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What had started out as a cold morning left some spectators somewhat overdressed in big coats as the sun provided us with shirt sleeve weather.
Burnley had a stronger side out than they have had on previous Gawthorpe mornings this season although goalkeeper Michael Hale was still missing after picking up an injury. He is expected to be fit for next week.
We lined up as follows (in 4-5-1): Mark Crossley, James Heywood, Neal Trotman, Paul Scott Alex Taylor 72), Marc Pugh, Danny Pitham, Darrel Avery (West 77), Ross Preston, Tom Ince, Rhys Carpenter (Cayne Handley 79).
It started off as something of a scrappy affair and although we had more of the play we were finding it difficult to create any real chances. Rochdale on the other hand did look more likely when they did get forward.
And we paid the price when the visitors went a goal in front with 28 minutes on the clock. If we needed a wake up call then this was it and just eleven minutes later we were two goals to the good.
It took us four minutes to get ourselves level and it came from Rhys Carpenter, a player who is now finding the net with some regularity. Paul Scott gave us the lead on 35 minutes and with 39 minutes gone a Ross Preston header made it 3-1.
That was it for the first half and half time was spent discussing the match although the main talking point was Damien Hindle who was doing some training in a pair of shorts longer than any ever worn by Stanley Matthews.
The second half was hardly under way when Carpenter added his second and in the next quarter of an hour we threatened to take Rochdale apart but then the game turned ugly in two separate incidents two minutes apart.
Right on the hour Marc Pugh was brought clattering to the ground with as bad a challenge as you are ever likely to see. It was right in front of the assistant referee and the referee himself was close by.
This was bad and the referee had no alternative but to send off the Rochdale player. He didn’t but wagged his finger and let him off with a yellow card whilst the assistant kept his nose out and did nothing. It really does make you wonder why we bother with assistants like this.
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Belatedly out came the red but this referee really needs to ask some serious questions as to how he allowed the first one to go.
The Dale keeper then made to excellent saves in the space of two minutes, denying Carpenter a hat trick with one of them.
The game was really coming to life and the Clarets brought on Alex Taylor for the injured Paul Scott. Taylor hadn’t been on the field for a minute when Rochdale pulled one back with a dipping shot from some distance.
The goal sent Burnley coach Terry Pashley crazy in disgust at giving the goal away but he was soon cheering again as Taylor’s first contribution was to make it 5-2.
We made a couple of substitutions and Marc Pugh, thankfully without injury following the challenge, almost made it six with a stunning striker that struck the bar and bounced to safety but it was all Burnley now.
There could have been more but the visiting keeper was now having a stormer and stopping just about everything that we threw at him. Then with two minutes to go, in a rare attack, Rochdale hit the post.
Burnley came straight back and came really close to number six on two separate occasions within a minute as the Dale keeper made two more superb saves this time from close range headers. The two saves denied both Taylor and Preston from getting on the scoresheet for a second time.
Preston’s was a stunning header but no surprise to the crowd who had only a few minutes earlier seen his dad get in a brilliant header (and with his hands in his pockets) as he watched from the touchline.
The last piece of action saw a wonderful display of showboating from Marc Pugh in the centre of the field before the referee brought an end to the misery for ten man Rochdale.
This had been an excellent and entertaining performance from the young Clarets following on from their well earned win at Bury next week.
Youth team fixtures and results