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Burnley made only one change to the side that put Derby to the sword a few days earlier - the in-form Glen Little replacing Lenny Johnrose on the right hand side of midfield. It soon became evident that as well as being a popular decision, it was the correct one, as the Clarets took the game to their visitors almost from the off.
The combination of Little, West and Blake which had worked so well at Pride Park was causing the Tangerines untold problems down their left hand side, as Burnley opened them up seemingly at will. Yet strangely enough, the Clarets’ opener didn’t come down the right, but through the middle. Robbie Blake, tying the Blackpool defence in knots with his trickery, drew a foul on the edge of the area.
Step forward Dean West, who having watched Blake run over the ball, unleashed a shot which bizarrely skidded beneath the jumping Blackpool wall and even more strangely eluded keeper Barnes who accommodatingly leapt over the ball rather than attempting to stop it. Fred clearly enjoyed his first strike for the club, and at this rate we should only have to wait until 2006 before he notches another.
For the rest of the opening period, the Clarets pummelled Blackpool, Little in particular putting over a couple of balls which but for a combination of some last ditch defending and poor finishing from Burnley should have given the home side a greater lead at the interval. As one Blackpool fan admitted to me after the game, "It could have been 6-0 by half past eight."
We took to our seats in the second half hoping for a repeat of the opening forty-five minutes, but with a couple of goals thrown in. But it was Blackpool who seized the initiative, the introduction of John Murphy clearly making a difference. As did the withdrawal of both Little and Blake from the action in exchange for Gareth Taylor and Alan Moore.
A ten minute spell of concerted pressure followed, during which Murphy should have drawn Blackpool level. Having ridden that storm out Dimi Papadopoulous replaced Ian Moore – with almost immediate rewards. A long hoof down field was flicked on by Taylor, and Papadopoulous was quickest to react, hooking the ball over the advancing frame of Phil Barnes to score his first goal for the Clarets, and give Burnley what seemed an unassailable lead.
The game became a fait accompli, fifteen minutes from time when the gormless Grayson needlessly handled the ball inside his own area. The referee, who had been excellent throughout, had the easiest of jobs in pointing to the penalty spot. West was clearly keen to take the kick, but Gareth Taylor was clearly keen to open his account for the season. He should have left it to Fred. The Welsh international’s spot kick was poor, and easily saved by Barnes. Unfortunately for the Blackpool stopper, he could only palm the ball away, and Papa was first to react, slamming the rebound home to become the Clarets leading scorer this season.
With the game won, Ternent was able to withdraw the injured and mainly ineffective Paul Weller, and Burnley finished the game with only ten men on the field. This was a convincing victory for the Clarets albeit over a weakened Blackpool side, and the players will draw confidence from winning, scoring a hat-trick of goals and keeping a second clean sheet in three games. Burnley need to take the confidence from this game into Saturday’s fixture against Stoke. And provided they match the Potters for the physical battle, they have more than enough to see off the visitors. Given the level of the last two performances, the only problem the manager should have is whether to start with Blake and Moore, or Taylor and Papadopoulous. It’s certainly a nice headache to have compared with the ones we were experiencing seven days ago.