Clarets clinch it in Fleetwood

Last Updated : 16-Oct-2008 by
Chris Anderson - scored the first goal
I saw welcoming, and it was as the team sheets were handed out free before entering the ground where there was no charge for spectators. It was as recently as last March last time we played there but the newly promoted club have made big changes to the ground.

There's a new covered stand on one side which housed a very comfortable press area I might add and behind one goal a new covered terrace with an excellent sports bar underneath.

The ground might be fast improving but the weather close to the Irish Sea was not for the faint hearted tonight, not even one member of our message board who chose to arrive in shorts. There was a biting wind and the torrential downpour in the first half didn't seem to go down too well with our otherwise untroubled goalkeeper Diego Penny.

Penny was one of just a small number of experienced players in the side and it's fair to say that he didn't have much to do in the first half other than make one blinding save after Blackpool got clear.

Not as though there was much going on at the other end either in a first half that had little to commend it. As the half time whistle blew I wondered what I could write about it with so little action of note. The only real positive for Burnley was seeing the return of Kevin McDonald in midfield.

He didn't return for the second half with the Clarets bringing on Chris Anderson as his replacement and it was Anderson who finally broke the deadlock with the first goal. It was central defender Chris Lynch who got down the left before getting over a superb cross that Anderson got on the end of to put us in front.

The lead didn't last long unfortunately, a mix up at the back left the home side with an easy chance that they converted to make it 1-1.

There's no doubt we were the better side but chances were at a premium. We brought on two more members of the youth team in Wes Fletcher and James Craggs who replaced Remco van der Schaaf and Steve Jones, and with a change of formation we started to up the tempo.

The first goal had been a good goal, the winner was even better. Alex-Ray Harvey, again playing at left back, played a superb ball through the middle which just invited someone to get on the end of it. Our initial thoughts were that it was Fletcher, but in fact it was Craggs who got on the end of it and made no mistake to give us the win.

A second equaliser for Blackpool never seemed likely but we did have to defend a couple of late corners before the referee brought it all to an end.

So four wins and a draw now this season, and we have to remember that no fewer than eight members of the youth team featured in that game tonight.

And I almost forgot the highlight of the night which came at half time. At first I thought it was the return of the Swanky Pants Dog Troupe but it was just one Blackpool supporting dog walking round the pitch perimeter (with owner) wearing a tangerine shirt with a number seven on it. I'm told it was not Stanley Matthews.

The teams were;

Blackpool: Mark Halstead, Ross Lloyd, Joe Martin, Alex Baptiste, Ashley Eastham, Matt Kay, Dominic Merella, Danny Mitchley, Jake Hobbs, Ben Fishwick, Billy McKenna. Subs: Ben Breakell, Adam Foster, Jake Rooney, Kieran D'Arcy, Lewis Almond.

Burnley: Diego Penny, Dan Brown, Nik Kudiersky, Chris Lynch, Alex-Ray Harvey, Steve Jones (James Craggs), Kevin McDonald (Chris Anderson), Remco van der Schaaf (Wes Fletcher), Adam Kay, Michael King, Jay Rodriguez. Subs not used: Gabor Kiraly, Dil Chaggar.