Burnley`s search for their first points in the Premier League this season continues after a 1-0 defeat against Swansea in the Liberty Stadium on Saturday. The defeat follows on the back of the 3-1 loss at home to high-profile Chelsea in the opener last Monday night. In both cases though we can take plenty of positives from these games but the sad fact remains after two games we are propping up the table in bottom place.
In the game at Swansea, a goal from former loanee winger, Nathan Dyer in the 23rd minute was enough to secure all three points for the Welsh club but Burnley certainly gave them a game especially in the second-half. Their home fans were certainly getting a little edgy with Burnley convincingly pressing hard for the equaliser. In the end it wasn`t to be but if we continue to play like we did against the Swans surely the points will come? I guess we need to be careful against clubs catching us out on the break. At this level it can be so punishing and so it proved again yesterday especially in the first half. Both our full-backs suffered against the pace of Swansea`s wingers with Ben Mee finding it hard to keep Dyer in check and even Trippier struggling against Routledge! Oh well, it`s early days although things don`t get any easier with Manchester United at home our next match in the Premier League. It`s probably vitally important we get some points on the board as soon as possible to keep morale and confidence high but the top flight can be so unforgiving. Let`s not give up just yet though, there are a lot of encouraging signs so far.
Team Sheet
Sean Dyche stuck with the same starting eleven that faced Chelsea on Monday night but made a few changes on the bench. New signing, Stephen Ward made the eighteen replacing Dummigan and Reid was also on the bench with Long missing out. Our line-up was therefore as follows:
Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Arfield, Jones, Marney, Taylor, Ings, Jutkiewicz
Subs: Gilks, Ward, Wallace, Reid, Kightly, Sordell, Barnes
Full Match Report
Swansea were first out of the blocks buoyed up by their opening 2-1 win at Old Trafford a week ago. It needed a perfectly placed Jason Shackell to head the ball off the line after Wilfred Bony met a right wing cross with a header that flew back across Heaton. Danny Ings though also started brightly with the Clarets showing a lot of attacking intent. The pressure from the visitors led to an error by Jonjo Shelvey allowing Lukas Jutkiewicz to pounce and lay the ball off to Ings. Chesting the ball down, Ings then attempted a volley which flew just over the angle. The situation was then reversed with this time Ings attempting to feed Jutkiewicz. Swans keeper, Lukasz Fabianski though managed to cut out the attempted pass. The Swansea wingers were causing quite a few problems for both full-backs. Trippier saw Routledge go round him on the outside before feeding Gylfi Sigurdsson and it needed Heaton to come to the rescue and save his near post flick by falling on the ball. In the 23rd minute though, Nathan Dyer was put clear down the right and charging forward squeezed the ball into the back of the net at Heaton`s near post to give Swansea a 1-0 lead. It was a hammer blow for the Clarets but they held their own in the first half and didn`t allow Swansea to double their lead.
The second-half was a different kettle of fish and if anybody looked like scoring next it was Burnley. The Clarets gradually began to take control and dominate possession giving the Swansea defence and home fans a lot to think about. In the early stages of the second-half, Burnley showed their intent. It needed Swans skipper Ashley Williams to block Jutkiewicz`s shot which was heading towards target and then Ings knocked down the ball for Arfield in the box but he could only volley over the bar. Nevertheless, Swansea began to struggle with Burnley now pressing hard for an equaliser. The hosts were now clearly rattled and their fan base equally nervous as Burnley continued to look the more threatening. Burnley`s best chance of drawing level came just after the hour mark. The Clarets had been patiently building up an attack frustrating Swansea in the process. The ball eventually landed at the feet of Marney who then found Jutkiewicz with a delightful cross. The former Middlesbrough striker from just eight yards out then stooped low only to see his header fly over the crossbar. Swansea were clearly rattled now and that near-miss led to the Swans making a double substitution to try and get back in the game. Burnley kept pressing though and some neat one-two play between Jones and Ings nearly led to the midfielder getting that elusive equaliser. Jones`s angled effort though was turned wide of the post after Fabianski somehow managed to get a glove on the ball with the faintest of touches. There was no doubt now that the hosts were hanging on but despite Burnley`s best efforts they just couldn`t find the back of the net and another defeat had to be suffered despite all the positive signs.
Match Stats
Swansea: Fabianski, Amat, N Taylor, Sung-Yeung, Williams, Shelvey, Bony (Gomis 64), Dyer (Montero 66), Routledge (Tiendalli 90), Rangel, Sigurdsson.
Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Bartley, Richards, Sheehan
Goal: Dyer 23
Booked: Yellow card for Shelvey (73)
Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Arfield, Jones (Sordell 90), Marney, M Taylor (Wallace 71), Ings, Jutkiewicz (Barnes 82)
Subs Not Used: Gilks, Kightly, Reid, Ward
Booked: Yellow card for Duff (80)
Possession: 55% Swansea, 45% Burnley (Source: BBC Sport)
Ref: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
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First of all I’m sorry to hear that TMP hasn’t been too well – let’s hope he is soon back on his feet and back following the Clarets in person. As ever, this is a fair reflection of events yesterday. I thought Swansea started well and Dyer and Routledge caused problems with their pace down either flank. Ki looked a decent player in the middle of the park though Shelvey illustrated why he has not kicked on to international football – flowing passes one minute, booting it out of touch the next. Our second half performance was promising and with a bit of luck Big Juke could have scored – in fact, he probably should have done when he stooped to conquer, but not quite low enough. A draw would have been a fair result in my view though no complaints on the day really and I was impressed by Swansea’s passing game rather than our tendency to knowck the ball long. We obviously lack a bit of pace and need some creativity in midfield if we are to compete in this league. That is no criticism of the players who are all doing their best – we just need a few who can act and think quicker. However, with a couple of additions of that nature I saw enough yesterday to suggest that the points are not too far away.
I thought pretty much similar RT, sometimes we don’t have a plan B when under pressure and lump it up the field I think the manager addressed that in the second-half, the problem seems to be getting anybody to want to come to Burnley even though we are in the Premiership, it must be frustrating for Dyche and co.
There was no dought we deserved a point at Swansea with a strong second half performance. Maybe this is a good time to play Man utd they are under pressure toget a win. Their fans will feel we are pushovers. We shall see.