A point gained rather than two dropped

Last updated : 16 March 2011 By Tony Scholes
It was a night of few positives against a Coventry team that will wonder how on earth they didn't win the game and why on earth they didn't sack Aidy Boothroyd some considerable time earlier.

The big lump it football that Boothroyd plays was replaced by a more pleasing style and well done to the temporary coaching team for getting that in place so quickly. They looked to get the ball forwards in the right manner and there was a spell in the second half when we didn't know whether we were coming or going.

But, in the end, we got a point courtesy of two Jay Rodriguez goals that take him into double figures in terms of league goals this season, and what an achievement that is in his first season in the first team.

There were very few other shining lights with Dean Marney, probably our best player in the first half, forced off with an injury and it was a night when the support Eddie Howe had asked for from the stands was virtually non-existent and, worse still, had been replaced with the sort of negativity we all hoped had gone with the change of manager.

The poor performance on Saturday was met with a 'same again' from Howe and in fairness it did seem to be the right decision. Lee Grant and Michael Duff, in particular, were disappointing in the Millwall defeat but just four days earlier had been absolutely outstanding at Hull in the 1-0 win.

With the squad now down to just 19 fit players it was again Brian Easton who missed out with the same seven substitutes named.

Again Turf Moor was very subdued ahead of kick off and it got worse as Coventry started the game so much better than us. They pushed us back from the off and were very much on top. Only an excellent saves from Grant denied Lukas Jutkiewicz an early goal.

Freddy Eastwood shot just wide and there were concerned faces all around Turf Moor. This was not the Coventry we'd expected - oh to have had the obnoxious Boothroyd in the visitor's dug out.

Nothing had been seen of us at all until we turned the game on its head by taking the lead and what a good goal it was too from Jay Rodriguez. Jay's last Burnley goal, in the win over Crystal Palace, was a superb effort but this one beat it.

Tyrone Mears played the ball up to him and Jay brilliantly beat the defender before moving forward and lobbing the ball over Keiren Westwood who'd been left with no option but to come out to meet him.

Ten league goals for Jay, and for me this was the best yet from the youngster. We might not have deserved to be in the lead but that was a goal worthy of winning a game.

It also allowed us to get more into the game but we were thankful to the officials when Chris Eagles committed a foul back in his own left back area. Coventry were fuming when the referee gave them a free kick. A delegation approached the referee; others challenged the assistant. The offence was, apparently, inside the box and should have been a penalty.

Nothing came of the free kick and it was Burnley by now doing more pressing and Nathan Delfouneso almost doubled the lead. He created space for himself on the edge of the Coventry box but his shot was just too close to Westwood. Had that gone it, and had we gone to half time with a 2-0 lead, it might all have been different.

Unfortunately the only other event of note before the break was us being forced to replace Marney with Wade Elliott. The choice of Elliott was perhaps surprising but the loss of Marney was a major blow although someone behind me thought otherwise as he cried: "Thank **** for that," as the number 8 was held up on the board.

For a long spell in the second half Coventry were so much on top I don't recall us being outplayed like this during any period in any other game this season. Grant saved well from a free kick and we got away with a few scrapes in our penalty box.

Just for a second or two I wondered whether it might just be our night and we might get away with it as Coventry spurned opportunity after opportunity, but it was not to be and just past the hour they got the equaliser they so richly deserved from the very impressive Jutkiewicz.

The former Swindon and Everton forward was allowed to get his header in far too easily but that was nothing compared to the ease he got the second header in when the first came back off the bar.

Howe sent on Marvin Bartley for his home debut; Ross Wallace was the player to come off but If anyone thought Coventry would be happy with a point then they soon found out how mistaken they were. They continued to dominate play. Grant made another save, balls went across our own box at alarming rate and somehow a second Coventry goal looked inevitable.

And it came and what another poor goal to concede. Jack Cork just had to do better as Gary McSheffrey got the better of him down in the left back corner, and Jay Rod then turned away as he got past him. He moved past Danny Fox and then, from the Coventry right, curled a shot over Grant and into the far top corner.

By this time the fans had already been calling for the introduction of Andre Bikey. The player himself had been conducting the fans by waving his arms in the dug out having arrived late for the second half. But when the third change came it was Chris Iwelumo for the ineffective Cork.

That was greeted by boos from the Longside but I'm not sure why. Cork, such a good player for us this season, had not enjoyed the best of games and now we needed to get a goal back just to earn a point.

It looked odds on a Coventry win but incredibly we took only four minutes to draw level. Mears had found Rodriguez for the first goal and this time it was the other full back Fox with a right wing corner.

He hit it over the far post and there was Jay to head home his second. There were some suggestions that Eagles might have got a touch but pictures confirmed the deflection came from Coventry midfielder Aron Gunnarsson.

We tried to push forwards but with little effect and it was Coventry who had the last real opportunity of the game as another ball was allowed to move harmlessly across our box.

But a Burnley win would have been a rank injustice and if Coventry continue to play like this they will soon be moving away from the bottom of the table.

Whilst Eddie Howe bemoaned the fact that he didn't get a reaction from his Burnley players we can at least rejoice in the news that Boothroyd is out of the game again. How refreshing to hear the words of Andy Thorn, caretaker manager.

He said after the game: "We're in a multi-million pound industry and people pay a lot of hard earned money to watch us so we have to entertain and I thought we did that."

For Burnley: In the end it was very much a point gained rather than two dropped but it's an opportunity to put pressure on the top six lost. There are other opportunities to come; we have to take them.

The teams were;

Burnley: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Michael Duff, Danny Fox, Jack Cork (Chris Iwelumo 77), Dean Marney (Wade Elliott 40), Ross Wallace (Marvin Bartley 65), Chris Eagles, Jay Rodriguez, Nathan Delfouneso. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Andre Bikey, Graham Alexander.
Yellow Cards: Clarke Carlisle, Wade Elliott.

Coventry: Keiren Westwood, Jordan Clarke, Richard Keogh, Richard Wood, Stephen O'Halloran (Chris Hussey 57), Carl Baker, Sammy Clingan, Aron Gunnarsson, Gary McSheffrey, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Freddy Eastwood. Subs not used: Michael Quirke, David Bell, Josh Ruffels, Nathan Cameron, Roy O'Donovan, Michael McIndoe.
Yellow Cards: Stephen O'Halloran, Carl Baker.

Referee: Michael Naylor (South Yorkshire).

Attendance: 13,802.