Blank Boxing Day for Clarets

We had some bad luck at times, we were the victims of as bad a refereeing decision as you are likely to see, but we got it so badly wrong so often that the away end was full of anger as the final whistle brought our latest Oakwell defeat to an end.

The team was the same as the one that played most of the game against Derby on Saturday, with Brian Jensen in goal and his place on the bench taken by Micah Hyde who was returning from suspension. Again we had just the sixteen players available to us with Danny Coyne having joined Andy Gray, John McGreal and Frank Sinclair on the injury list.

Barnsley started the brighter of the two teams, attacking the end where the Burnley fans were still trying to find seats at kick off, but it was the Clarets who forced the first shot of the game when Chris McCann hit a first time effort from distance. Goalkeeper Nick Colgan saved that at the expense of a corner but the home side were quickly down the other end putting us under some pressure.

Twice they forced Jensen into saves as they worryingly found it much too easy to get through our defence. They were just able to get the ball past our two central defenders who both had shockers.

Seeing Michael Duff have a bad game is a rare thing these days but for Wayne Thomas it was just another in a catalogue of disastrous performances in a Burnley shirt. Both struggled horrendously, hardly helped by Jon Harley and poor Stephen Foster must have wondered what was going on alongside him.

Jensen then saved well from Paul Hayes after a poor mistake from Thomas and a similar error from Duff let in Daniel Nardiello but the Beast was again there to avoid any danger.

Barnsley hit the bar but it wasn't one way traffic and we should have done better with chances that fell to Duff and to Kyle Lafferty. But you sensed we might not hold on as the home side came forward again. Sam Togwell hit the bar with a screamer then he got down to deny Antony Kay in a one-on-one after he had run through much too easily, but the inevitable goal finally arrived from a player familiar to our manager, former Cheltenham winger Martin Devaney.

They got the ball between our two central defenders and Devaney ran on to it and finished comfortably. To be honest it was difficult to believe it had taken them that long to score, so inept were we defensively.

Within a minute we were close to drawing level but Foster's header came back off the woodwork but for the rest of the half it was Barnsley in the ascendancy and frankly we were fortunate to go in at the interval just a goal behind.

The second half was somewhat different, and it was a half that was dominated by the Clarets who will wonder just how they didn't get at least an equaliser. Kyle headed over from a Wade Elliott cross when he should have done better but just about the hour came the crucial decision that had it gone the other way could really have changed this game completely.

Kyle got the ball across to Gifton who looked a certain scorer. Maybe he should have done better but his effort was goal bound and the goal was only prevented by the hand of defender Bobby Hassell.

Now we don't get penalties, but we were sure to get this one, it could not have been so blatant. As the players all turned to the referee, just about 3,000 Clarets in unison screamed ‘handball' from behind the goal. Incredibly Williamson gave a corner. Hassell had won himself a double let off, he'd got away with the handball and also with the mandatory red card that would have come if the referee had given the spot kick.

A double let off did I say, let's say a triple let off. Just two minutes later it looked as though we had finally got ourselves level when Steve Jones got past Colgan just outside the box. It looked as though the Barnsley keeper could have caught him but he stayed on his feet and hit the ball towards the empty net. Then up popped Hassell, who should by now have been taking a shower, to clear the ball.

You sensed that no matter what, we weren't going to get back into this game, and we could have gone two behind but again Jensen saved superbly in a one-on-one. We kept pushing forward, we made three substitutions, with one of the subs Micah Hyde getting a yellow card within ten seconds of coming on.

But it didn't work. Alan Mahon hit the wall with a free kick, so nothing new there, and then into stoppage time Garreth O'Connor hit a shot wide. But it wasn't to be and our long wait for a win at Barnsley, our long wait for an away win on Boxing Day continue.

Fingers will point at the incredible decision on the hour, just imagine if we'd converted the penalty and then had half an hour at this Barnsley side reduced to ten men. But in the end we got what we got because of a first half when the defending was shambolic, it was almost like the Throw One In days, but not quite.

Choosing a man of the match was reasonably easy. First remove the inept defenders and then the forwards who couldn't hit the back of the net. Rule out others who didn't fare too well and it sort of leaves you with Brian Jensen, Wade Elliott and James O'Connor. They were the only three candidates for me and I'm going for the Beast out of the three. Three very good saves, only his kicking let him down today.

Referee Williamson, well I'll take the blame for the penalty. Just about a minute before the incident I turned to friends and dared to say he was having a decent game. I really should have known better. Overall he did OK, but there is simply no excuse for missing a penalty as clear as that. If he didn't see it then you have to ask what the hell he was doing on the pitch in the first place.

As for us, if we are not careful our season will be going down the pan again and we need to arrest this slide. A year ago after beating Stoke on Boxing Day we were getting all excited about the prospect of a push towards the play offs. Today we have only one point less, and we won't be selling Ade next month. But we really do have to start picking points up again, and very soon.

The teams were;

Barnsley: Nick Colgan, Bobby Hassell, Rob Atkinson, Antony Kay, Neil Austin (Paul Heckingbottom 34), Martin Devaney, Sam Togwell, Grant McCann, Kyel Reid, Paul Hayes (Leon Knight 87), Daniel Nardiello (Mark Richards 87). Subs not used: Kyle Letheren, Robbie Williams.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Stephen Foster, Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas, Jon Harley (Micah Hyde 76), Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Chris McCann, Steve Jones (Garreth O'Connor 83), Gifton Noel-Williams, Kyle Lafferty (Alan Mahon 76). Subs not used: John Spicer, Graham Branch.

Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire).

Attendance: 12,842.