The Clarets beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough on Saturday which is the first time since 2006 they have won their first league game of a new season on the road! In a delightful first half performance Burnley had the upper hand against a lacklustre Owls side. A goal from Danny Ings in the 32 minutes gave the Clarets a deserved lead and they doubled their advantage five minutes later when Sam Vokes got his first goal of the season. The tables were turned a little bit in the second-half with Dave Jones` men finally waking from their slumber and beginning to exert some pressure of their own. It was certainly nervous times for Clarets fans when the Owls pulled one back thanks to a Prutton goal in the 70th minute. The Clarets though held on for 20 minutes (not to mention six minutes of added time) with an impressive defensive display to pick up a valuable three points. After two league games following the opening 1-1 draw at home to Bolton a week last Saturday, Burnley are sitting pretty, fourth in the Championship table just two points behind early leaders Watford who trounced Eddie Howe`s Bournemouth 6-1 at home on Saturday.
Team Sheet
As predicted, Sean Dyche resisted the temptation to make changes to the winning side that lined-up against Bolton and York naming the same starting eleven for the third game in succession. Indeed the only change to the eighteen came on the bench with a fit again Ben Mee named as a substitute in place of O`Neill. We therefore in summary lined up as follows :
Heaton, Trippier, Long, Shackell, Lafferty, Wallace, Marney, Jones, Stanislas, Ings, Vokes
Subs: Cisak, Treacy, Edgar, Mee, Arfield, Noble, Stock
Full Match Report
Referee, David Webb got the game underway on a nice peasant summer`s day in Sheffield and it was the hosts who began the liveliest. Both Helan and Antonio had early shots narrowly off target but the Clarets were soon in their stride. Sam Vokes with a little more composure could have given Burnley the lead in the 14th minute after beating the offside trap and latching onto a chip from Wallace. He chested the ball though away from goal and attempted a volley which flew over the bar when perhaps he should have advanced a bit further before letting rip. The Clarets though now looked confident and were taking the game to the Owls. A 30 yard free kick from Stanislas was curled just wide and then in the 19th minute Wednesday keeper Chris Kirkland saved the day for the Owls to deny Sam Vokes his first goal of the new season. The chance came from some delightful passing and approach work. David Jones started the move in midfield feeding Stanislas who brought Marney into the action on the edge of the box. His shot took a deflection but the ball fell nicely to Vokes who looked certain to score from eight yards out. From nowhere though, somehow Kirkland got back to turn Vokes` effort round the post. The Owls did have a few moments of their own in the first half but they were few and far between. Heaton was equal to a long-range free kick from Maghoma and Owls winger, Antonio in particular was beginning to test both Long and Trippier. David Prutton fired into the side netting from one of his deep crosses and then Danny Lafferty could only shin the ball away in one attack, his attempted clearance flying inches wide of Heaton`s right hand post. Burnley though finally broke the deadlock just past the half-hour mark. Ross Wallace found himself in acres of space and then timed his cross to perfection after seeing Ings make his run into the six-yard box. Ings gave Kirkland no chance with a point-blank header that sailed into the back of the net to give the in-form striker his seventh goal in seven consecutive games including the pre-season friendlies. The Clarets then doubled their advantage just five minutes later. A deep cross from Trippier down the right saw Vokes rise the highest at the far post to head the ball back across goal with the ball going over the line just inside the post. The Owls at this time looked like the stuffing had been knocked out of them but the lacklustre hosts could do nothing to ease their burden and the half-time whistle went giving the Clarets a thoroughly deserved 2-0 lead after the first 45 minutes.
Dyche had no need to make any changes for the start of the second half but Dave Jones had to try something to get back into this game and young full back Rafael Floro was replaced by Maguire. Wednesday now appeared to have a new lease of life and the Clarets found it hard to get back to the momentum they had enjoyed in the first half. A scramble in front of the Burnley goal lead to a number of attempts by the Owls front line but the Clarets chucked enough bodies in the way to prevent the home side reducing the arrears. Atdhe Nuhiu`s huge height nearly caused problems too when he latched onto a cross from Helan. His header though flew just a few inches wide. Burnley had few chances in the second half but they always looked sharp on the break. On one occasion, Dean Marney charged down the right flank before cutting the ball back to the corner of the box to find Wallace. His daisy-cutter though flew into the side netting. Wednesday though continued to bombard the Burnley defence with crosses. Nuhiu came close with a header but Heaton was equal to it pulling off a great save after pawing the ball away at the post. With 19 minutes of play remaining though, Wednesday did finally manage to get a goal back and make it a fairly nervy last 20 minutes or so for Burnley fans. It was a well taken goal though with Prutton charging in to powerfully head home after latching onto a right wing cross. Dyche now decided to bolster his defence by bringing on Edgar to replace Wallace in the 74th minute. That may have been the intention but it was one of Edgar`s attacking moves that nearly sealed the game for the Clarets Charging in to get on the end of a Jones corner from the right, the Canadian international found himself in an unmarked position only to see his header fly wide of the far post. Wednesday continued relentlessly to find the elusive equaliser but Heaton and the back four superbly marshaled by the skipper held firm to wrap up all three points .
Match Stats
Sheffield Wednesday: Kirkland, Gardner, Zayatte, Palmer, Floro (Maguire – 46), Semedo, Maghoma (Lavery – 82), Prutton, Helan, Antonio, Nuhiu
Subs Not Used: Davies, Taylor, Llera, McCabe, Corry
Goal: Prutton (70)
Booked: Helan (45), Maghoma (58), Gardner (62)
Burnley: Heaton, Shackell, Long, Lafferty, Wallace (Edgar – 74), Jones, Marney, Stanislas (Arfield – 34), Vokes, Ings
Subs Not Used: Cisak, Mee, Stock, Treacy, Noble
Goals: Ings 32, Vokes 37
Booked: Shackell (58), Jones (76), Edgar (84)
Possession: 49% Sheffield Wednesday, 51% Burnley
Ref: David Webb (Lancashire)
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Didn’t see this one but must say that I agree about Heaton’s vocal presence. It was noticeable against Bolton that he is a noisy keeper though, in fairness, it wasn’t too hard to hear him given that Turf Moor isn’t a particularly loud ground these days – even if the announcer (in association with GM Fitted Furniture) still booms out over the tannoy. A good three points and I’m quite happy with our start.
I thought Heaton had a good game too but I also felt the defence protected him well. Other than a save from the free kick and a world class double save – most of his other work was fairly routine ( which he dealt with well). In edition to the players you mention above – I thought Vokes also had a very good game. The ref had a bad one – if he had given the blatant penalty at 2-0, we would not have had the nervy finish we did. Still, a good 3 points. Well done Burnley. A good team performance – working well as a unit!
Given that geography means I still have to follow most games from the couch (Next season should be different.) and given that the initials of my real name are GM, I find myself fully in favour of our announcements being sponsored by GM Fitted Furnture. In fact… where do I get some? From my couch, Vokes seemed to be doing a lot of defensive work as well as being a handful up front. Concerning Dale’s final comment, is this the first time that team psyhcology has been right since Judas blew it apart? It’s intersting that Duffman is the final survivor from promotion and PL. Or have I missed someone? He doesn’t seem like someone who’d let either hype or betrayal turn his head. More like someone who thinks his head is something for meeting the ball with. And then for smiling. Has he got a coaching badge?