With most of their attention focused on events at the Ryder Cup, Sky Sports’ decision to televise yesterday’s visit of Burnley to the mundanely (although accurately) named Cardiff City Stadium felt more of an afterthought and a contractual obligation, rather than a fixture worthy of bearing their usual razzmatazz.
The instincts of the Sky producers turned out to be sound, as Burnley and Cardiff combined to produce a match that, whilst long on endeavour, was decidedly lacking in the finer aspects of the beautiful game.
No matter, as there was still pleasure to be drawn from being able to witness a Burnley away victory from the comfort of one’s arm chair and being spared the tedious trip to South Wales in the process.
Did I say comfort? Wrong adjective, as whatever feelings watching yesterday’s encounter may have stimulated, comfort was most assuredly not one of them.
In many ways this was a Burnley victory of which Sean Dyche holds the copyright; defensive rigidity in the face of long periods without ownership of the ball, and just enough attacking nous to conjure up a couple of goals.
Burnley were poor throughout a shapeless and frenetic first half; careless in possession, clumsy in challenges and offering next to nothing going forward.
Fortunately, Cardiff themselves were slightly poorer; unable to expose Burnley’s frailties, had they possessed even a modicum of the quality required at Premier League level, then they may well have turned around with a lead, and the tone of this piece would have been markedly different.
As it was, Burnley squeezed out a lead of their own early in the second half; a left wing cross to the far post was met by the head of Johann Berg Gudmundsson, unchallenged at the far post. His header somehow slipped between the post and Cardiff ‘keeper Etheridge and trickled into the net. Gudmundsson looked both surprised and shamefaced as he wheeled away in celebration.
The goal sparked the home team into life and the sparky Josh Murphy found himself with the time and space to supply the finish to Cardiff’s most incisive move. Murphy also drew a fine save out of Joe Hart and at that point the Bluebirds were looking the likelier winners.
But in another of Burnley’s sporadic forays up-field, Gudmundsson scooped a clever cross into the centre of the penalty area, which had been left curiously unmanned by the home team’s defenders. Sam Vokes was there, however, and he stooped to guide a header into the corner of Cardiff’s goal.
The life drained out of Cardiff thereafter, what pressure they were able to apply consisted almost exclusively of set-pieces hurled deep into the Clarets’ penalty area, all of which Burnley were able to deal with.
In his post-match interview, Cardiff boss Neil Warnock praised his team’s efforts claiming that his players could have given no more. If that is indeed the case, then Warnock should be a worried man, as those players, apparently playing to their maximum, were unable to beat an off-colour Burnley.
As for the Clarets, they somehow managed to shake three points out of a fixture they probably should, by rights, have lost.
We Burnley fans have of course seen our team do this so many times before, but Warnock and a bewildered Craig Bellamy in the Sky punditry studio were nonplussed as to exactly how Burnley got away with it.
The answer lies in the collective spirit that Dyche’s team are now rediscovering, and in having enough experience of life in the Premier League to know what is required to win when not playing particularly well.
Tougher opposition that Cardiff lie ahead, and Burnley will know that they will have to play better than they did yesterday in order to accrue more victories, the good news is that they are capable of doing so.
Written by uber Burnley fan Dave Thornley, who contrbutes weekly to Clarets Mad.