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'Better team' loses again
Igor Wowk's assessment of Burnley 3 Stockport County 2
Top of the League to you all, and thanks to Stan and the lads we will be able to tuck into our turkey (or nut roast for the vegetarians among you) on Christmas Day with the Clarets on top of the tree.
Clarets vs. Stockport
Once again the opposition manager thought the "better team" lost the game, despite their own team conceding three goals. Somebody needs to tell the Palmers and Moyes of this world that if you concede three goals you then need to score four goals to win; fortunately County, like Preston, only got half way there, which isn't enough. However it's nice to see the Corinthian spirit alive and well in sport. "Good luck, Stan old chap, and may the best team win." "Why, thank you Carlton, old bean, and may I reciprocate those sentiments. See you after the game for canapés and a small sherry perhaps?"
Whilst it's true that the first goal was somewhat 'against the run of play' Little's through ball to set Taylor free, on side and in the box, was an absolute peach. It's not Burnley's fault if their full back clattered Taylor unnecessarily and gave away a penalty. Perhaps Little should have sportingly passed the ball back to the keeper as we didn't really 'deserve' the opportunity to take the lead, as it was due mainly to a defender's stupidity. However, being a real pro, SGL sent the keeper the wrong way.
Credit to Stockport, they came back straight away, but if anything their goal was down to another flappy push / half clearance by NTG when under challenge for a high ball. A couple of bits of head tennis and the ball ended up in the net, so back to square one.
Gradually the Clarets began to gain the ascendancy, and via Alan Moore in particular, began to build up the chances. Brisser completely missed a cross, Taylor had a ball that hit his shoulder / neck go just wide and Ian Moore just failed to connect with another Alan Moore cross. The best chance fell to Glen when he was released into the penalty box, left unmarked and with nobody anywhere near him, which is not a good idea if you want to be the 'better' side. Glen's shot was parried, and disappointingly two Burnley players had run into the net anticipating a cross, instead of one of them waiting for the angle from the parry, which is where Payton would have been.
Half time came, and on my scorecard we were ahead on points and looking likely to score. So they should have straight after the break, when Coxy was in front of goal ten yards out with the ball right on his head, completely alone having sprung the offside trap and only the goalie to beat. A natural striker might have stepped back, taken it on his chest and volleyed the falling ball, but unfortunately he headed straight at the keeper with a feeble effort that would have had the Graham Branch Depreciation Society in fits of convulsion and loading their weapons.
However, this signalled the start of a period of Stockport domination, culminating in their best chance, when a superb block by NTG kept the Clarets in the game. A piece of inept finishing saw them fail to take advantage of the good fortune of the rebound falling straight to the feet of a County forward. During this period the Clarets could not get hold of the ball, and when they did, they gave it straight back to Stockport or humped it long and high. The absence of Cook, Grant or Weller in this period was plain for all to see, with the energetic, but not cerebral, Briscoe, and fairly anonymous Ball, in the Clarets' engine room, with two increasingly superfluous wide midfielders. Having sized up the problem, Stan replaced Alan Moore, who was having an ineffectual second half, with Paul Weller, to give the Clarets the control over the middle ground that they had previously conceded.
However, the goal when it came was possibly against the previous run of play. The energetic Ian Moore capitalised on some hesitant defending, got to the bye line and pushed the ball back out to SGL, who whipped in a killer ball to Taylor standing alone on the back post, and he doesn't miss those. Again, not a good idea to leave the opposition's top scorer unmarked in the penalty box. All round this was very poor defending, and probably the main reason why Stockport are losing a lot. You can't run your back four like an Oxfam Shop.
The Clarets didn't sit back. Goals change games, and Stockport didn't look the 'better' team any more. They were under siege in their penalty box when a superb passing move ended with SGL skinning his man on the left bye line and producing a pull back for Ian Moore to side foot in from a ruck of players close to the goal. We all went wild as the three points were in the bag.
Understandably, County were looking a bit dejected after this, and the Clarets were holding on comfortably until injury time, when the referee decided to make the scoreline look more respectable for Carlton and gave a penalty. What for, only he knows, but apparently it was handball against Taylor. At the time there was no appeal from any County player, and the offender has been given as Arthur, Coxy and Weller in the three different accounts I have since read. Nonetheless, it was Weller who was booked, before the robust Kuqi blasted home the consolation goal.
Conclusions
Palmer expressed his opinions after the game, and to a degree Stan backed him up, but methinks that Stan's honesty was an opportunity to try and boost Palmer's charges to take some points off some of the contenders who County play in the next few weeks.
As for the Clarets, this was the worst I have seen them play so far, yet they were still good enough to finish off County with 20 minutes to go. Although Brisser was nominated the man of the match, I found it hard to see how the judges could have overlooked Glen's defence splitter which resulted in the penalty and subsequent goal, the perfection of the cross for Taylor's goal and the set up for the third. In short, on the day Glen was the major difference between the two teams. However, honourable mentions must go to the defenders, who withstood the pressure, buckling only once, and Alan Moore in the first half, as well as Weller in the second, whose introduction turned the game round. The forwards also worked hard and got their just desserts, scoring a goal each.
If anything, we just looked a little incoherent in the middle, which gave County the initiative, and we didn't have the right players in there to arrest what was looking to be a dangerous situation. With Grant to come back in next week, I have no doubt that Burnley will look in much better shape for the next game.
Mad Axemen Looking for Dead Wood to Chop
The major worry is the left back position. Frankly, Branchy doesn't look comfortable there, and the crowd know it. Also, he has just come back from injury, and hasn't adjusted to that marginal loss of pace that an Achilles break gives you. In contrast to his opposite number, West, Branchy's inclinations are to get forward, which are laudable, but when he stuffs up he leaves himself exposed to ridicule, and the team to the opposition, and the masses seemingly don't like it. Unfortunately, he squandered some good possession on Saturday, not to mention a decent scoring chance. On the one hand, he creates opportunities for himself, and on the other he invariably blows them. I thought he combined well with Alan Moore in the first half to create most of the threat to County; however, there is a quality gap between Moore and Branch related to delivery when it counts, sharpness and composure. Obviously Branch is not quite right, and like West, he needs to go back into the reserves and build up more games, get fit and sharpen up before coming back into the first team, as, since his injury, the rest of the side have moved on. However, at times the baying for the blood of one of our own players is shameful.
Stan wants Brisser in midfield, and the fact that he generates more energy than Sizewell B is the reason why. With Moore up front and Brisser in the middle the opposition can't build, unless they move the ball round quickly and accurately, at the back and in the middle. Not many sides can do this well, and that's where Burnley cash in. By way of contrast, the introduction of Weller permitted the Clarets to retain possession and transfer the ball from back to front, get the opposition running around and find the spaces between them.
Overall, not a brilliant performance, but good enough, and three more points in the bag. Stan said it was an "ugly" game but I enjoyed it: three goals and three points, what more can you want? However, perhaps I am easily satisfied, having seen plenty of ugly games that we have lost.
Millwall will be a different proposition next week, and their attack is dangerous. They will punish any slack defending if given the opportunity. However, expect Stan and the lads to be ready for them in what promises to be an excellent game.
UTC, Jingle Bells, etc.
Igor Wowk
December 2001
The match report
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