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Clarets have cure for Yellow Fever
We're giving Sky viewers a real treat this season, its seven goals now in two games, and surely we'll be getting booked by the television company again if we can keep up this sort of form. So good was it, Chris Kamara thought it was ‘Unbelievable'.
There were decisions to be made ahead of the game for Steve Cotterill, and one of them was made easy for him when Gifton Noel-Williams was passed fit and able to continue his partnership up front with Andy Gray.
At the back, Wayne Thomas was available again. I thought he would stick with Stephen Foster but he brought his captain back to partner Michael Duff in the centre of defence. Not only did he return to the side, he led them out wearing the captain's arm band, this despite Frank Sinclair being shown as club captain in the match programme.
Preston's team was exactly as expected, I don't think anyone seriously thought either Danny Dichio or Patrick Agyemang wouldn't be in the team, and they came out alongside Burnley, led by William & George Irvine the grandson's of former Claret & Lilywhite Willie, they were mascots for the night, proudly sporting the name IRVINE and the number 9 on the backs of their shirts.
It was a good first half, not brilliant but good. We started it and ended it the better side, Preston had a spell in the middle when they got on top. Either side might have got a goal, Preston came close with a volley from former Rotherham midfielder Chris Sedgwick whilst Burnley had a couple of efforts blocked and top model Carlo Nash had a couple of saves to make.
Our main threat was coming down the left where Steve Jones was giving Graham Alexander a difficult time, and it was from that position that we finally broke the deadlock right on half time. It was Jon Harley who got onto the ball after Alexander lost out to Jones, and his cross was met by Gifton who in turn managed to play in James O'Connor who made no mistake from close range.
O'Connor had been as good as anyone on the pitch in the first half and it was deserving that he should get the goal to give us the lead. It had been a fairly even half but we were just about worth that one goal lead having created more than Preston.
I reckoned we would need to play just as well in the second half as we had in the first half if we were going to go and win this. We didn't, we stepped it up, and for much of a superb second half we were very much the better team.
We could have doubled the lead within the first two minutes but Andy Gray couldn't quite find the space to get in a shot, and Gray could had another chance after a piece of magic from Wade Elliott had set him up for a header.
Between those two opportunities, it is hard to believe just how Preston kept eleven men on the pitch. I'd only seen Dichio kick out at Duff, I missed the elbow on Thomas. Maybe had our captain gone down like Viafara the referee would have done more than just yellow the Preston striker. Tanner didn't have a bad game in the middle overall, but surely he'll be marked down for this.
Preston manager Paul Simpson finally did what the referee should have done, he got Dichio off the pitch, and having replaced Patrick Agyemang a few minutes earlier the double change had an effect. Simon Whaley was pushed up front alongside substitute Brett Ormerod and both scored within three minutes of each other and after looking set for a win we were no staring defeat in the face.
Jensen, unsighted or not, looked to go down much too slowly for the first and it was a poor header by Frank Sinclair from a corner that led to the second. There were just over ten minutes left and we needed to find ourselves a goal.
We lifted the performance again, and how, in a remarkable and fantastic last ten minutes of the game and Frank was very quickly making amends for his mistake. Within a couple of minutes we were level, and despite it being a goal from Sean St. Ledger (who was not forced to play at full back) this was a brilliant goal.
Jimmy O, a clear man of the match for me, got in a challenge that he had no right to win and got the ball out to Frank whose cross was just about perfect. St. Ledger knew he had to get a touch on it, otherwise it was Gray 2-2. He did get a touch, and stuck it right into the corner of his own goal. It was a cracking diving header from the former Peterborough defender, and it was good to see Andy Gray congratulate him as the ball flew into the net.
Level, relieved, and celebrating, but how on earth had we ever got to the stage where we would be celebrating an equaliser? Could we go on and win it, oh yes we certainly could and what a finish. With time running out Micah got the ball to Jones and he chipped the ball in from the left for Gray who finished superbly with a header across Nash.
There was no way back from Preston now, the scoreline was just again, we were back in front. Up went the board, four extra minutes, but they didn't trouble us, and after a lovely piece of trickery from substitute Kyle Lafferty we might even have added a fourth.
Tanner finally blew that final whistle and the celebrations started, the home crowd stayed put to celebrate whilst the tacky clappers from the incredibly pathetic Yellow Fever idea trooped away. We'd cured it, we'd seen them off, and turned in the sort of performance that until now has been reserved mainly for away games this season.
I've already said that James O'Connor is my man of the match, and not for the first time recently, he really is in the form of his life. There were candidates all over the pitch, and none more so than Michael Duff who was simply brilliant against Dichio. As was said on the message board, someone will need to take a close look at his shorts before they go in the wash, they will probably find Dichio in his pocket.
So we are still fourth, but we've closed the gap – the bookmakers pre-season favourites for relegation are doing very nicely thank you very much. Well done Clarets, another great night and we're really enjoying our football right now.
The teams were;
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Frank Sinclair, Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas (Stephen Foster 84), Jon Harley, Wade Elliott (Alan Mahon 90), James O'Connor, Micah Hyde, Steve Jones, Andy Gray, Gifton Noel-Williams (Kyle Lafferty 84). Subs not used: Chris McCann, Garreth O'Connor.
Preston: Carlo Nash, Graham Alexander, Sean St. Ledger, Liam Chilvers, Matt Hill, Simon Whaley, Chris Sedgwick, Paul McKenna, Danny Pugh (Callum Davidson 87), Danny Dichio (Brett Ormerod 70), Patrick Agyemang (Lewis Neal 63). Subs not used: Andy Lonergan, Kelvin Wilson.
Referee: Steve Tanner (Somerset).
Attendance: 14,871.