Good point
Burnley 1 West Bromwich Albion 1
Report by Becko
At 3 o'clock, I would have settled for a point. So at 5 o'clock, I wasn't too disappointed. Yes, we played against ten men for two thirds of the game; and yes, we took the lead against the ten men with just over twenty minutes to go. But ultimately, the Baggies created more chances, and when we conceded an equaliser in the 73rd minute I must confess I did fear the worst.
It was always going to be tough against West Brom, one of the favourites for promotion. Look at the differences. We put two players on the bench who won't be used; they put new signing Mark Kinsella there. We can barely field a midfield, and they have Mark Kinsella sat on the bench!
No Paul Weller meant that Glen started in central midfield with Tony Grant. Chadwick played in his best position, on the right of midfield (oh, how we wish for a return to his early season form), and Branchy played on the left.
It wasn't pretty. The Baggies, with the meanest defence in the Division, keep it tight at the back. They're physical, well organised, and hard to break down. Having done their homework, Robbie was shackled and found it hard to get things going. Chadwick really didn't get into the game, and was largely anonymous in the first period. Both full backs had poor games. Glen showed glimpses of good form, and on the whole McGregor and May had good games, as did Grant. However, a real unlikely hero in the first half was The Beast. He saved well on two occasions to keep it level.
So, after half an hour with little to write home about (apart from a Blake free kick which didn't trouble Hoult, and a free header by McGregor which should have been on target), the Baggies were reduced to ten men. Hulse elbowed McGregor in the centre circle. It had to be red, and ref Mr Miller - who otherwise had an appalling game - fortunately got it right. How Megson can defend Hulse is beyond me, but he did spend a considerable amount of time appearing to tell the ref what to do. He's obviously learnt from the Premiership, where this kind of thing seems to go down well.
Dean West replaced Chadwick at half time. West Brom didn't seem to be missing Hulse, and again had several chances, not least Horsfield hitting a post when he should have done better. The Beast saved from Horsfield again, and then we took the lead. Robbie twisted and turned his man, swivelled, and put a cross / shot in with his left foot. Whether it was a cross or a shot, who cares? Hoult may have been unsighted as the ball crept into the right-hand corner.
Could we hold the lead? No. We tried to play offside. May has no pace, and Roche was nowhere as Horsfield galloped away, finishing in some style. I thought we'd blown it - but at the death we could have won it. We created pressure, but when the ball dropped to Blake his powerful shot was straight at the keeper.
So, we're inching towards fifty points. Will it be too slow? Will we be overtaken? Let's face it: with Blake we've got a chance, but if we sell him I don't think we've enough quality. So, two of our next three games are vital. Forget Wigan away: write it off. Anything there is a bonus. We have to win the two games against Gillingham. The financial rewards and the three points are imperative.
Burnley:
| |
Jen |
sen |
|
| Roche |
McGregor |
May |
Camara |
| Chadwick |
Little |
Grant |
Branch |
| |
Ian Moore |
Blake |
|
Subs: West for Chadwick (45), Alan Moore for Branch (78). Not used: O'Neill, Pilkington, Abbey.
Scorers: (Burnley) Blake 68 / (West Brom) Horsfield 73.
Referee: Nigel Miller (Co Durham).
Attendance: 13,106.
Becko's Man of the Match: Mark McGregor.
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.
