The FA Cup 1-1 Draw That Nobody Wanted!

If the Clarets want to progress to the next round of the FA Cup and play Leicester City at Turf Moor in the fourth round they will now have to do it the hard way. Last night at Turf Moor, Burnley forced a replay at White Hart Lane after coming from 1-0 down against Spurs to equalise in the 73rd minute. A replay next week is probably something neither club wanted but at least it was a night of celebration for Sam Vokes who notched up the equaliser wiping out Chadli`s 56th minute opener. It had been a long road to recovery for Vokes following his cruciate ligament injury at home to Leicester last March. He had made a brief 10 minute cameo in the Liverpool game on Boxing Day but was then rested for the Manchester City game in the Etihad two days later and was also sidelined for the New Year`s Day match away to Newcastle after picking up a bug. Vokes came on from the bench against Spurs in the 61st minute and twelve minutes later had notched up his first goal of the season in only his second appearance of the season. He was even named man of the match despite only being on the pitch about 30 minutes.

This was a strange game to be honest and seemed to lack atmosphere especially in the first-half. It was not helped by the club making I believe a ridiculous decision to play this clash on a Monday night with a lot of fans still recovering from the festive season and back at work. That was reflected in the gate which was below the 10,000 mark which you have to say is very disappointing for two Premier League teams especially Burnley and Spurs with their history of playing each other in cup competitions. The complete closure of the Jimmy Mac Stand also didn`t help and perhaps in hindsight it would have been better to at least have opened the bottom tier for the sake of atmosphere! Both teams made changes to their starting eleven although in the Clarets case that was mainly forced upon them due to the injury situation. Spurs rotated their squad and made seven changes being notably without their talisman Harry Kane who was named on the bench. You always got the feeling this was a game that nobody really wanted to play with both certainly wanting to avoid a replay at all costs. The first half was a truly dull affair with few chances created by either side. It livened up a bit in the second-half mainly due to the change in tactics from Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. The Spurs gaffer decided he had seen enough from his rotated squad in the first 45 minutes and decided to go for broke bringing on Harry Kane from the re-start and move to a more aggressive 4-4-2. It worked for a time with the Clarets now under a lot of pressure and it was no surprise when Spurs got their noses in front in the 56th minute. Nacer Chadli thumped the ball home from inside the box from a Ben Davies cross to put the visitors 1-0 up. Burnley ‘huffed and puffed` after that but the game looked to be slipping away until Dyche decided to bring on Sam Vokes for Ashley Barnes just past the hour mark. His presence seemed to galvanise the team into action and in the 73rd minute he got the equaliser following a neat side-foot finish into the far corner of the net. Both teams were now desperate to get that winning goal and avoid a replay at all costs but it wasn`t to be and even the referee seemed keen to quickly bring this dour game to a close adding only two minutes of extra time. Burnley really do now have a tough task progressing to the next round. Another trip to White Hart Lane now beckons having played their only recently in a Premier League clash last month. At least in that game we gave a good account of ourselves only narrowly being defeated 2-1 but now we have to do it all again and this time produce a win in order to progress further in the FA Cup. The replay has been scheduled for next week on Wednesday 14th January (Kick-Off- 7:45pm).

Team Sheet

Sean Dyche in the end only made two changes to the starting eleven. As expected both Jason Shackell and Kevin Long injured in the New Year`s Day clash at St James Park remained sidelined but Dean Marney was back in the side after recovering from the illness that led to his substitution in the Newcastle game. He picked up the captain`s armband. Danny Lafferty as expected was playing at left back, his first start of the season with Ben Mee once again playing in the centre of defence in partnership with on-loan Manchester United defender, Michael Keane. The fact United gave Burnley permission to play Keane in the FA Cup augers well in relation to extending his loan contract after his last game against QPR at Turf Moor this Saturday. The only other starting eleven change from New Year`s Day was that Kightly was named on the wing. David Jones however was absent and is thought to have been rested and that meant Scott Arfield would once again play in centre midfield. In summary then we lined-up as follows :

Heaton, Trippier, Keane, Mee, Lafferty, Kightly, Marney, Arfield, Boyd, Barnes, Ings

Subs: Gilks, Reid, O’Neill, Wallace, Sordell, Jutkiewicz, Vokes

Full Match Report

The last time Burnley got past the third round was in Jan 2011 against Port Vale when we knocked them out 4-2 at Turf Moor. Could we do any better this time? Wiltshire referee, Roger East got the game underway in front of a disappointing crowd of only 9,348. Spurs though deserve credit for bringing up 2,494 of their fans although it made little difference to the atmosphere which to say the least was subdued. It was certainly not helped by the first-half either with very little action in a very dull first 45 minutes. Remarkably neither keepers were tested at all nor was there anything to talk about of note in what surely must be the shortest first-half reports I have ever written! Spurs enjoyed quite a lot of possession but were continually snuffed out by the Clarets and they never really created any meaningful chances. The only colourful think that happened was the pink and black ball they were kicking around!

The second-half surely had to improve for fear of hearing the sound of snoring echo across a half-empty ground. Burnley made no changes for the start of the second half but Spurs decided it was time to get more aggressive. On came hot-shot striker, Harry Kane in an attempt to liven things up and he now joined Soldado upfront in a 4-4-2 formation. Sadly for the Clarets the tactical change worked for the visitors and Kane was soon threatening the Burnley goal with the hosts now conceding far too much possession and putting themselves under a lot of pressure. Federico Fazio thankfully could only head the ball tamely straight at Tom Heaton shortly before Kane picked up the ball on the left but fired wide of target. Spurs were not having it all their own way though and Danny Ings showed great control cutting back onto his left foot to unleash an angled shot that forced Spurs keeper, Michael Vorm to save at the second attempt. Spurs though were now on top and playing with far more urgency. It came as no surprise when they took the lead in the 56th minute. Ben Davies down the left found Chadli and the Belgian controlling the ball well thumped the ball home from twelve yards out via a deflection. They were unlucky not to double their lead soon after when Kane threatened once more from an increasingly tight angle. Heaton though saved well getting his legs in the way at his near post. Burnley were hanging on now and looking stretched at 1-0 down being somewhat subdued and unable to create much. They had to do something though if they were to get back on level terms and Dyche decided to replace Barnes with Vokes just past the hour mark. It had an immediate effect on the team and they seemed to suddenly liven up and put some pressure on the Spurs defence at long last. With just 20 minutes of play remaining, Burnley created their best chance so far when Vokes found Boyd on the edge of the box. The in-form winger slipped the ball to Dean Marney who unleashed a right-footed shot with the outside of his boot that flew over the bar. Just a few moments later though, Burnley made their pressure count to get back on level terms. Kightly on the overlap cut the ball back on the right to find Sam Vokes. He flicked the ball first time and it flew into the back of the net at the right hand post to make it 1-1. At long last the game now seemed to come alive with both teams desperate to get the winner and avoid an unwanted replay. A long-range effort from Ings took a deflection forcing Vorm into making a save after holding onto the ball. At the other end Ben Mee made a superb block to deny Eriksen and Burnley then breathed a sigh of relief when Kane mis-kicked the ball from 12 yards out in the dying seconds. With the referee only adding two minutes of added time, the result that nobody wanted was about to come true and with the final whistle that dreaded replay was now a certainty

Match Stats

Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Keane, Mee, Lafferty, Kightly, Marney, Arfield, Boyd (Wallace-79), Barnes (Vokes-61), Ings (Sordell-79)

Subs Not Used: Gilks, Reid, O’Neill, Jutkiewicz

Goal: Vokes 73

Booked: 0

Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm, Chiriches, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies, Dembele, Stambouli (Kane 46), Chadli, Eriksen, Paulinho, Soldado(Townsend-67)

Subs Not Used: Friedel, Dier, Naughton, Capoue, Onomah

Goal: Chadli 56

Booked: Yellow Card for Stambouli (9)

Possession: 48% Burnley, 52% Newcastle (Source: BBC Sport)

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)
Dyche Deliberation
‘It was a game of very few chances. They made seven changes and had a team only £130m worth. It was a lacklustre game, with little atmosphere. We did everything to try and get a result.

‘The massive plus is Sam Vokes getting a goal on his recovery. He is on his way back to full fitness. Our mentality is solid and our physicality is outstanding.’