Burnley slip to 9th in the Championship

Without Jon Harley, James O'Connor and Andy Gray, many pessimists would have expected Burnley to roll over and be beaten today. However, Burnley showed a display of grit and determination mixed with a touch of class to draw 2-2 in a game they came so close to winning.

The Clarets started well, shooting towards the visiting fans, and a looping cross from Wade Elliott was headed behind for a corner as Burnley applied the early pressure.

In the 9th minute, Burnley drove forward. Wade Elliott received a pass from Steve Jones and the mercurial winger drove at the Sunderland defence, and he slipped an inch perfect ball through to Kyle Lafferty. The Northern Ireland international took the ball in his stride and hit an assured finish past Darren Ward and Turf Moor erupted. It was the sixth time this season that Burnley have scored in the opening fifteen minutes of the game.

Sunderland pressed hard to equalise but they looked like a side that lacked confidence and much of the game was played in the middle third of the pitch where Micah Hyde and Dwight Yorke were at the centre of a lot of the action.

Michael Duff and John McGreal were fantastic at the heart of Burnley's defence as they pressed hard to keep Sunderland out. The Black Cats looked like a shadow of the team that steamrolled through the Championship in 2004/2005. The Sunderland midfield was as would be expected by a team managed by Roy Keane, 100% committed to winning every ball. However, Burnley matched them all over the park, helping prove Cotterill's point that Burnley are almost back to their best form.

Ex-Celtic star Stanislav Varga did well to clear the danger when Wayne Thomas nodded the ball towards goal, but the deadline day signing from Celtic was equal to it and headed the ball away for Sunderland.

Burnley were demonstrating their slick attacking football time and time again and Sunderland would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle. The onus was on Burnley to continue their form into the second half and keep a strong foothold on the game.

They did just that, and in the 53rd minute, Turf Moor was bouncing again. A mistake by Ex-Blackburn man Dwight Yorke led to Kyle Lafferty firing home his 4th goal of the season and Burnley looked to be in the driving seat.

Varga looked to have scored for Sunderland but an astounding goal line clearance from man of the moment Lafferty kept out the towering Slovakian's header. The match descended into a scrappy affair and Roy Keane threw on Graham Kavanagh as part of a double substitution to add some bite to the Sunderland midfield. Within a minute of entering the fray, the Irishman was opening his mouth to the referee in a pathetic attempt to influence his decisions.

Burnley fans were counting down the minutes to the final whistle as Sunderland appeared more and more likely to score. However, in the 80th minute, Grant Leadbitter came to the fore. He unleashed a 30 yard drive which flew into the bottom left corner of Danny Coyne's goal and it was the Sunderland fans turn to get ecstatic.

Burnley fans were shocked but few could have imagined that Burnley could throw away three points with just ten minutes left on the clock. The Clarets' fans anxiety should have been destroyed in the 82nd minute when Steve Jones found himself clear on goal with just Ward to beat. However, the tricky left winger was caught in two minds and it was a chance wasted for Burnley.

The worst case scenario for Burnley would have been to concede an equaliser. David Connolly is one of those players you just expect to score against Burnley. Since his days at Wimbledon, Connolly has had a tendency to score against the Clarets.

The fourth official raised the board to state three additional minutes would be played. Surely not enough time for an equaliser? Connolly had other ideas. 30 yards out he hit an absolute screamer past the despairing dive of Danny Coyne and the Sunderland fans celebrated like they had just won the World Cup.

Burnley slip to 9^th in the Coca Cola Championship and the big worry now is, will Burnley return to the top six this season? With the transfer window fast approaching, Burnley fans will be hoping for a classy right back and a speedy striker to be added to one of the smallest squads in the Football League. In seven days, Derby County visit Turf Moor, Burnley will be hoping for a win and a return to the top six for Christmas.