Burnley Could Not Knock Owls Off Their Perch!

It was a disappointing day at Turf Moor on Saturday with Burnley being held to a 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday. A goal three minutes before the break from Sam Vokes looked likely to give Burnley a 1-0 lead at half-time but a lapse of concentration allowed the Owls to come back and equalise in the 45th minute! In the second-half, Burnley could do everything but score despite attack after attack. It just got to the stage where you knew it wasn`t going to be the Clarets day and somehow the Owls survived much to the frustration of the home contingent.

The day was made worse with automatic promotion rivals, Leicester, QPR and Derby all winning to steal a march on the Clarets! The results at the weekend mean the Clarets are now third with 51 points from 26 games, one point behind second place, QPR and worryingly now six behind league leaders, Leicester. Derby also move up to within four points of the Clarets in fourth spot.

Team Sheet

Ben Mee (thigh) missed out for the third game running but apart from the fast-recovering Ross Wallace Sean Dyche had the luxury of everybody else being available. The starting eleven and eighteen therefore once again picked itself and was unchanged from the Yeovil game.

Heaton, Trippier, Shackell, Duff, Lafferty, Treacy, Marney, Jones, Arfield, Vokes, Ings

Subs: Cisak, Long, Edgar, Stock, Kightly, Stanislas, Barnes

Full Match Report

Warwickshire referee, Stuart Attwell got this Roses clash underway and it was the Clarets who came out with all guns blazing with Treacy in particular in the thick of things and wreaking havoc down the flank. In the 11th minute, he nearly opened the scoring too against the club he played for on loan last season. Kirkland managed to get a touch to an attempted chip over him from Ings but the ball fell nicely for Treacy. With the winger`s shot heading towards an open net, it needed Glenn Loovens to knee the ball away for a corner.Despite early pressure from the Clarets the game was now becoming far more open with both sides getting chances to break the deadlock. A certain goal looked to be on the cards for the visitors before a superbly timed tackle from David Jones denied Kieran Lee. A long range effort from Ings at the other end then just failed to beat Kirkland with the keeper managing to get a glove on the ball to tip it over. It was end-to-end stuff now; a header flicked on from Wickham set Caolan Lavery free but thankfully his shot flew across Tom Heaton and wide of target. The Clarets though were now slowly but surely beginning to take control. Sam Vokes picked up the ball from a Trippier throw-in to cleverly put Dean Marney in the clear. Charging towards goal the midfielder tried to toe-poke the ball past Kirkland but it stubbornly flew wide of target. Treacy then pounced with a dangerous looking cross from the left but nobody was in the right place to latch onto it and the danger passed much to the relief of the visitors. At long last though, Burnley deservedly following sustained pressure managed to break the deadlock three minutes from the break and get their noses in front. Semedo was dispossessed by Marney who then put over a cross over the defence to find Vokes. With the keeper advancing, the Welsh striker neatly slotted the ball underneath him into the back of the net. A goal just before half-time normally gives the scoring team a psychological advantage at the break but this time Burnley didn`t even get chance to test the theory! The celebrations from the home fans had hardly had chance to die down before the Owls somehow got back on level terms. It was a lapse of concentration in the final minute of the half that allowed the visitors to equalise from a free kick. The ball was headed on and following a flick-on it was allowed to bounce giving Maguire the chance to pounce inside the six-yard box and rifle the ball high into the net. It was really disappointing to give up the lead so soon after getting our noses in front and one wonders what the mood was like in the dressing room at half-time following 45 minutes in which the Clarets had enjoyed most of the possession.

Dyche made no changes for the start of the second half and the game now became a much more cautious affair. The first fifteen minutes saw little opportunity for either side. Just before the hour mark though, the game came alive again when Heaton came to the host`s rescue to deny Lavery following a deflected shot. That seemed to stir the Clarets into action and once again they began to dominate. In the 65th minute, Vokes chasing down the ball got the better of his marker before cutting back to Jones. His shot was on target before Liam Palmer somehow got back to head the ball off the line. Next it was Arfield`s turn to try and get the hosts back in front following a defensive blunder. His shot though frustratingly flew across the goal and wide of target. Maguire went down in the box hoping to claim a penalty with Lafferty keeping close tabs on him. The visiting fans though were somewhat miffed when the referee instead booked him for diving. Ashley Barnes was handed a home debut with eight minutes remaining, after replacing Treacy and with the Clarets now effectively playing 4-4-3, the Clarets were trying everything to get the winner. Danny Ings who had been kept quiet for most of the match now suddenly burst into life and had a number of chances in the last few minutes of the game. He should however have done better after failing to make contact following a trademark right wing cross from Trippier. Back came Burnley again though. In the dying seconds of normal time, Ings picking up the ball from a long throw-in let rip only to see the ball hit the foot of the post and now Clarets fans really did sense it wasn`t going to be our day! Seconds later those fears were realised once again after the England Under 21 striker cleverly spun in the box to unleash a shot towards the far corner of the net only to see Kirkland once again save the day for the visitors. Kirkland though still had time to frustrate the home fans and Ings once more after making his best save of the afternoon just before the final whistle. Barnes did well to latch onto the ball down the left before giving Ings one final chance to earn the Clarets all three points. With Kirkland in such splendid form though, his breathtaking save summed up the Clarets frustrating afternoon despite Burnley virtually dominating the last thirty minutes of the game.

Match Stats

Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Shackell, Duff, Lafferty, Treacy (Barnes – 82), Marney, Jones, Arfield, Vokes, Ings

Subs Not Used: Cisak, Long, Edgar, Stock, Kightly, Stanislas

Goal: Vokes 43

Booked: Yellow Card for Marney (87)

Sheffield Wednesday: Kirkland, Palmer, Mattock, Semedo, Onyewu, Loovens, Maguire(McCabe – 93), Lee, Lavery (Helan – 83), Wickham, Maghoma (Nuhiu – 68)

Subs Not Used: Martinez, Johnson, McPhail, Llera

Goal: Maguire 45

Booked: Yellow Cards for Semedo (64), Wickham (67) and Maguire (78)

Possession: 55% Burnley, 45% Sheffield Wednesday (Source: BBC Sport)

Ref: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)