It was a dull affair from start to finish with neither side ever really looking as though they might fashion a real scoring opportunity and the only real positive came with such as Wade Elliott and Danny Karbassiyoon getting in ninety minutes football as they come back from injury.
Elliott came closest to scoring for the Clarets early in the game when he cut in and forced
Not as though things were too much different at the other end where Mark Crossley was redundant for long spells although he was twice beaten. The first of them was cleared off the line by Rob Henry, the second effort in the second half hitting the woodwork with the keeper either somewhat fortunate or having Alan Stevenson style judgement.
Neither side chose to change anything and no substitutes were used during the ninety minutes although Chris McCann came close to being replaced after picking up an injury in the closing minutes. Having said that the young Claret could probably count himself very fortunate not to have been sent off.
Having been fouled he grabbed the ball and threw it at the North End player, a very similar situation to the one that saw Micah Hyde sent off last season on the Turf. The referee went straight for his cards and we all assumed it would have to be red. However, the referee waited until Chris had received treatment and then seemed to forget, put the cards back in his pocket and that was that.
Overall a less than enjoyable night but one that saw most people impressed again with the performance of Duane Courtney at the back. He came close to making his first team debut last Friday and on this sort of form he would certainly not have let us down.
So a draw brings to an end the run of wins that started the season – but the watching small gathering will not have gone home too excited about what they saw.
The teams were,
Burnley: Mark Crossley, Rob Henry, Tom Blackler, Duane Courtney, Martin Reilly, Wade Elliott, Nicky Platt, Chris McCann, Danny Karbassiyoon, Marc Pugh, Kyle Lafferty. Subs not used: Ali Akbar, Adam Kay, Dale Underwood, Paul Casey.
Preston: Andy Lonergan, Dylan Adams, Richard Baker, Matt Hill, James Archer, Joe Anyinsah, Dickson Etuhu, Eric Skora, Mark Jackson, Adam Nowland, Dave Hibbert. Subs not used: Ben Hinchcliffe, Warren Beattie, Ashley Parillon, Iain Howard, Aaron McConville.