We should have know better given that the Old Gold of Wolves were the visitors, but not for the first time this season the Clarets got it all wrong when within shouting distance of the top six as they went down to a 3-1 defeat.
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 | Ade Akinbiyi - finally got a goal |
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Wolves really are the last we want visiting the Turf when we need a result. I still remember the crucial defeat six years ago at Easter, the one aided by Barry Knight. Since our promotion we've now played seven league games against them at home that have produced one win, one draw, and five defeats, and when you look back further the result is even worse.
On occasions Wolves have fully deserved to win some of those games, on other occasions they have been somewhat fortunate, but this time we just about handed it to them on a plate with a performance that was littered with crucial match costing errors and we could have no complaints about the result at the final whistle.
Owen Coyle made two changes to his starting eleven from the side that had beaten Charlton. It was probably no surprise Joey Gudjonsson was back in at the expense of Alan Mahon, the manager had hinted at that, and likewise Ade Akinbiyi coming back in for the once again injured Andrew Cole. The on loan striker has only been able to start five of the ten games since he joined the Clarets from RK Sunderland and on two of those occasions has played whilst carrying an injury.
Anyway, it all started rather brightly against a Wolves side that in all honestly as a long, long way from being a promotion side. We took the game to them and put them under some pressure. Ade got his head to one Wade Elliott cross but put his effort just wide. It was as good a start as we've made to a home game in some time.
Then, sadly, disaster struck, not once but twice, and we have only ourselves to blame for both of them as we gifted Wolves two of the easiest goals possible. Firstly Stanislav Varga was too easily beaten, he appeared to turn slower than an old Ribble bus, and then Graham Alexander should have done better, but he didn't and Seyi Olofinjana took his chance well.
The Turf was silenced, it was difficult to believe we'd gone behind, but before the inquests had been heard it was 2-0. Some will point a finger at Gabor Kiraly for this, but for me it was purely down to a shocking back pass from Clarke Carlisle that sold him short. Yes, the keeper got to it, but could only kick on to Michael Gray and into the net it went. No surprise really, the ex-Blackburn player had been booed, and he'd scored. As for Kiraly, he was to have his moment later in the game.
We were totally deflated and that good start we'd made had now evaporated and for some time there was nothing at all from the Clarets. We tried to get going again but we were hardly troubling their goal. Kyle Lafferty had a shot blocked from the edge of the box. He seemed to catch it well and given the reaction it was obviously goal bound, but we still hadn't troubled keeper Wayne Hennessey.
Hennessey was called into action to keep out an Alexander shot but despite a lot of possession we weren't really troubling them anything like enough. It was still 2-0 at half time and they must have been delighted with that. They hadn't created a chance, they hadn't had a shot at goal other than those two goals, and they must have thought this was all far too easy.
If it had been easy, then it got easier still just nine minutes into the second half. Wolves keeper Hennessey had done it in the game at Wolves, our sub keeper Brian Jensen has done it three times this season, and now it was Gabor's turn as he inexcusably allowed a soft shot to go straight through him and in. These things happen to teams occasionally, but this is three times now in three weeks and is just not acceptable.
Coyle reacted by bringing on Mahon for the ineffective Gudjonsson but I'm not sure what one substitution could do to change this round. We did start to get forward more but that was as much Wolves allowing it rather than us pressing. We weren't getting any joy down our right wing though, they'd done their homework and prevented us from having any space down that side of the pitch to play in. We made a couple more substitutions, the last of them coming with fifteen minutes to go, and within a minute we'd pulled a goal back.
For once we got a cross in from the right and Ade met it at the far post only to see his header saved by Hennessey. Good save? Bad miss? I'm not so sure but at least Ade slammed in the rebound to end his run of misses.
The goal might have given the crowd a lift but it didn't visibly lift the performance and there was never any danger of us getting back into it. And we didn't deserve to, we'd blown it with those awful errors.
The defeat is a blow. A win would not have taken us into the top six but we would have been even nearer. A win would have also surely ended any hopes Wolves had of extending their season.
We never seem to be far enough away from a disappointing performance, the lack of consistency in the side is a major worry. We've lost this one at the end of the day because of the errors we made against such an ordinary side who did not create a chance in ninety minutes. Their three goals were their only on target efforts they had all afternoon.
We always knew we would have to find that consistency, but one win in the last five games is exactly what we didn't want. We've seven games left to find it, and there's no doubt that should we not then we'll not be in that top six.
I would imagine that any neutral watching this game would not be tipping either of these two clubs to end the season in the top six.
The teams were;
Burnley: Gabor Kiraly, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Stanislav Varga (David Unsworth 71), Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Joey Gudjonsson (Alan Mahon 56), Kyle Lafferty, Ade Akinbiyi, Robbie Blake (Mark Randall 75). Subs not used: Brian Jensen, John Spicer.
Wolves: Wayne Hennessey, Kevin Foley, Darren Ward, Neill Collins, George Elokobi, Darren Potter, Karl Henry, Seyi Olofinjana (Freddy Eastwood 86), Michael Gray (Darren Gibson 70), Andy Keogh, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Kevin Kyle 83). Subs not used: Graham Stack, Matt Jarvis.
Referee: Peter Walton (Northampton).
Attendance: 12,749. |
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