Stars in their eyes

Joel Pilkington - reserve team captain

It was nearly a disastrous start as former first team keeper Brian Jensen allowed a routine ball to bounce off his chest (not sure what he was doing with his hands) but the ball was scrambled clear before the visitors could get a shot in.

The Danish keeper was not to have a good night, despite the fact that we were never under serious pressure, and his flapping at crosses throughout remained a worry for the home defence.

Once we got going it was 16-year-old Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty who took centre stage and although he didn’t score he certainly left the crowd with a taster for more. Lafferty is a tall, lanky striker but it was his play on the ground that showed up with a really good first touch.

He did have a header well saved, put a couple of good efforts over the bar but the one that will be remembered was when he chested down a cross from Marc Pugh and hit a powerful volley on the turn. It brought a stunning save from Kieren Westwood in the Carlisle goal.

He wasn’t the only player on target though, Alex Taylor and Marc Pugh also had good shots blocked whilst Mark Yates put one effort just wide.

There was no real change during the second half and Carlisle hardly threatened other than the occasional cross that caused unnecessary confusion and it was just a matter of whether we could get ourselves a goal.

Joel Pilkington, the captain, Matt O’Neill and Taylor all put shots wide, Ryan Townsend headed the ball onto the top of the netting and then the keeper made another top save, this time to deny Taylor.

We almost went behind when Carlisle forced a good save from Jensen but it was soon back up to the other end and as we moved into the last ten minutes it looked as though we had won it as O’Neill cut in from the left and beat Westwood with a low shot.

It looked a goal all the way but came back off the inside of the far post and that proved to be our last real chance.

There was just time for the Clarets to introduce their own Claret & Blue version of ‘Stars in their eyes’ as we made a substitution with three minutes to go.

As Paul Scott left the field our bungling PA announcer revealed that he was being replaced by Matthew Kelly – but tonight Matthew he was going to be Republic of Ireland youngster Martin Reilly.

Lafferty hit one over the bar in stoppage time before the referee brought it to an end. It had been an entertaining game, deserving of far more than the 150 or so who turned out to watch.

Pugh caught the eye again, we were more than comfortable defensively although I would prefer to see Neal Trotman in the centre rather than at full back, and then there was the excellent play from Lafferty up front.

The next game is at Chester next Wednesday afternoon and a week later we are at home as we take on the Unprofessionals.

The teams were,

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Neal Trotman, Ryan Townsend, Chris McCann, Paul Scott (Martin Reilly 87), Marc Pugh, Joel Pilkington, Mark Yates (Joe Booth 76), Matt O’Neill, Alex Taylor, Kyle Lafferty. Subs not used: Michael Hale, Nicky Platt, Cayne Hanley.

Carlisle: Kieren Westwood, Martin Graham, Paul Arnison, Lee Andrews, Simon Grand, Paul Gardiner, Will McDonough, Peter Ferris (Peter Cawson 87), Kevin Henderson (Rob Bainbridge 18), Craig Farrell, Lee Hamilton. Subs not used: Matthew Bell, Adam Bradley.

Attendance: 156.