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Only Clarke Carlisle and Wade Elliott remained in the starting eleven from the weekend's victory, and a competitive debut was handed to Lee Grant in goal. Alongside Carlisle, Leon Cort replaced Andre Bikey, and full back slots were handed to two of Coyle's defensive protégés, in Brian Easton and Richard Eckersley. David Edgar slotted into the holding midfield role, while starts were also given to Jack Cork, Jay Rodriguez, Steven Thompson and Chris Eagles, who it was later revealed had signed a new two year deal to fend off his Scottish suitors.
In an evening of firsts, the Clarets took their positions for kick off in Burnley's first ever game at the newly constructed Globe Arena, which is incredibly reminiscent of the Crown ground - just with a bigger main stand, and a roof over both terraces behind the goals, as opposed to just one. There is plenty of criticism (albeit mostly justified) of new stadiums, and while the pitch and stands were fairly customary, the area behind the away terrace resembled the aisle down the centre of a bus.
Nevertheless the game began, and while Morecambe made the brighter start, neither side was fully able to grasp any considerable control. The day's rain had seemingly had little effect on the playing surface, and as both sides settled in, it became clear that the home side were prepared to take the game to the Clarets, just as they had done to Coventry in the first round. And with just twelve minutes gone, the home side's energy paid dividends as Phil Jevons somewhat contentiously fired home from 8 yards after a through ball from Mark Duffy. At this point, I'd love to be able to use hindsight and tell you whether the goal was in fact offside; however with both the Mirror, Granada Reports and the BBC denying that we even played last night, I can't - so I will side with the 400 Clarets to the left of me in the main stand, and say that he was 'a mile off'.
As the first half continued, the Clarets were still failing to threaten the Morecambe goal, and it was the Shrimps who continued to look the most likely as the countdown to halftime began. However, as does tend to happen on these occasions, it took just one clear cut chance for Chris Eagles to draw the Championship side level, as a delicate chip forward from Jack Cork found the head of Steven Thompson, who nodded down for Eagles to strike past the helpless Roche to make it 1-1.
Once level, the Clarets took the initiative, and could have been in front, had an inviting half volley not fallen to the feet of Clarke Carlisle, who did little to quash the stereotypical idea of a centre backs finish as the ball sailed over the crossbar. The chances did not end there as yet more evidence of our increasing threat from set pieces under Laws became apparent as Rodriguez glanced over from an Eagles corner. Both managers retreated to their respective dressing rooms fairly content, and the dressing room was certainly the best place to be at half time. In fact, even standing in the bus aisle would have made for a more entertaining 15 minutes than those I experienced from in the stand.
Enter the offspring of Jim Bowen and Bruce Forsyth - a man who made me appreciate the simplicity of the Golden Gamble, and made Jeff Brown's antics look positively sane. It was, in a strange sort of way, like The Chase on ITV, in the sense that it goes on too long, you never really know what's going on and apparently, nobody ever wins. Needless to say, the sight of the players arriving for the second half was a relieved one.
Ooooooooooookidoke, the second half.
It took the Clarets far less time to settle down in the second period, and with the gulf in class becoming increasingly evident, it appeared that Morecambe's chances of a second scalp were going down with the (very strong) sun.
It didn't stop them, however, from coming close to taking the lead for a second time, after a close shave from Morecambe's second close range free kick of the evening. While the first had cannoned into the wall, the second came frighteningly close as Laurence Wilson appeared from nowhere to leave Lee Grant scrambling across his goalmouth, only to be saved by his crossbar.
With the threat averted, the Clarets began to take a tighter grip on proceedings, and Chris Eagles was giving both full backs a torrid time as he revelled in somewhat of a free role across the midfield.
The play remained fairly scrappy however, which should be wholeheartedly attributed to the referee, who contributed to flowing football about as much as Mozart did to Rugby League. Every tussle and push was penalised - in many cases wrongly, and while frustration with the officials grew from the sidelines, Chris Eagles dealt what was essential the knockout blow to Morecambe's cup run, as his mazy run into the box was all too much for Darren Moss who tentatively stuck out a leg to give the referee no option but to point to the spot.
Once Thompson had assured Jay Rodriguez that he was the right man for the job, he assuredly sent Roche the wrong way, and while it wasn't a thunderbolt - nor with the outside of his foot, it did the job, and put the Clarets in front.
Just 5 minutes after the restart, Eckersley was substituted for Kev McDonald, with David Edgar slotting in at right back. While the young full back Eckersley has moments of promise, they are more than equalled by moments of madness, which often earn him a place in the book, and with him being the natural replacement for Mears, Laws will no doubt be hoping that he can begin to learn from some of these mistakes over the course of the season.
As we entered the final 10 minutes with the lead still only marginal, Chris Iwelumo looked all set for a short stint on the field, however once a seemingly forgotten but nonetheless impressive Kev McDonald fired home the third from twenty yards out (with the help of a large deflection), Iwelumo was handed his jacket, paving the way for first team debuts for both Michael King and Wes Fletcher.
Replacing Eagles and Rodriguez respectively, the development squad youngsters had little bearing on the outcome of the game, but will have both hugely benefited from the experience - which with the size and competition for places within the first team squad this year, may be limited. Nevertheless, it certainly bodes well for the future, and highlights Laws' commitment to the youth setup within the club.
The Clarets now embark on a trip to South Wales on Saturday as they entertain Swansea at the Liberty Stadium, and if they can avoid defeat it will be a fantastic end to an August which many had predicted Laws' side would struggle in, which certainly augurs well for the remainder of the season.