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The announcement of the team dented some of the optimism. We knew that Andrew Cole would be missing, but the absence of Ade from the squad gave a very lightweight feel to the attack. (a "mysterious virus", apparently) Caldwell and Varga were at the centre of defence, with Kyle and Robbie up front. We kicked off, and enjoyed some early pressure. A corner five minutes in gave the Plymouth defence some worries, but they cleared efficiently. We should have learnt from their example...
In the 12th minute Argyle were awarded a free kick on the left, following a Varga foul. The ball in did not look too threathening, but some hesitant defending allowed Lilian Nalis to get in a shot from some 20 yards. It came through a few players, but straight to Brian Jensen, who saw it coming. Sadly, "The Beast" managed to avoid letting any of his sizeable frame come into contact with the ball, which nutmegged him beautifully on its way into the net. 1-nil down, to a goal which Gary Sprake, in his prime, would have been embarrassed by.
The Clarets came back strongly, although it seemed that Kyle would have been more effective had he played to the whistle, rather than appealing for free kicks. The pressure paid off on 19 minutes when, following good work by Wade and Kyle, James O'Connor scored a well-crafted goal. Sadly, an already nervous defence was further disrupted when Varga, clearly having a problem, was replaced by Clarke Carlisle on 25 minutes. Clarke looked out-of-touch, and unconvincing from the start.
Ten minutes of good play by Argyle resulted in a second goal on 35 minutes. A hopeful ball into the Burnley box lead to a form of collective inertia, in which, it seemed, everyone in a Claret shirt failed to get the ball clear. I don't want to stretch the "Dad's Army" analogy too far, but to most of us in the stand behind Jensen's goal, it seemed that even Private Godfrey's sister Dolly could have made a better job of getting the ball out of the danger area. Inevitably, Plymouth scored, Peter Halmosi showing greater purpose than any Burnley player. 2-1 down at half-time, to a team which had to do little more than accept two gift goals.
Burnley started the second half with far greater purpose, with Wade playing an ever-increasing role. Wade was fouled in the 46th minute - Sawyer being booked as a result - and the resultant free kick lead to a near- 30 minute period in which Burnley enjoyed a spell of fluent attacking play. Wade was prominent, with Kyle, Robbie and Chris McCann also threatening. Frustratingly, the often excellent approach work was not matched by attacking potency, and we failed to score.
And, almost inevitably, Plymouth did. Once again, the goal was down more to Burnley ineptitude rather than Argyle artistry. Jon Harley made a real hash of closing down a Plymouth player out on the left, giving Peter Halmosi the opportunity to snap up a second. Owen Coyle was not the only one to hold his head in despair at us being three-one down..
Argyle, with no pressure on them, began to play well, and Jensen had to pull off a number of good sharp saves. If only he had been so alert earlier in the game.
Jon Harley was substituted by David Unsworth and the paucity of Burnley's attacking resources was shown by Clarke Carlisle finishing up playing up front. The replacement of Chris McCann by Mark Randall with 4 minutes to go was never going to make any real difference. And even when the game was lost, Kyle's unlucky failure to score from yet another excellent cross from Wade showed, as the perceptive man on my left said, that we weren't to have even a consolation goal.
Overall, a very disappointing result, and a performance which did not convince. Perhaps Andrew Cole or Ade would have taken some of the chances we created, but those in the team are professional footballers, who should have been capable of more. Talk of play -offs seems optimistic indeed, if we can make an average side like Plymouth look as good as this.