Back down to earth

Last updated : 23 November 2008 By Tony Scholes
Steven Caldwell
Steven Caldwell - Man of the Match
I was worried that last week's game at Loftus Road might be an 'After the Lord Mayor's Show' event but we left it until we got home and in truth never got anything like a foothold into a game where things went from bad to worse with an early substitution and a red card.

By the time it was all over I think we were all thankful for the point against probably as bad a side as we've seen at Turf Moor all season, and that point saw us drop to fifth place in the table.

There were long queues outside the ticket office ahead of the game as supporters waited to get their Arsenal tickets, and the Carling Cup was ever evident throughout the afternoon. The match programme was a special limited edition and highlights were shown on the big screen.

No problem with that, but our worst fears were confirmed when The Liquidator was played over the PA ahead of kick off. We'd taken the micky out of Chelsea down at Stamford Bridge with it ahead of kick off, but it is THEIR song, not OURS.

Owen Coyle made just the one change to the team that won at QPR, bringing back Steven Caldwell at the expense of Michael Duff in the centre of defence. Duffo could certainly count himself very unfortunate to be on the bench after standing in for first Carlisle and then Caldwell and turning in two very good performances.

We got off to a very subdued start and you sensed it was going to be a day when we weren't ever going to get anywhere near our best. Doncaster were the first to show but they did what they have been doing all season and put a shot wide of target.

Then came the first controversial incident in the game. I cannot be doing with referees who get the big decisions wrong, and star of the show Steve Bennett certainly got this one wrong. Yes, he awarded us a free kick for a foul by Matthew Mills on Chris Eagles, but this was without doubt the worst foul of the game and it remains difficult to believe that the card didn't come out.

Robbie Blake took the resulting free kick and forced his former Leeds (that was before they were League One Leeds) team mate Neil Sullivan into a good save down to his left.

Almost immediately Mills was at it again, this time with a bad challenge on Steven Thompson. The striker reacted and both, quite rightly, were yellow carded. Quite simply, had this referee been doing his job properly then Mills would have been walking with just twelve minutes gone.

The game was hardly entertaining stuff. Doncaster pass the ball around at a very slow pace but they did manage to force Jensen into a save from a long range shot. He tipped it over at the expense of a corner.

We needed a spark, but instead we were hit with a double blow just past the half hour. First Wade Elliott went down with what looked like a groin problem and required treatment. He came back but wasn't on for much longer and was replaced by Alan Mahon.

During those few minutes he was back on the pitch we were reduced to ten men. I've little sympathy with Thompson who clearly was taking retribution on Mills and in he went on him. Now apparently those closer to the incident have confirmed there was no contact but that didn't stop Bennett doing what he should have done to Mills. Out came yellow, out came red, and for the fifth time this season we were reduced to ten men.

We got to half time and that gave us a chance to reshuffle. Coyle went with a 4-4-1 formation with Eagles the man up front. It didn't really work but just a few minutes into the second half we should have gone in front. Chris McCann got onto a free kick right in front of goal and looked a certain scorer. But his header lacked power and direction and fell right into the hands of Sullivan.

Ade Akinbiyi came on for Blake and that meant Eagles back on the right but by now Doncaster were sensing that they might have a chance of getting something. Thankfully they don't seem to have a clue how to score goals so when they did get a chance they missed it.

We had one more chance. Good work from Caldwell on the edge of their box won him the ball back and he fed Eagles coming in from the right. He possibly found himself with too tight an angle and he hit his low shot beyond Sullivan and wide of the far post.

The closing stages were all Doncaster as we dropped deeper. Duff came on for the disappointing Joey Gudjonsson as we shifted Graham Alexander back into that midfield role, but they still got at us. Eagles made one miraculous challenge in his own box to deny them and right at the end Jensen made a double save to keep us level.

So 0-0 it ended and the first time we've failed to score at home since the same scoreline against Plymouth in August. It's disappointing to drop points to the bottom club but simply our performance deserved no more.

It's becoming quite predictable but yet again Steven Caldwell gets my man of the match. Back in following his suspension he turned in another excellent performance at the back. He's certainly back to the sort of form he showed when he first joined the Clarets back in January 2007.

No Thompson and probably no Elliott tomorrow at Barnsley. But the manager always says that's an opportunity for someone else. Let's hope they take it and we can get back to winning ways and ensure we stay in that top six. I'm sure it will be better than this performance.

The teams were;

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Wade Elliott (Alan Mahon 34), Joey Gudjonsson (Michael Duff 79), Chris McCann, Chris Eagles, Robbie Blake (Ade Akinbiyi 58), Steven Thompson.
Yellow cards: Steven Thompson, Joey Gudjonsson, Ade Akinbiyi, Chris Eagles.
Red cards: Steven Thompson.

Doncaster: Neil Sullivan, James O'Connor, Matthew Mills, Sam Hird (James Hayter 38), Shelton Martis, James Chambers, Richie Wellens, Brian Stock, Martin Woods, Lewis Guy (Paul Heffernan 72), Jason Price (James Coppinger 72). Subs not used: John Spicer, Gareth Taylor.
Yellow cards: Matthew Mills, Martin Woods.

Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent).

Attendance: 12,173.