Burnley on Tuesday 26.04.2016 demonstrated the quite remarkable strength in depth of the present Championship leaders' current squad.
Lukas Jutkiewicz was back among the goals as a strong Burnley XI beat Wigan 4-0 in a friendly yesterday.
Striker Jutkiewicz scored twice and Matty Taylor added another two goals in a convincing win at the Barnfield Training Centre.
Photo source: Burnley Football Club.
Burnley had six million pounds January signing, James Tarkowski and veteran defender Michael Duff at the heart of the Burnley defence.
Jutkiewicz, the former Middlesbrough forward once again played the duration in the training match, after playing 90 minutes in a behind-closed doors friendly last week.
Matty Taylor came close to opening the scoring after just seven minutes with a curling cross to the far post, the delivery hitting an upright before Lee Nicholls cleared.
Experienced goalkeeper Paul Robinson kept the score level midway through the half acrobatically tipping over a rasping 30-yard strike from Newcastle loanee Haris Vuckic.
The Clarets' opener eventually came on the half hour mark. Lloyd Dyer crossed to the penalty spot, the ball was half-cleared, allowing Taylor to clinically find the bottom right corner.
Moments before the break, Taylor’s inch-perfect free-kick to the far post found an unmarked Freddie Ulvestad but the Norwegian midfielder couldn’t steer his volley on target.
A Matty Taylor free-kick on the hour mark doubled his and Burnley’s tally. The veteran midfielder superbly finding the top left hand corner with an arrowed shot from 25-yards.
Just two minutes, later the Clarets went three ahead.
Rouwen Hennings played Jutkiewicz through on goal before being fouled, and despite being on a hat-trick Taylor gifted the ball to Jutkiewicz, who duly smashed in his first goal since his return.
And the Southampton-born forward completed the scoring 15 minutes from time, brilliantly connecting with an Ulvestad delivery to send a bullet header into the bottom right corner of the visitors' net.
Burnley: Robinson; Darikwa, Duff, Tarkowski, Lafferty; Green, Taylor, Ulvestad, Dyer; Hennings (C. Long 68), Jutkiewicz.
That is one strong second eleven! (TEC).