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Delia's Sunday Lunch – Stuffed Canaries
A chicken, ham and sweetcorn pie for me and a cauliflower cheese pie for the Missus went down well before the game then we took our seats and prepared for another trip to Norfolk that would no doubt be disappointing as far as the result went. If only we knew what was to come.
Sinclair took over from the unusually suspended Wayne Thomas and would spend the entire game at the right of what proved to be a solid and effective defence against one of the costliest attacks in our division. John McGreal put in another top quality performance and must surely be one of the first names on the manager's team sheet from now on?
The early passages of play were pretty much evenly spread between both teams and both squandered decent chances. However the tide would change and as the game progressed the Clarets assumed control of all parts of the pitch and looked the more likely side to break the deadlock.
And so it was to be. The excellent Steve Jones provided a perfect pass for James O'Connor to bury his shot into the bottom left hand corner of the Norwich net.
And so we thought ‘that's it – we will shut up shop and play out a 0 – 1 win.' How wrong could we have been? Just before the referee blew for half time Andy Gray guided a header perfectly around the keeper and into the corner of his net. The Canaries turned into Parrots – “Worthy out, Worthy out…….”
The half time hotdog wasn't as good as the pie but who cares?
Soon into the second half a crucial decision came as Doherty was sent off for Norwich for a crude haul down of Gray and being the last defender he was quite rightly shown the red card. The free kick came to nothing but the extra man would surely be vital for Burnley.
We didn't have to wait long.
Steve Jones again put in a great ball to provide Gray with his second and a goal that would wrap up the points for the Clarets.
For some strange reason I felt sorry for Huckerby who appeared a class apart in both effort and ability from the rest of his team mates and whilst Norwich scored a consolation goal it would hardly match the bullet from Alan Mahon that cruised past a helpless Norwich defence and keeper. 1 – 4. And on TV.
I must now name my Man of the Match award. A tough one for the best possible reasons. So perhaps I can incorporate it into player ratings (out of ten)?
Jensen – 7
Sinclair – 8
Duff - 8
McGreal – 8+
Harley – 7
Elliott – 7
O'Connor – 8
Hyde – 8
Jones – 9 (MOM)
Gray – 9
Noel–Williams – 9
Sinclair – 8
Duff - 8
McGreal – 8+
Harley – 7
Elliott – 7
O'Connor – 8
Hyde – 8
Jones – 9 (MOM)
Gray – 9
Noel–Williams – 9
Subs
Mahon – 9 (class)
Finally if I could add a couple of personal notes:
1. To some blokes on the row behind me who insisted in the first half that the ref was a homer. Do you want to take your comments back?
2. To the Norwich steward who I approached whilst I was holding a 9 month old baby before the game and asked ‘could I sit on one of those empty seats next to you so that it will be a bit quieter for the baby?' To which he replied ‘No bloody chance mate you are a security risk' I hope your tractor breaks down on the A47 tomorrow.
2. To the Norwich steward who I approached whilst I was holding a 9 month old baby before the game and asked ‘could I sit on one of those empty seats next to you so that it will be a bit quieter for the baby?' To which he replied ‘No bloody chance mate you are a security risk' I hope your tractor breaks down on the A47 tomorrow.
Well done to The Clarets for a memorable weekend away.