Branch Axe

By Longsider
November 13 2003

Today we'll be looking back on yesterdays encounter against Cardiff City through the eyes of the media. We've taken a selection of reports from the broadsheets and tabloids this Sunday morning.

SUNDAY PEOPLE

FOOTBALL: BRANCH AXE

CAPTAIN calamity Graham Branch gifted Cardiff a chance they failed to make themselves and golden boots Robert Earnshaw did the rest to pinch a point.

Branch, 31, looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him up after losing control while bringing the ball out from defence in the 76th minute.

Graham Kavanagh pounced on the mistake, sweeping the ball straight back and sending Burnley's stunned defenders into panic.

And suddenly, from having a relatively quiet game, Earnie reacted with great speed to hit a 15-yard shot on the turn, leaving Burnley keeper Brian Jensen helpless to register his 12th league goal of the season.

It was tough luck on battling Burnley who looked good value after taking the lead early in the first half.

Until that moment of madness the outstanding Arthur Gnohere and Branch had put the shackles on Earnshaw and partner Gavin Gordon.

Stan Ternent's side had bossed the game and went ahead in the 52nd minute through teenage whizzkid Richard Chaplow.

But while the youngster took the plaudits for a terrific flick that beat Neil Alexander hands down, it was the approach work of returning hero Glen Little that deserved most praise.

Little was back for his first outing since a wasted two-month loan spell with Bolton that saw him enjoy just 29 minutes of football.

At 6ft 3in Little is a veritable giant cut more in the mould of a central defender than a target man.

But his nimble size 12s make him a handful and when Cardiff allowed him to conjure his way to the dead-ball line they must have known trouble would follow.

Said Ternent: "We never looked like losing once we'd got the goal. I don't think they created one outstanding chance to score and I'm disappointed and frustrated that we didn't claim all three points.

"But we made a mistake and Earnshaw finished extremely well. At the moment we don't seem to be getting the rub of the green but our luck will change. Today we can consider ourselves very unlucky."

Cardiff boss Lennie Lawrence - who tips his side to make the play-offs - claimed: "Over 90 minutes we deserved a point. In my view we dominated the last 25 minutes.

"It's a long time though since we've started both halves so indifferently.

"Robert did remarkably well considering he wasn't feeling too well at the start of the game. This was by his standards a very quiet performance but that goal was fantastic strike." Burnley had been put through the mincer by Ternent after a scrappy defensive display saw them dumped out of the Carling Cup by Premiership Wolves in midweek.

And his harsh words had clearly been heeded. For this was a far more robust display that deserved greater rewards.

Little was instrumental in much of the early play, his lay-off providing Chaplow with a chance which saw a 20-yard shot fly wide.

Likewise 15 minutes later with Blake the recipient this time, Burnley were unlucky to see a shot fly wide from 18 yards after clever work from Little.

Branch might have been a hero before becoming a villain in the 22nd minute but he got too much head on Blake's free-kick and sent it flying over.

And before Cardiff staged their smash-and-grab, striker Ian Moore saw his shot deflected just wide.

Cardiff's main threat before their goal came in the first half after Branch was adjudged to have brought down Earnshaw from behind.

Kavanagh lined up a 25-yard free-kick then saw Jensen make the save of the game, pushing the ball against the post at full stretch.

The SUNDAY TELEGRAPH gave us a brief mention in their Nationwide round up:

Wales international Robert Earnshaw hit his 17th goal of the season to give Cardiff a point in a 1-1 draw at Burnley, with his manager Lennis Lawrence calling the strike "top-drawer". Home manager Steve Ternent claimed, however: "It was a smash-and-grab raid by Cardiff because we were the better side."

The rest of the broadsheets concentrated their efforts on the games at the JJB and at the Hawthorns.

The one other article that caught our eye was the performance of Farsley Celtic in the FA Cup. You may notice the name of an Asian Footballer who was linked with Burnley during the Summer who sparked major debates on various Message Boards.This is courtesy of the SUNDAY TIMES:

Farsley Celtic 1 Gainsborough Trinity 1

IT WAS the biggest day in Farsley Celtic’s history since 1974 when they faced Tranmere Rovers in a first-round tie in the FA Cup. On that occasion, Farsley went down 2-0 to the Merseyside club in a match watched by nearly 11,000 at nearby Elland Road. 
On Saturday, a more modest 774 spectators converged on the aptly named Throstle’s Nest, perched on a windswept hill in the suburbs of Leeds, as they attempted to emulate the achievements of 29 years ago. On this occasion, it took a goal from Amjad Iqbal to secure a reply tomorrow at Northolme, the home of Gainsborough Trinity, with the prize of a profitable visit to Griffin Park to face Brentford awaiting the winners. 

Lee Sinnott, the former Bradford City defender, took on the job as manager of Farsley in the summer with a rallying cry from Andy Firbank, the chairman, to produce a good cup run. “We are trying to raise the profile of the club,” Sinnott said. “(The FA Cup) is a great opportunity to grab a few headlines as well as raising revenue.” 

This year’s cup success comes at a price for Farsley, who ply their trade in the UniBond League first division. Tomorrow’s replay will be their eighth FA Cup tie of the season, having already seen off the challenges of Atherton Collieries, Sheffield, Bridlington Town and Worksop Town. “The only problem is that we have a reply on Tuesday which means we miss another league game,” Sinnott said. “That will put us six games behind in the league, and obviously the league is the most important thing to us.” 

Farsley fell behind slightly against the run of play when Lee Ellington headed a cross from Paul Eshelby past the despairing dive of Tom Morgan ten minutes before the interval. For a while, it looked as though the strength and organisation of Gainsborough would be enough to end Farsley’s interest in this year’s competition until Iqbal struck. 

Four minutes after half-time, Iqbal, whose poise and vision would grace a higher stage, was allowed to turn and fire an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net.