Cotterill Happy With Draw
By Longsider
August 30 2004
We bring you our first press reports for the new season today. Today's reports, that cover the match with Sheffield United, come from the Observer and the Sporting Life.
Burnley flattered by Hyde's fortune
Neil Warnock believes Burnley are the ideal club for Steve Cotterill to rebuild his career after his disastrous association with Sunderland, and for a while it seemed that Warnock's Sheffield United might allow the 40-year-old former Cheltenham and Stoke manager to start his new job with a win.
Given how few funds he has at his disposal, Cotterill might disagree. His new team, refreshed only by free transfers, were ultimately relieved to take a point after a second half dominated by the visitors. United cancelled out Micah Hyde's debut goal through Andy Gray but managed to pass up two opportunities to take all three points in the closing minutes, when centre-half Chris Morgan drove wide of an open goal and substitute Ashley Ward hit the bar from two yards out.
Burnley had been in need of a pick-up after last season, when relegation was a worry from Christmas onwards. Ultimately it cost the then manager, Stan Ternent, his job. Cotterill had been out of full-time work himself since Sunderland - where he was Howard Wilkinson's assistant - gave him his cards in February 2003. He had no idea what to expect, he said, from a Burnley side containing five new players, four of whom are defenders, including goalkeeper Danny Coyne.
Burnley's only attacking newcomer is Hyde, and he gave his team the lead after 16 minutes. It was a fortunate goal for Hyde, although the footwork of 19-year-old Richard Chaplow on the left deserved some reward. The teenager dipped a shoulder to go past Leigh Bromby and when he delivered a cross, Gray's attempt to hook it clear rebounded into the net off Hyde.
Only Robbie Blake was deployed in an exclusively forward role for the home side; Ian Moore, the other striker, was on the right of midfield. Michael Tonge and Jon Harley, on the left, looked the brightest source of creativity for Sheffield United. Still, Burnley dealt with their best attempts to find a first-half equaliser, although Coyne denied Harley, stretching to his left to push a firm strike around his left-hand post.
But Warnock's side stepped up their work rate in the second half, forcing Burnley on to the back foot, at which point Blake became an even more isolated figure. United squared things up seven minutes after half-time. Bromby's long throw from the right was met with power by the head of Morgan. Coyne had it covered but the slightest flick by Gray took it past him.
Now Burnley looked decidedly insecure. Moore's boot, under the crossbar, denied Phil Jagielka a second United goal in a pinball-machine scramble in the Burnley box.
By the end, Burnley were struggling to keep a point, and luck was with them in the dying moments, as centre-half Morgan flashed the ball wide of a gaping goal and Ward, on for a tiring Barry Hayles, managed to hit the woodwork from barely two yards as he attempted to convert a cross from Jonathan Forte.
COTTERILL HAPPY WITH DRAW
Sporting Life
New Burnley boss Steve Cotterill was relieved to have taken a point from his Turf Moor opener after a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United - despite seeing his side let slip a half-time lead.
Blades striker Andy Gray's second-half header cancelled out Burnley's 16th-minute opener from Micah Hyde and Neil Warnock's side should have gone on and taken maximum reward. United missed a succession of second-half chances - none worse than an injury-time howler from Ashley Ward. Ward contrived to hit the underside of the bar from just three yards after brilliant work down the left by fellow substitute Jonathan Forte had carved Burnley open.
Cotterill said: "A new manager, five new players, a big crowd and high expectations - perhaps we were ripe for a kick where it hurts, but credit to us for battling it out for a draw.
"Had they not gone away with a point then it probably wouldn't have been a fair result and I dare say we are more pleased than them with the outcome.
"United are a strong team who are used to winning and that it was we have got to get like, I thought there were plenty of positives."
Blades boss Neil Warnock was disappointed to have missed out on a first-day victory but was upbeat about his team's performance. He said: "This is a very hard place to come and the fixture computer threw up a very difficult test for us. "I count it as a good start to come to Burnley and get a point especially with them having a new manager and all the hype that goes with that sort of thing. "We weren't good in the first-half but were much stronger and more of a threat in the second and we didn't allow them to get going.
"We were physically strong but in the right sort of way and there were some good individual performances.
"Ashley will wonder how he missed it at the end but to be fair to him the ball did bobble terribly and it wasn't the only chance we had that went begging."
Burnley got off to a flyer when an attempted clearance from Gray hit the unsuspecting Hyde on the back to bounce beyond a bemused Paddy Kenny. United had a "goal" disallowed, Andy Liddell thinking he'd marked his first start with a goal only for the referee to rule Barry Hayles offside.
New Burnley keeper Danny Coyne made a superb save from Liddell but, along with his co-defenders, was struggling to hold firm against the long throw tactics of Leigh Bromby. It was no surprise that the United equaliser came from such a move, Bromby launching the ball into the Burnley box from 50 yards for Chris Morgan to head into the path of Gray and the former Bradford City star beat Coyne at the near post.
United should have gone on and won it but some amazing misses and another outstanding save from Coyne, this time to deny Jon Harley, enabled Burnley to escape with a draw they hardly deserved.