Staring at the sun
Bournemouth 0 Burnley 1, 12
February 2000
Tim Quelch
Conceding to blatant unoriginality, I prepared
to call this report, ‘Payts wins points’. But when my daughter suggested
substituting the ‘y’ with a ‘n’, I thought again. Not that we should
be too critical. After all, league away wins are becoming as rare as ospreys. Also, with
Wigan, Millwall and Bristol Rovers all slipping up, the three points gained here were
immediately doubled in value. I’m probably going to regret saying this, but an
automatic promotion place isn’t yet out of the question. She was right about the game
as a spectacle, though. It was generally poor fare. This was partly due to a gusting,
swirling wind, which made ball control very difficult. At least that was spoiling factor
in the first half. However, having battled hard against the elements for forty-five
minutes, Burnley were deprived of their second half advantage as, quite perversely, the
wind dropped during the interval.
The result apart, what I’ll probably
remember best about this game will be the blinding sun. Having to shield our vision
continuously with our palms, it was an arm-aching duty, particularly during a frenetic
second half with eighty per cent of the action at the other end, the end which Burnley
ruggedly, and sometimes desperately, defended.
Burnley started with five in midfield; Little
and Branch performing wing back roles. As at Chesterfield, we largely controlled the first
half despite Bournemouth’s greater possession and the buffeting wind. Mullin quickly
threatened with a powerful twenty-yard run and Cooke nearly found Payton with a sharp
right wing cross. Bournemouth’s best opportunity fell to Steve Robinson in the 14th
minute. A neat flick from Stein left Thomas and Davis flat-footed but thankfully, Robinson
couldn’t capitalise, stumbling over the quick pass and allowing Crichton to grab the
loose ball. Twenty minutes later, Stein also caused consternation with a low cross that
evaded his partners at the far post. However, Davis, Thomas and Cox were generally
untroubled, with Cox again demonstrating coolness, strength and skill as he swept up
behind his colleagues.
As the first half progressed, Branch and Little
began to worry Bournemouth with powerful runs down the flanks. Unfortunately, their
crosses weren’t quite good enough for Cooke or Payton. Paul Cook then showed them the
way. With 32 minutes gone, Cook picked up a headed clearance and curled over a perfect
ball for the unchallenged Payton to head past Ovendale. It was the perfect culmination of
a spell of strong Burnley pressure. The goal spurred Bournemouth into a series of
attacking forays but apart from Stein’s dangerous cross the only other good chance
fell to John O’Neill, who thumped his twenty-yard shot over the bar. On the other
hand, Cox had the perfect opportunity to bite the hands that formerly fed him. In the
fortieth minute he arrived at the far post just in time to meet Little’s right wing
cross. His downward header looked goal-bound until Ovendale thrust out his right arm to
deflect the ball wide. It was a stupendous save.
Five minutes after the break, Payton had an even
better opportunity to seal the game. Little’s low cross wriggled out of
Ovendale’s grasp and inexplicably Payton stabbed the loose ball wide from less than
five yards. With Bournemouth pressing hard this miss could have been a turning point.
Fortunately, it didn’t matter, but we had to endure our traditional awayday torture
before we were able to realise that.
As at Chesterfield, the home side pushed up
after the interval, having reinforced their midfield with the introduction of Jorgensen
for defender Broadhurst. Last season, they tore us apart with a scintillating second half
display of swift inter-passing. Now facing no more than a ruffling breeze, they employed
the same tactics, hitting us hard down the middle as well as on the flanks. Burnley were
forced to defend deeply and vigorously. The wing thrusts from Little and Branch became
much more sporadic as they assumed full back duties. This appears to be one of the
problems with this system. With no wide midfielder to link with, it becomes harder for the
wing back to raise the siege.
Even Payton dropped back into a defensive
midfield role. However, he did manage one good break, but alas his drive was blocked by a
defender’s thigh when en route for the right hand corner. As usual, Cooke worked his
socks off but was well shackled by the impressive O’Shea and Howe.
Johnrose revels in siege-like situations. Here
again, he battled for everything in front of his back three. Mullin contributed little to
the trench warfare, though. Having clattered into an opponent who was breaking down the
left flank, for which he received the game’s solitary booking, he was then replaced
by Mellon. I presume Mullin was injured as he went straight to the dressing room. With
Payton out for the next three games, this was worrying.
Mellon is not as adept as Mullin in a defensive
struggle but he can run with the ball and his one quick break was foiled by a fine save by
Ovendale. Meanwhile Crichton was earning his corn at the other end with two sharp saves
from close range drives. Again, he impressed with his strength and steadiness under a hail
of crosses. Jepson and West joined the rearguard action as Stan decided to hold what we
had. It wasn’t pretty but it worked. Cox, Davis and Thomas emerged from the fight
somewhat shaken and stirred. However, thanks considerably to their efforts another shut
out was achieved.
So, this year we could celebrate the beautiful evening.
My daughter, who’d travelled down from Edinburgh to watch the game, had seen her
first Burnley goal of the season and her first victory in two years. We agreed, ‘sod
the aesthetics, the result is everything.’
Team:
Crichton, Davis, Thomas, Cox, Little, Branch, Cook (Jepson 67), Mullin (Mellon 55),
Johnrose, Cooke, Payton (West 76). Subs not used: Armstrong and Smith.
Crowd:
5,804
Links - The home match and this game last season
