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Against Charlton it was much the same - a previously solid looking unit were undone by some good work by the Clarets. Indeed, the confidence that I had seemed to be shared amongst fellow fans, and there was a renewed sense of optimism surrounding Turf Moor. It was for me, and I'm sure many other Clarets alike, a great feeling. Having been stuck in a rut with the now departed Steve Cotterill, it was looking like another season of mid table mediocrity or worse. Now though, and certainly before today's game, there was the belief that something more might just be possible.
As was to be expected, Burnley named an unchanged line up from the team who faced Charlton on Saturday. Some had been calling for Lafferty to be dropped, and whilst I can see where they are coming from and in some instances agree with them, dropping him isn't going to do him, or the team for that matter, any good. It certainly is the weakest area of our side, and with no naturally left sided player to play there, it has to be an area that Owen Coyle looks to fill in January.
We had to wait 11 minutes for the first real chance for Burnley. A foul on the edge of the Leicester area meant Burnley found themselves with a free kick, in an almost identical position to those that we scored from against Charlton. Blake was stood over the ball, but his shot was easily blocked by the wall, and the rebound from Mahon was blasted well over the bar.
6 minutes later, Andy Gray missed a guilt edged chance, the sort of chance that strikers dream of. Good work by Elliott down the right led to the ball falling directly at his feet, but a mis-kick meant that no real contact was made and the chance was wasted. It was quite a shock to realise that it was Gray that had the chance as I expected him to bury it. For a player to be in such good form and one of Gray's calibre to miss such a chance, it proves that all footballers are only human.
No matter, the Clarets were dominating and it was only a matter of time before that elusive goal came. A driving run through the centre of the Leicester defence from Wade Elliott meant the ball finally found its way to the feet of Robbie Blake, who had his shot blocked.
The resulting corner was cleared, but Blake was found again wide on the left. He made a darting run to the byline, taking it round the Leicester defence and cut it back for David Unsworth, who showed great composure for a defender to slot the ball into the far corner.
The goal came in the 19th minute, and it was Unsworth's first for the Clarets. He had been in sublime form in the previous games, and has surprised many with his confident displays. As of yet, his lack of pace hasn't been shown up, not even by the likes of Marlon King, and he is beginning to look like an absolutely quality signing. At the back, his partnership with Clarke Carlisle has led to many speculating whether Caldwell will get his place in the team back once fit again. On the evidence of tonight, and the past 3 games, one would have to say no at this stage.
So with Burnley 1-0 up, the rest of the first half was dominated by the side in Claret, who looked more likely to extend their lead than Leicester were to pull it level. Two chances fell to Robbie Blake, whose touch seemed to desert him on both occasions. With his first chance, he had a shot blocked, and with his second chance he took too many touches, and the chance was gone. For me, especially with the second chance, the ball was crying out to be hit sooner. We all know Blake is the most skilful player in our team, and can create chances out of absolutely nothing, but for me this chance was one that should have been converted.
The fantastic Jon Harley was the creator of our next chance. He made an absolutely superb run down the left, cut inside two Leicester defenders and took the ball to the byline. His cut back was poor, but his turn of speed and skill in getting round the defence was something that we have been lacking with Jordan at left back.
This chance was the last one of a half which had been dominated by the home side. The teams were clapped from the field, with a few chants of 'There's only one David Unsworth' being acknowledged by the big man himself in the form of a thumbs up. Sums up the man perfectly - great footballer AND he realises how important fans are to a club, and appreciates their support of him.
One thing that did become clear in the first half, other than that Leicester were poor, is that we had a comedy trio of officials keeping order in the game. The linesmen didn't seem to realise that when one team kicks the ball out, the throw in goes to the other side. There were numerous occasions when they got it wrong, and the ref also overruled them at times as well.
All three were guilty of missing the constant shirt pulling and general body checking that the two Leicester central defenders - Kisnorbo and McAuley - constantly committed on Gray and Blake and we should have had a number of free kicks for these offences, but unfortunately it became clear that the ref was not going to give them, despite the offences being blindingly obvious. Something else that I noted is how the Leicester keeper constantly tried to take free kicks from the wrong place, despite the linesman clearly indicating where they should be taken from.
The second half came, and unfortunately for us, it was a different story to that of the first. Kyle Lafferty was brought into the game much more, but far, far too often he cut inside and had a shot. Every time he did, he dragged it wide when options were available elsewhere and again this highlights our lack of a natural left sided player.
On the right, we have Elliott who can run defences ragged and consistently get a decent cross in. With Lafferty, we have a right footed player being played out of position on the left, and so each time he gets it he has to cut inside. That being said however, he did put in a fantastic cross which resulted in a chance for Blake that was blocked yet again. This shows that he can do it, but why he doesn't consistently do it is a mystery. He had the chance today against a right back who clearly didn't have a clue, yet he kept coming into the middle instead of taking it to the byline.
Ultimately, as we failed to convert the numerous chances we had, it was clear Leicester only needed one chance to get back into it, and unfortunately they got it in the 78th minute. In a goal almost identical to the one Charlton scored on Saturday, a ball whipped in from the right was converted at the far post by Iain Hume. This again highlights a problem with Lafferty - he can't put a tackle in. And at the far post, who was marking Hume? Whoever it was, they weren't there, and now the team who had so far not done a lot in the match were back in the game.
After that though, only one team looked like scoring, and Burnley had 3 clear chances where they could have got the 3 points they deserved. The first chance fell to Andy Gray. A simply sublime ball through by the fantastic Alan Mahon, left Gray with what looked like an easy chance. Unfortunately he hit it straight at the keeper, and when Gray misses a chance like that, you know that luck isn't on your side.
Lafferty then had a chance, and after great work, he should have cut it back and it would have been a tap in for someone, but he went for it and missed the target completely. This just about summed Lafferty up tonight, pretty poor. Carlisle then had a shot cleared off the line, and that was that, the final whistle went.
It had been a pretty enjoyable football match and it certainly shows signs that they are starting to gel as a team under the new manager. However, the worrying aspect was that we failed to convert the chances we had. I just think that on another day, the chances that Gray and Blake had would have been converted because they are quality players, but tonight that did not seem to happen.
As well as this, Turf Moor is becoming an easy place to come and get a point and so we need to build on our fantastic away form and turn Turf Moor into a fortress, and if we can achieve this, the future looks very bright indeed.