Burnley Consolidate 2nd Spot After Reebok Victory!

It was a great night for the Clarets on Tuesday at the Reebok after defeating Bolton 1-0 on their home soil. Burnley had never won at the Reebok having previously suffered two defeats and one draw and you would have to go back nearly 30 years to March 1985 for the last time we beat the Trotters away from home and that was back in the days when they played at their old Burnden Park ground. It has been a long wait since that 3-1 win but how sweet it was last night! This was a hard fought victory and the Clarets were certainly under pressure at times from Dougie Freedman`s men. You would not have believed they were nineteenth and struggling to avoid the relegation places. It was a goal from Sam Vokes, his sixteenth of the season just before the hour mark that in the end secured victory. It was the result we desperately needed and it certainly sent 2,787 Burnley fans home deliriously happy! The victory ensured that the Clarets remained in second spot whilst increasing their lead over QPR in third place by three points. Burnley have a much better goal difference compared to the Rs too with an advantage of seven clear goals so even if QPR now win their game in hand, we will still be above them unless there is a bizarre rugby score or two. Indeed we could be leading them by six points if we beat Bournemouth away this Saturday. QPR do not play until Sunday and they have a tricky home game against sixth placed Reading.

Team Sheet

With a fully fit squad to choose from with the exception of Brian Stock, this was a no brainer for Sean Dyche and he named the same starting eleven for the fourth consecutive time. The bench was a little more defence minded than in our previous game at home to Millwall and Danny Lafferty made a return at the expense of Keith Treacy who was one of three wingers on the bench against the Lions. We therefore lined up as follows :

Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Kightly, Jones, Marney, Arfield, Vokes, Ings

Subs: Cisak, Lafferty, Long, Edgar, Stanislas, Wallace, Barnes

Full Match Report

Lancashire referee, Graham Salisbury got this local derby underway and it`s fair to say that the hosts were out of the blocks first putting the Clarets under quite a bit of pressure, especially down the flanks! Former Burnley winger, Chris Eagles, now 28 probably had a point to prove and set about the task well along with a certain Mr Lee on the other wing! The first test for the visitors came when Chung-Yong Lee cut in from the left wing to test Tom Heaton. Heaton had just slipped whilst clearing an unexpected back pass but he was on the ball this time to deny Lee. In the ninth minute, Chris Eagles went on mazy run to put over a low cross with the ball falling to the busy Lee. Heaton though managed to get a touch to his shot and deflect the ball which luckily hit the crossbar and away to safety. Bolton were certainly on the front foot and giving the Clarets a bit of a run-around in these early stages but we gradually began to give the home side something to think about as the game developed and became a more end-to-end affair although the Clarets still continued to look a little nervous and edgy at times during the first 10 minutes of play. A rather speculative effort from Danny Ings in the 13th minute outside the area was easy meat really for Bogdan but a few seconds later the Clarets nearly got their noses in front. A flick from Ings deftly set Arfield free charging towards goal. His volley though from the edge of the box was wide of target. By the 30th minute, Burnley were beginning to open up the Bolton defence and they began to look more confident and assured. Bolton though were exerting their own pressure after a succession of corners which tallied eight in total by the time the first half whistle went. The Clarets were holding their own in defence though but it needed Michael Duff to come to the rescue and get in a superb tackle as last man after Lukas Jutkiewicz almost found himself clean through on goal. There was little to separate the two sides as half-time approached and to some degree the match had gone off the boil and become a bit of a midfield scrap with few chances created by either side.

Neither side made any changes for the start of the second half but after just 20 seconds from the restart, Burnley nearly broke the deadlock. Danny Ings did well to feed David Jones who unleashed a left-footed shot that tested Bogdan to the full. With the ball looking to be heading for the bottom corner, the keeper managed to get a glove to it and save the day for the hosts. Jones and Mee then linked well with a neat one-two which finally led to a rare shot from the left back. The keeper though was equal to Mee`s low shot. In the 58th minute though, the visitor`s end erupted after the Clarets finally got their noses in front. Scott Arfield did all the hard work on the right weaving into the box to put over a low cross that deceived the Bolton defence allowing Sam Vokes to tap home at the back post. The home fans were now clearly rattled and began getting on their team’s back with 15 mins to go and still 1-0 down! Just the tonic that Burnley needed! Bolton still had their moments but it was more huff and puff than genuine danger although Eagles looked lively at times and 10 minutes from time he tried a somewhat ambitious half volley that thankfully flew over the crossbar. The Clarets defence held firm as the clock ticked down and the three minutes of added time were not enough for the hosts to prevent Burnley notching up their first ever win at the Reebok and secure their eighth away win of the season.

Match Stats

Bolton Wanderers: Bogdan, Baptiste, Ream, Kamara (Davies-60), Mills, Wheater, Eagles, Spearing, Jutkiewicz, Trotter (Moritz-60, Danns-72), Lee

Subs Not Used: Lonergan, Knight, Pratley, White

Booked: Yellow Card for Wheater (5)

Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Kightly (Barnes-86), Jones, Marney, Arfield, Vokes, Ings

Subs Not Used: Cisak, Lafferty, Long, Edgar, Stanislas, Wallace

Goal: Vokes (58)

Booked: Yellow Card for Shackell (38)

Possession: 53% Bolton, 47% Burnley (Source: BBC Sport)

Ref: Graham Salisbury (Lancashire)