Burnley 2-2 Sunderland
By Kev Robinson
December 19 2006
Kev Robinson writes his match report for the 2-2 draw against Roy Keane's Sunderland on Saturday afternoon at Turf Moor. Kyle Lafferty grabbed two goals for the Clarets but the Black Cats managed to get back into the game and secured a point.
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Burnley 2-2 Sunderland |
 Roy Keane made a visit to Turf Moor yesterday as his Sunderland team attempted to make it seven games unbeaten and four straight wins. And until the final minutes it looked as though Burnley were going to give them their tenth defeat of the season but a combination of poor tactics and substitutions by Mr Cotterill and a strong fighting attitude from Mr Keane’s men saw the Black Cats pull level in dramatic fashion at the death. Roy Keane took the reigns at the Stadium of Light a month into this season following Niall Quinn’s disastrous few games as chairman/manager which saw them pick up a grand total of zero points. They did manage to win their last game under Quinn though just after Keane had been announced as the new manager, but no doubt the former United hard man’s presence had a lot to do with that. Since then he has instilled that winning mentality that he was so famous for into his players and the ten wins and 30 points that he had picked up in his 18 games in charge prior to the visit to Turf Moor has seen them climb up to 11th in the Championship table.
With Mahon in the midfield we were looking a lot more creative but it was a fantastic run and pass from Wade Elliott that set up our opener just nine minutes in. Steve Jones played the ball forward but it looked as though the pass was too hard for Elliott to reach, but he stuck a foot out and his deft first touch managed to knock the ball past two Sunderland players before running forward and playing a fantastic ball over to Kyle Lafferty who was wide on the left. Three neat touches brought the Northern Ireland international into the penalty area and his fourth sent the ball past the onrushing Ward and into the back of the net. It was a very well taken goal and he certainly looked to enjoy it but we had no time to enjoy the lead as Sunderland looked to pull back level straight away and were getting the ball into our penalty area but Mike Duff and his fellow defenders were in top form, denying the Sunderland attack any real scoring opportunities. It looked as though Sunderland had found the breakthrough when a corner was headed goalwards, but Kyle Lafferty was once again on hand to save the Clarets, this time with a headed clearance off the line. Burnley were creating problems too, Steve Jones fired over from the edge of the area and then his cross was headed into a crowded penalty area by Thomas, and only a last ditch clearance by a Sunderland defender prevented Gifton Noel-Williams doubling our lead. Kyle Lafferty almost grabbed his second in the dying minutes of the first half, his clever footwork allowing him to skip past two or three defenders and create space for a shot which he could perhaps have done better with. We had certainly had the best of the first 45 and that was reflected in the scoreline but when you are facing a team with Roy Keane as manager you can bet that they will come out fighting for the second half. However, it was Burnley who had the first chance of the second half and Elliott should really have scored it. Steve Jones sent a cross into the box from the left wing which managed to find its way through to Elliott, the ball seemed to drop perfectly for him but his volley from just a few yards out went flying high and wide. We didn’t have to wait long for the second goal, though, and it was gifted by the crowd’s favourite Sunderland player Mr Yorke. The former United and Blackburn player, who received a chorus of boos at his every touch, attempted to head back to his goalkeeper but didn’t get enough contact on the ball, which fell to Lafferty who hit an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner to score his third goal in as many games since being restored to the starting lineup following Andy Gray’s injury. Two goals were more than deserved for Lafferty, who was having a fine game in attack alongside Gifton Noel-Williams and Burnley fans will be delighted to see that Andy Gray’s boots are being filled, and will hope that he can continue this form. Soon after making it 2-0 Kyle again came to the rescue with another crucial goal-line clearance. With 25 minutes to go, though, Steve Cotterill decided to go on the defensive and put Lafferty on the right wing, with John Spicer coming on for Elliott, who had been fantastic. That move was really the beginning of the rot for Burnley. Lafferty was completely ineffective out wide, John Spicer is simply not good enough and not strong enough physically and for the next 15 minutes Sunderland were piling the pressure on us but we kept hanging on. With the defence in top form you felt that it would take something special for Sunderland to score and when Grant Leadbitter hit a powerful effort from outside the Burnley penalty area there was only one place it was going to end up- the back of the net. At 2-1 we were still in front and Steve Jones should have put the game to rest when he latched onto a fantastic ball from John Spicer and ran forward with no defenders anywhere near, however, when he got near the goal he took too long and allowed a defender to get back and make the challenge. You just can’t help but feel that if that chance had fallen to Lafferty we could have restored that two goal cushion. Into injury time Graham Branch took off his training gear and stood by the fourth official ready to take the field and I am sure that I was not the only one expecting Steve Cotterill to take Lafferty off and let the crowd show him their appreciation of a fantastic performance from the young striker. However, it was Gifton that was taken off, eventually, after he looked away, pretending not to notice that it was his number up on the board for a good 20 seconds or so. His time wasting did not good, though, as straight from the return to play David Connolly broke Claret hears with the equaliser. It was another strike from the top drawer but it was certainly a cruel blow for Burnley, who had bossed the game up until the substitutions and Steve Cotterill will have to take the blame for the two dropped points. So, just as at Ipswich two week ago, Danny Coyne conceded a goal in stoppage time to equal the scores between himself and a fellow Welsh international keeper, but just as down at Portman Road, he cannot really take any blame. He was beat at Ipswich by a penalty, and at the Turf yesterday by two brilliant strikes. Before the game I would certainly have taken a point, but walking away from the game it felt like a defeat knowing that we were 10 minutes from collecting all three points and climbing to sixth in the table. Instead we drop to ninth. Man of the match was Kyle Lafferty, who did nothing wrong whilst playing in his natural position of striker. He has now scored all our goals since Gray’s injury, but he is certainly not all about goals. He puts himself about all over the pitch, makes tackles, pressurises defenders, makes clever runs and has great feet for such a tall guy and if he can keep this up when he should keep his place in the side when Gray returns.
Burnley: Sunderland: Att: 14,798 Ref: M Dean (Wirral). |