Cup win for youth team

Tom Ince - got the second

It was a good win against a side who have started the season well but it was a convincing win by a Burnley side who were much the better side throughout and could have won by more.

The first half was goalless and it was fairly even in terms of possession but Burnley always looked the more dangerous side and were again passing the ball around well. The way we are playing this season and in particularly the way we pass the ball has been a delight to watch.

One of the most difficult problems we encountered came from the Blackpool side’s strong Liverpool contingent who did not let their city down by challenging just about every refereeing decision.

Half time came and despite the better play it was a half of few chances with Michael Hale in the Burnley goal having little to do and didn’t have a save to make.

It all changed in the second half and after four minutes we were two up and looked to have the game in the bag.

Marc Pugh was the instigator for both goals. Within a minute of the restart he fed a ball through for Alex Taylor and the leading scorer made no mistake for 1-0.

Blackpool had hardly recovered and we doubled our lead and this time Pugh found Tom Ince whose effort was deflected in off a defender.

The boys were coasting now and still passing the ball around well and playing some good football with lots of confidence, things are certainly changing for the better at youth level and there is a marked improvement from last season.

Ten minutes into the second half and it really should have been all over. Taylor looked to be heading nowhere but he was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded.

Up stepped Joe Booth, already successful from the spot this season, but he blazed it high over the bar.

It was all Burnley now and the Blackpool keeper was forced into making an excellent save from Darrell Avery. Then Neal Trotman hit the post with a shot from a corner and other chances, following good possession, went begging.

Then with quarter of an hour to go we lost the ball inside our own half and presented Blackpool with a one-on-one against Hale. He’s come out on top in this situation a few times this season but this time was beaten.

It didn’t cause us too many anxious moments though and in the end we still went through with a 2-1 win although it really could have been a much bigger victory.

Coach Terry Pashley was delighted with the performance, he described it as excellent, and must be very pleased with the way things are going this season.

Now it is back to league action next Saturday at Rochdale, with the Clarets currently in second place behind some team of unprofessionals.

The Burnley team was,

Michael Hale, Rob Henry, Neal Trotman, Chris McCann, Martin Reilly, Marc Pugh (Jamie Robertson), Joe Booth, Nicky Platt, Tom Ince (Adam Jones), Cayne Hanley (Darrell Avery), Alex Taylor.

Burnley’s Fixtures and Results