Clarets back to winning ways

Last updated : 01 February 2009 By Tony Scholes
Steven Thompson
Steven Thompson - came on as a sub and scored both goals
It was a late, late show from the Clarets but somehow justice was really served on our opponents when the winner went in with four minutes of stoppage time gone. They were a shocking outfit who came to waste time and cheat their way to points rather than play football and they got exactly what they deserved.

Steven Thompson was the hero in the end. Not renowned for his goalscoring he netted twice from close range to recover the 1-0 deficit, the seventh successive league game in which we've found ourselves conceding the first goal.

But all's well that ends well and it ended perfectly for the Clarets with that winner with the clock edging ever closer to five o'clock.

Owen Coyle made two changes to the side that had lost 3-0 at Watford. Michael Duff returned from injury and replaced the heavily criticised Clarke Carlisle who didn't even make the subs bench. The other change saw a debut for new signing Rhys Williams at right back which meant Graham Alexander going back into the holding role at the expense of Joey Gudjonsson who was on the bench.

We started the game in a similar way to our last home league win against Southampton. We got three goals in the first eleven minutes that day but this time there were no goals although Charlton could consider themselves very fortunate there weren't.

Much of the play was coming down the right hand side where Williams and Chris Eagles were linking up well. The new boy certainly looked very comfortable on the ball and impressed going forwards and twice created opportunities with excellent balls into the box.

The first of them saw Chris McCann win a corner but no one got a touch the second which was probably the best ball into the box all afternoon. It was the defender's nightmare ball but no one got on the end of it.

That opening burst didn't provide a goal unfortunately and we could have gone one behind when Lloyd Sam put his effort over the bar. But all credit to Brian Jensen here, he was quickly at Sam and did more than enough to make it difficult for him.

The game quietened down for a while. We struggled to keep our attacking game going whilst Charlton looked disinterested in playing any football whatsoever, but we did pick things up in the last period of the first half.

Probably the closest we came to a goal was a snap shot from Martin Paterson that forced goalkeeper Rob Elliot into a terrific reaction save. He also saved a shot from McCann whilst Wade Elliott missed target with a couple of opportunities.

Still level we were going into the interval in the ascendancy, or so it seemed. Then disaster struck as Charlton incredibly went in front. They got down the right but the chance seemed to have gone when the ball came in from the right, but Nick Bailey got his shot away and we were again in that familiar position of 1-0 down.

This was our first home game since that night against Spurs but here we were ten days later with the players booed off by some at half time.

The second half was virtually one way traffic yet interrupted time and again by Charlton's antics. This was time wasting in the extreme yet referee Richard Beeby didn't appear to be seeing any of it. If he was he was certainly taking no action and a better referee would have put a stop to the whole thing.

Goalkeeper Elliot was going down injured on cue but when required he would suddenly burst into life. It's a shocking way to play football and you have to feel sorry for the Charlton fans if this is what they have to endure every week.

We should surely have had a penalty for handball. I spotted the assistant about to put his flag across his chest but he quickly changed as he saw the referee playing on. Alexander had probably the best chance of all but blazed over.

Kevin McDonald came on for Christian Kalvenes with Alexander going to left back and then Thompson came on for Eagles. Both changes had a positive effect as the Clarets kept pushing forward.

We won a free kick for offside with a quarter of an hour to go but it was delayed by substitute Tresor Kandol and finally Beeby took some action and waved his yellow card at him. But the real punishment came a minute later when we finally equalised.

Robbie Blake and Alexander linked up down the left flank and it was Alexander who got the cross in. Now you might expect Thompson to head it back in for Paterson but this time it was the other way round. Paterson got in the knock back and Thompson swept the ball home from close range.

The relief could be heard all round Turf Moor and I suppose a point would have been something, at least ending the run of defeats, but there was more to come from Thompson.

We just kept going at them and within a minute of the goal we could so easily have had another from Steven Caldwell. He'd made a hash of a header earlier in the half but this time looked as though he'd put us in front only for Graeme Murty (another player keen to get involved in the time wasting antics) to spectacularly head off the line.

It looked odds on a draw as the fourth official stepped forward with the board and held up six minutes. Beeby had seemed to have no control over the time wasting. He did nothing about it whatsoever but then added some time on. Having said that we'd had five substitutions and a goal in the second half and several interruptions so he hadn't been that generous.

Charlton could have no complaints with the extra time but I turned and said that their manager Phil Parkinson would complain about it should we score. And score we did. McDonald got down the right, brushed off defenders and crossed for Thompson to beat Elliot.

We'd got what we deserved and Charlton had certainly got what they deserved and we so nearly got a third which would have been Thommo's hat trick. This time though Elliot, still on the pitch despite all the attempts at playing injured, was able to save.

We've played better this season, no doubt about that, but we were worthy winners against this shabby outfit. I've loved my trips to Charlton, a real football ground, but they did enough in this game for me to want them relegated.

For the third game in succession, I missed Watford, I am going for Robbie Blake as my man of the match. He's in the best of form at the moment and Charlton had no answer to him again. But there were other good performances all round the pitch.

And the good news is that we can look at the league table and no longer see the number 43 after Burnley, we've finally got moving again ready for our trip to Birmingham. That is after yet another cup match, our eleventh of the season, against West Brom.

The teams were;

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Rhys Williams, Michael Duff, Steven Caldwell, Christian Kalvenes (Kevin McDonald 58), Graham Alexander, Chris Eagles (Steven Thompson 63), Wade Elliott, Chris McCann (Joey Gudjonsson 85), Robbie Blake, Martin Paterson. Subs not used: Diego Penny, Jay Rodriguez.

Charlton: Rob Elliot, Graeme Murty, Matt Holland, Darren Ward, Kelly Youga, Lloyd Sam (Grant Basey 85), Matthew Spring, Nick Bailey, Tom Soares, Chris Dickson (Tresor Kandol 70), Deon Burton. Subs not used: Darren Randolph, Therry Racon, Darren Ambrose.
Yellow Cards: Tresor Kandol.

Referee: Richard Beeby (Northampton).

Attendance: 14,404.