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It was really tough to predict who was going to come out on top at Turf Moor before kick off. Both teams had won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six fixtures.
The atmosphere seemed positive after Tuesday's success against Charlton, and for once the weather was suitable for a game of football to actually take place. Anticipation was rife as a genuine 'six pointer' got underway.
It all started exactly the same as every other game, fireworks to welcome the teams out, the traditional boos for ex Blackburn player Michael Gray, and Owen Coyle purposefully striding towards the dugout in his infamous gleaming white trainers.
My first disappointment was to see that Andrew Cole was absent from the squad with a calf strain. I'm a big fan of Ade but with the chances he has spurned recently I thought we could really miss Cole's finishing ability.
The only other change to Tuesday's line-up saw Joey Gudjonsson returning from suspension to replace Alan Mahon. Alan was disappointing against Charlton but I do think that once he returns to full match fitness he could be a very important asset for us.
Wolves really rang the changes after a poor showing at Deepdale, bringing in Seyi George Olofinjana, Darren Ward, Andy Keogh and Kevin Foley. Keogh played on the right of a five man midfield with the in-form Sylvan Ebanks-Blake as a lone striker.
The first ten minutes was quite scrappy, with the only real chance falling to Akinbiyi. A good piece of work by Blake set Elliott free down the right wing. He whipped in the usual brilliant cross but Ade managed to head it wide, under no real pressure from the defender.
Wolves looked very sloppy, putting way too many passes astray and not really driving forward the way a team of that quality should. And on the few occasions they did push forward the Burnley defence looked pretty solid, with Alexander and Varga in particular making some important interceptions.
Oh how that was about to change. A great control and pass by Ebanks-Blake completely by-passed our defence and found the completely unmarked Olofinjana who ran 20 yards unopposed and then slotted it past the helpless Kiraly. 1-0 down after just 14 minutes.
Two minutes later Wolves doubled their lead, a shocking back pass by Carlisle sold Kiraly short, his attempted clearance was charged down by Gray and the ball agonizingly crept into the empty net.
Even though the score suggested we were getting thrashed, if anything Burnley were the better team, creating chances on a regular basis. On 19 minutes Lafferty dribbled past two defenders, took it to the by-line and whipped in a cross/shot that had Hennessey struggling, but he just managed to tip it over the bar. From the resulting corner Varga got above his marker but headed just wide.
Despite being good going forward, the Clarets' defensive calamities continued, a very weak clearance from our own box gifted the impressive Olofinjana with a good chance but his shot was a poor one.
Clarke Carlisle was beginning to look as though he'd never played football before, he's been magnificent this season but every time he got the ball yesterday he looked shaky and his passing was atrocious. Even the best players are allowed off days though.
The Clarets were beginning to pile on the pressure and were creating a number of half chances, all of which seemed to revolve around the pace of Elliott and the skill of Blake. Even Graham Alexander had a rasping shot from distance which forced Hennessey into a good save.
Then just on the stroke of half time perhaps Burnley's best chance. The ball fell to Varga one-on-one with the keeper and with two other Burnley players alongside him. However all three of them just stopped, as though they thought they were offside. Whatever was running through their heads the chance was soon gone and Burnley went in at the break 2-0 down, to a chorus of boos from certain sections of the crowd.
Chances continued to come thick and fast for both teams in the second half. But Wolves were starting to have the better of the play, with our defence still looking very shaky. If Carlisle was the culprit in the first half then Alexander was to blame in the second. First he bundled Ebanks-Blake over in the box and, although I don't think it was a penalty, it could've been given and he should have been more careful. Then he twice gave the ball away in dangerous positions under no real pressure. I wish he had shown half the form he always seemed to have when he played on the Turf in a white shirt. As it is I can see the Scot losing his place when Duff regains fitness.
Then the biggest calamity of the day; and, unsurprisingly, it was performed by Gabor Kiraly. I'm a big fan of the pyjama clad Hungarian and hope he keeps his place for the next match but both him and Jensen are making way too many mistakes at the moment and I'm guessing confidence is at rock bottom. Maybe another keeper for next season should be on the wish-list sent to Kilby?
This sparked the Wolves fans into action and they began to give Kiraly endless stick and sarcastic cheers. To be fair to him he didn't let this affect him and apart from the now expected occasional wayward kick he was fairly steady for the last half hour.
Mahon was brought into the action to replace Gudjonsson but despite a lot of effort and running, failed to really stamp his authority on the game and was largely disappointing.
Then just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Stanislav Varga, who, despite the awful defending going on around him, had quite a good game, limped off with a foot injury. He was caught by a late tackle ten minutes earlier and tried to continue but in the end had to succumb. This gave Unsworth a run-out at the back for the last 20 minutes. Hopefully he will be back for our trip to Deepdale next week.
Lafferty moved upfront to create a 4-3-3 formation and for long spells Carlisle joined them as a fourth striker. At least it meant he wasn't defending. We actually played well in the attacking formation; it gave Elliott less licence to move down the right wing but Lafferty seemed much more comfortable.
The one time Elliott did get a bit of room he made it count in the way only he can. He skipped between two defenders with a sublime piece of skill and whipped in a vicious cross from the by-line. Akinbiyi's first effort was a header straight at Hennessey but it rebounded straight back to him and he blasted it into the top of the net. 3-1 down with 13 minutes to play, and just the faintest thoughts of a come-back began to emanate from the crowd.
Elliott is by far the best winger in our division; I don't think there is too much argument about that. If we can eventually get him to sign a long term deal it will be a better acquisition than anybody we bring in this summer. I will be genuinely gutted if he leaves on a free transfer.
Coyle made his final tactical change of the match, bringing Mark Randall on for Blake. The young gunner looked a different player to the one that has come off the bench and terrorised defences in previous games. He was another that was, unfortunately, largely anonymous and disappointing.
As Burnley pushed forward in the closing stages we created a few half chances, whilst leaving ourselves wide open for counter attacks at the same time. The game became very stretched but I think everyone knew it was always going to finish 3-1.
The sponsors' man of the match was Kyle Lafferty, quite a strange decision to say the least in my opinion. Varga, Blake, or Elliott would have been a far more accurate choice. Although in all honesty I often wonder if the sponsors are actually watching the game.
Coyle was fuming after the game. I sit right at the front of the Bob Lord stand and get to see his reactions and mood changes on a regular basis. But I've never seen him look so angry. I'm glad I wasn't sat in that dressing room for the post match team talk.
After the game I had the strange realisation that I had just watched quite a good Burnley performance, yet at the same time we had lost 3-1 and made some horrendous errors at the back. I suppose we deserved to lose the game purely because of the way we defended, but it was not a 3-1 match by any stretch of the imagination.
Then to make matters worse the heavens opened on my way home. A typical Saturday afternoon for the supporter of Burnley Football Club.
Burnley team and ratings:
Kiraly (2) - Awful performance, gifted them their 3rd and kicking was wayward
Alexander (4) - Gave the ball away too often. Average 1st half, very poor 2nd
Harley (6) - Fairly steady and fairly quiet, didn't get forward as often as he'd like
Varga (7) - Best of a poor back four, looked confident and unlucky to get injured
Carlisle (3) - Worst performance in a Burnley shirt, everyone has off games though
Lafferty (6) - Only looked good through the middle, a hint perhaps?
Elliott (8) - MOM - only real danger we posed and got a great assist
Gudjonsson (5) - Wasn't too bad but his passing wasn't at its best
J O' Connor (6) - Constantly trying again but to no avail this week
Blake (7) - Showed some good skill but looked to tire towards the end
Akinbiyi (6) - Still nowhere near at his best, got the goal though
Mahon (5) - Very quiet when he came on
Unsworth (6) - Looked in control at the back
Randall (4) - Also very quiet when he came on