It turned out to be a successful night for the Clarets after eventually beating Morecambe 3-1in their second round Carling Cup clash at the Globe Arena. 5003 fans (a record for Morecambe`s new stadium) saw the Clarets come from behind thanks to a stunning equalising goal by Chris Eagles on the half-hour mark followed by a Thompson goal from the spot on 61 minutes and a long-range deflected shot by McDonald that hit the back of the net with seven minutes to play. The Clarets now progress to the last 32 of the competition and await the third-round draw.
Brian Laws indicated he would make some changes for the Morecambe game but in fact only two that started against Leicester in the Championship clash at Turf Moor on Saturday lined up against the Shrimps-Clarke Carlisle and Wade Elliott.
Lee Grant as expected was given his first team competitive debut in goal and a number of first team players were rested for this run-out including captain Graham Alexander, midfielder Dean Marney and newly inspired central defender, Andre Bikey.
In summary we lined up as follows:
Grant, Eckersley, Carlisle, Cort, Easton, Edgar, Eagles, Cork, Elliott, Rodriguez, Thompson
Subs: Jensen, McDonald, King, Wallace, Fletcher, Paterson, Iwelumo
It took some time, as you might expect in light of the changes, for the team to settle down and we looked nervous for the first 20 minutes or so going behind to a Morecambe goal after just 12 minutes. Phil Jevons scored from eight yards out to set up the jitters for Clarets fans. On the half-hour mark though, we equalised with Steven Thompson laying off the ball to Chris Eagles to thump in a stunning goal.
The Clarets now looked more relaxed and comfortable but Morecambe still looked dangerous at times and they held on for the rest of the half.
Brian Laws made no changes for the start of the second half and if Burnley thought they could now relax with goals about to come their way they got a shock when Laurence Wilson’s shot from a free kick hit the crossbar. However on 61 minutes, nerves were steadied when Darren Moss brought down Eagles in the box with the referee pointing to the spot. We did not however have Alexander available so it was Steven Thompson who took the penalty and he confidently thumped the ball home to put the Clarets 2-1 up and in the driving seat.
We still needed another goal though to finally relax with Morecambe at times still impressing on the break and it came on 83 minutes. Substitute, Kevin McDonald who had earlier come on to replace Eckersley after 67 minutes, let rip with a shot from long-range that took a deflection to hit the back of the net and make the score 3-1 Clarets. Until that goal it looked like Laws was just about to bring on Iwelumo but now we really were in the driving seat, he decided instead to give Michael King his first team debut. He came on to replace Eagles after 85 minutes. Wes Fletcher also briefly saw some action coming on to replace Rodriguez in added time.
In the end then a convincing win considering this was effectively our B-team and they had not played much together previously. Bring on the third round draw. Blackburn at home anybody?
Match Stats
Morecambe: Roche, Moss (Mullin 72), Scott, McCready, Wilson, Parrish, Stanley (Drummond 81), Shuker, Fleming (Hunter 81), Duffy, Jevons
Subs Not Used: Walker, Bentley, Haining, Spencer,
Booked: Yellow cards for Scott, Stanley & Duffy
Goal: Jevons (12)
Burnley: Grant, Eckersley (McDonald 67), Carlisle, Cort, Easton, Edgar, Eagles (King 85), Cork, Elliott, Rodriguez (Fletcher 90 + 2), Thompson
Subs Not Used: Jensen, Wallace, Paterson, Iwelumo
Booked: Yellow cards for Eckersley and Rodriguez
Goals: Eagles (30), Thompson pen (61), McDonald (83)
Possession: Morecambe 52%, Burnley 48& (Source: BBC Sport)
Referee: Graham Salisbury (Lancashire)
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Onwards & upwards!
Looked a bit shaky in the first half but the longer the game went on the more likely it was that we would win. Morecambe went hell for leather early doors but I think our superior fitness and quality shone through in the end. Eagles played well and Thompson, for all his limitations, showed he can be an excellent target man if required. Both deserved their goals but for me Jack Cork was our best player on the night.
Interesting that Elliott was the main A-team player to feature in the B-team. I would guess this was because BL wanted him and Cork to have time on the pitch together. After that had happened in the PL Wade’s performances there picked up.
Worrying that Eck had to be taken off before he was sent off, again. On a seperate note – I thought that the ground was shocking to say it has only been built this year!