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Marlon Beresford picked up the sponsor’s man of the match award. There is no doubt that he made some inspired and vital saves but to suggest the goalkeeper was man of the match in this performance says nothing for the way we played.
Our strength this afternoon was without doubt the way we attacked and the fact that we got the ball down on the deck and passed it. It was somewhat easier to do than last week, Norwich themselves try to play the game the right way and the whole ninety minutes was refreshing after the ale house stuff served up at Rotherham last week.
Norwich are a good side with good players, their 3rd place position in the league right now is no fluke and they really were to prove difficult opponents. But we were more than up to the task and with Ian Moore and Robbie Blake up front we set about attacking them with some classic passing football.
It took us a while to get going and Norwich dominated the early exchanges but it was not a taster for what was to come and we were soon in our stride and giving the visitors a lot of work to do at the back. They don’t concede a lot of goals, just fifteen all season, and it was not difficult to see why.
They defended well during a first half that the Clarets went on to dominate, prompted by Robbie Blake who even by his own standards was in inspired form. He even had the audacity to flick a ball up and volley at goal from some 20 yards but Norwich keeper Green made a good save.
We did though get a breakthrough, or so we thought, midway through the half but it was disallowed in the most bizarre of circumstances. Glen was held back in the Norwich box but referee Prosser, not for the first time, played an advantage. As Glen squared the ball for Ian Moore to score, and despite two Norwich players on the goal line, the assistant flagged for offside and the goal was disallowed. No penalty, no goal, and Mr. Prosser calls that advantage.
We went in at half time at 0-0 and although a lead would have been more than justified it could have been worse. Fred West was caught out doing nothing at the back to let them in and only a good save by Marlon, turning an effort onto the post, saved us.
Glen Little and Paul Weller turned on West in no uncertain terms but it looked as though Fred was more than sticking up for himself.
Half time then and when I think of Norwich, apart from them taking our play off place last season, my mind does always go back to the 1975/76 season and the 4-4 Turf Moor draw, the day Peter Noble scored all four. There was a further reminder when Uwe came out to make the half time draw.
Tony Grant had replaced captain Paul Cook just before half time, Cooky had an arm injury, but just as was the case in the first half Norwich started the brighter. They could and should have scored on two occasions but both times Marlon was equal to it. He was quick off his line to thwart Mark Rivers but then made a point blank save to deny the rather laboured looking Iwan Roberts.
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Stan then did what Stan does best, baffle the entire crowd with a substitution. This time he took off left-back Graham Branch and brought on striker Dimitri Papadopoulos, our latest international. With some shuffling involving Lee Briscoe, Glen Little and Ian Moore we kept to the same system but it did appear to be a roundabout way to do things.
But as always just as you think you have worked out what Stan will do next he baffles you with something that you couldn’t possibly have thought possible. Not as though he got anything wrong with this change because the last half hour was to be fair more comfortable than we could have dared hope.
We didn’t even sit back, we didn’t even drop too deep and without throwing too many men forward we did look to try and get a second goal. And with the clock ticking down we did just that. It was started and ended by Glen Little but it came as no surprise to see Robbie Blake involved. It started down the right, switched to the left and it was Blake’s cross that was finally met by Glen at the far post.
There was just time for Iwan Roberts to miss a chance for Norwich before the game came to an end, without doubt the best game of football we have seen on the Turf all season, a game with so much going for it that was a credit to both teams and a great advert for the First Division. Yes winning is important, of course it is, but it is even better to do it with some style in a match of this quality.
Nothing personal either but it really was good to exact some revenge on Norwich for last season after they took our play off place from us on the last day.
I make no apology to Marlon Beresford for not awarding him my man of the match. His saves were important but in a game where we attacked with style, and no little penetration, it has to be a forward player for me. And that for me has to be the inspirational Robbie Blake. Stan told us he would be an excellent player for Burnley Football Club and he is showing that right now.
Referee Prosser, the disallowed goal apart, had a good game for me. Just as he did on his last visit he tried to keep the game going and let the players play. He did one or two strange things, but which referee doesn’t, but contributed to the quality of the game with his attitude.
It’s incredible after such a poor start that we find ourselves just three points from a play off position. With 29 points we are still some way behind the position we had after 20 games in the previous two seasons. A year ago we had collected 37 points at this stage, the season before was even better with 38. But we are catching up fast, and apart from the recent three game blip have been in promotion form since we finally got our season moving.
And all this with a squad depleted by injuries and a lack of finance.
The teams today were,
Burnley: Marlon Beresford, Dean West, Mark McGregor, Arthur Gnohere, Graham Branch (Dimitri Papadopoulos 60), Glen Little, Paul Weller, Paul Cook (Tony Grant 44), Lee Briscoe, Robbie Blake, Ian Moore. Subs not used: Alan Moore, Brad Maylett, Andy Payton.
Norwich City: Robert Green, Darren Kenton, Craig Fleming, Neil Emblen (Ian Henderson 71), Adam Drury, Mark Rivers (Daryl Russell 71), Steen Nedegaard, Gary Holt, Paul McVeigh, Iwan Roberts, David Nielsen (Zema Abbey 71). Subs not used: Paul Crichton, Malky Mackay.
Referee: Phil Prosser (Gloucestershire).