Del Boy got the show on the road as early as the fourth minute after a fine flowing move involving Blake, Chadwick and West. West's whipped-in cross was met by Facey. Bang. 1-0.
For the next 20 minutes or so, it looked like we were going to increase our lead. West hit the bar, as did Blake from a 30-yard free kick, and with Facey causing problems there was only one team in it. That was until Walsall had their first attack. That culminated in a corner, which resulted in Merson nodding in from close range. I think it's fair to say that the jury has now returned on The Beast, and I'm afraid he's been found guilty. After that, better teams than Walsall would have been in front at half time, but they missed several chances - probably the worst by Merson when one-on-one with Jensen.
In the second half it was all Burnley, really, with Walsall seeming content to take the point. It backfired on them with two Facey goals in the final 8 minutes. The first was a header from an inswinging Blake free kick; and three minutes later, Blake played Facey in to score again, this time with his left foot.
17 points after 12 games is staying-up form. We've got real quality in Blake and Chadwick. May is composed at the back. Todd will be sorely missed; and with Arthur past the point of no return, no doubt the loan system will need to be utilised again.
As for the permanent new signings: the goalie is no better than the clowns who performed there at the end of last season, although I suppose he's a lot cheaper. Roche looked like he was doing OK before he was injured, but on his return... well, Fred's keeping him out of the team now. Camara has certainly got pace going forward, but on the basis that he's been bought as a left back I haven't seen a great deal of defending yet. The form of Richard Chaplow can't go unmentioned: he looks to have a bright future - indeed, if we'd signed him after he had been released by a Premiership team, we'd all have been saying "we've signed a good one there". I'm sure he'll get better.
No, it's not all doom and gloom, but the light at the end of the tunnel still seems quite a way off.
Burnley:
| |
Jen |
sen |
|
| West |
Todd |
Branch |
Camara |
| Chadwick |
Weller |
Chaplow |
Ian Moore |
| |
Blake |
Facey |
|
Subs not used: Roche, Grant, O'Neill.
Scorers: (Burnley) Facey 4, 82, 87 / (Walsall) Merson 24.
Referee: M J Jones (Chester).
Attendance: 10,532.
Becko's Man of the Match: Delroy Facey.
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.
