Two falls and one
submission
Burnley 3 Reading 0, 18 March 2000
Cozzo
Don't be mistaken by the scoreline, this was not
a great performance against one of the in-form sides in the division. The Clarets played
averagely well and dispatched a very poor side who came to get a point, proceeded to
time-waste from the very first minute and got exactly what they deserved.
But I leap ahead! Surely my match reports are
supposed to detail all the preamble of the trip? Who was there, what was said and so on.
Therein lies the problem. After a particularly heavy Friday night I managed to oversleep
and miss the train, so consequently I saw more of the countryside than in all my previous
trips put together. It's a horrible feeling to wake up and be instantly wide awake and
know that you should have been awake some time earlier.
Fortunately, Woody had left the tickets at
Euston at the office. (If ever you end up in the same situation of missing the train, go
to the station manager's office, which is just round the corner to the right of the
pre-paid ticket collection windows.)
An hour behind plus a slightly longer journey
meant I phoned my sister to get a lift from Preston rather that wait for the connection.
Still feeling a little tender, I ended up arriving inside the ground far too early and
without a drink. The team news was surprising in that Alan Lee was included on the subs
bench in place of the suspended Dean West. A welcome return and some way ahead of
schedule. I fully expected Wright to start given his goal on Tuesday and the possibility
of him being suspended after the SFA meeting on Monday. Not sure when Payton has his
appointment with the judiciary but to lose both at the same time would be a huge blow, and
so Lee's return is all the more important. Hopefully we won't lose Payton at all but we
will have to wait and see. The starting line up was the same as Tuesday, with the injured
Paul Smith failing to recover enough to even make the bench.
Burnley started attacking towards the Jimmy
McIlroy stand and the first half hour was pretty much a non-event, the crowd incredibly
quiet. Some nice passing from Reading and a couple of half chances, including a nice
exchange which resulted in a shot curled from the right-hand corner of the box using the
outside of the right foot (by Caskey I think), which beat Crichton only to hit the outside
of the post and bounce back into play. The Clarets were having enough of the ball and
pressure to prevent the crowd getting too edgy but clear cut chances were sadly lacking,
and Little once again seemed to have left his crossing boots in the changing rooms (or had
he given it back to Jeppo?).
It seemed quite early on that the Clarets
switched to 4-4-2, with Thomas moving to right back, Branch to left back and Johnrose
moving out to left midfield in front of Branch. Perhaps this was to help Branch combat
Caskey, who was playing on the right wing, but it did give their right back licence to
roam well into the Burnley half before being offered anything resembling a challenge, as
Johnrose was playing so far back. Luckily, he didn't have much idea what to do, and in the
main Davis and especially Cox kept Forster and Butler quiet.
Mellon was looking lively and drove forward with
the ball quite well on a number of occasions. Cook was playing better than of late and
although he is meant to be our creative player he doesn't get enough credit for the
defensive work he does.
Somehow though it wasn't quite happening and the
crowd (myself very much included) spent most of the time berating Mr R D Furnandiz for
allowing blatant time wasting by Scott Howie, the Reading keeper, who took an absolute age
to take any kick. But this was typical of the man in black who seemed less willing to
intervene in proceedings than a UN peacekeeping force. No amount of pushing, wrestling,
holding or climbing warranted a foul in his eyes. The only signal he knew was play on, so
corners were a veritable free-for-all. Several times, if either team had been a bit
dirtier, things could have got out of hand, as multiple fouls went unpunished and players
got frustrated. Instead Mr Furnandiz seemed to think that the only thing worthy of a
lecture was questioning his non-decisions.
Prior to the first goal the only effort of note
was when, after a long ball, Payton got half a yard and volleyed an effort at the near
post from close range, but Howie made a magnificent save to tip the ball around the post.
Then, from what seemed like our tenth corner (almost all of which were on the right,
showing who was doing our attacking!) Little finally got one right and Davis won the
wrestling match to power a downward header between Howie and the man on the post.
Half-time and no more than we deserved, but
perhaps with Reading having to come at us a bit more we might do better second half . No
changes at half-time but the game did open up a bit, with the Clarets still having the
upper hand. Payton had a header scooped off the line after a good move, and then from
another corner (on the right of course ) the Burnley defensive tight ends formed a perfect
screen for Payton to rise unchallenged at the near post and power in a header.
Reading huffed and puffed and created a few half
chances. For one, Cox made a great saving tackle; the second was after Crichton was
clearly whacked in the face by a flailing Reading arm and the ref signalled play-on
(quelle suprise); and the third was a game of pinball which eventually bounced to
Crichton. Mellon disappeared out of the game apart from the occasional run and then was
substituted for Mullin, who came into a game that was simply drifting towards the end.
Payton had another effort cleared off the line and was then replaced by Wright (obviously
with Tuesday in mind). Once again, some nice touches and vision from Wright outside the
box but still a bit anxious when around goal, and he either snatched at the opportunity (a
volley at the far post) or tried too much (an audacious dribble past three players on the
edge of the Reading box).
Cooke was replaced by Lee and we all awaited the
final whistle. It's obvious when we are doing quite well and looking comfortable as we
don't have to bring Jeppo on. This meant that Paul Cook was still on the pitch and, after
conferring with Woody, we think it was he who played the pass of the game inside the
Reading left back for Little to run onto and place a peach of a chip to the far post where
Davis (?) (it's a long way from the Jimmy Mac Stand!) rose and should have secured his
second of the game. As it looped up off the bar, Wright was on the move and headed home
from a couple of feet. Cue wild celebration for one of the easiest goals he has ever
scored, but who cares?
The sponsors named Davis as the Man of the
Match, and he did play well and his goal was crucial, but the London Clarets were almost
unanimous in their selection of Ian Cox, who turned in another outstanding display.
Overall it was a reasonable performance and a potential banana skin averted, and after two
consecutive home defeats a welcome victory. And how nice to win by more than one goal!
Team: Crichton,
Cox, Thomas, Davis, Branch, Little, Mellon (Mullin 70), Cook, Johnrose, Payton (Wright
60), Cooke (Lee 78). Subs not used: Armstrong and Jepson.
Crowd: 14,436.
Links - The away game and this game last season
